1. The Bar welcomes the Government's proposal to liberalize parallel imports. The Bar has recommended de-regulation of restrictions on parallel imports across the board before the enactment of the present Copyright Ordinance. The Government's proposal has become particularly necessary in view of its recent amendments to the Copyright Ordinance criminalizing possession of infringing copies in the course of or incidental to business, a policy which knows no parallel in any other parts of the world.

2. However, the Bar believes the proposed de-regulation should apply to all copyright works and should not be confined to computer programs or any other kind of works. The Bar notes that the amendments to the Copyright Ordinance enlarging the criminal sanctions draw no distinction between computer programs and other types of copyright works.

3. Our new trade mark law will not provide for restrictions against parallel imports. As a matter of principle, the Bar can see no valid justification for a scenario that some intellectual property owners should have more rights than others or indeed, within one particular category, some owners should have more rights than others.

4. For these reasons, the Bar recommends a complete de-regulation of restrictions against parallel importation in copyright law such that there will be neither favour for nor discrimination against any particular kinds of owners or works.