 | |
| |
TechnologyDaily Mobile
China Moves To Address Intellectual Property
The 2001 Beijing Copyright Trade Fair last week served as the backdrop for announcements from Chinese officials that the country would move to outlaw online copying, China Youth Daily reported.
The National Copyrights Administration (NCA) submitted to the National People's Congress draft revisions to the 10-year-old copyright law, which NPC will review and likely approve in March. The new revisions aim to protect original works posted online, Wang Heaping, a director with the NCA, told reporters at the copyright fair.
"The new law aims to provide effective protection to copyright holders at home and abroad," Wang said. Under the new provisions, fines for copyright infringements would increase substantially, and accessing computer systems without permission would be prohibited. Chinese citizens also could claim the right to copy, distribute, lease, show, broadcast and perform their works. Radio and TV stations still could air published works but would have to pay for the rights.
The changes come as China nears completion on negotiations concerning intellectual property requirements for its ascension to the World Trade Organization. During a meeting last month, Chinese negotiators said WTO working groups had reached important deals on stipulations concerning intellecutal property rights (IPR).
The agreement includes specific provisions on how Chinese officials intend to enforce IPR commitments through regulations on copyrights, trademarks, industrial design and patents, according to published reports. The agreements also state that China will revise its practices to meet the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights once its WTO membership is activated.
In other news from China, the nation's Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) reported this week that the number of Internet users logging onto the Web for at least one hour per week rose to 22.5 million from 16.9 million six months ago. But the report also indicated that the majority of users hailed from developed regions of the country, including cities like Beijing, Guangdong and Shanghai.
Cisco Chief Predicts India's Future
A solid infrastructure to promote Internet use could send India's economy soaring, Cisco President and CEO John Chambers said Tuesday, the Financial Express reported. "There is a definite correlation between economic growth and building the infrastructure of the future," Chambers told audience members at a summit hosted by Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi.
Chambers highlighted two factors for strong economic growth in the global marketplace: education and the Internet. With India's high level of education, the introduction of a strong Internet infrastructure could add the necessary ingredient to make it a global economic powerhouse.
Chambers noted that India was in a position to account for more than 5 percent of Cisco's turnover in the next few years. "India has the potential to not only surpass its neighbor but can emerge as the main country supplying the network engineers to the world given its strong education system," he told audience members. Indians constitute some 25 percent of the total engineers in Cisco.
Building on Chambers' vision, India's Group of Ministers on Tuesday approved a draft bill, the Communications Convergence Bill 2001, that could overhaul the way communications and information technology industries are regulated. The bill would create a Communications Commission, which would combine sectors and act as a one-stop shop for regulating three different industries.
Specifically, the new commission would grant licenses, resolve disputes and work as the spectrum management agency. It also would ensure fair and equitable services in the information technology, communications and broadcasting sectors with routine oversight powers. The bill would replace the Indian Telegraph Act, the Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act, the Cable Television Networks (Regulation) Act and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) Act, which governs the TRAI.
Hong Kong Provides Global Economic Example
For Hong Kong the new millennium means leaping from the service economy to the digital economy, top officials said last week. Hong Kong's Information Technology and Broadcasting Secretary Carrie Yau addressed government and information technology (IT) leaders at the Partnership Summit 2001 in Hyderabad, India, asserting that the old-economy success will lay the groundwork for the transformation to a digital, information-based economy in the next decade.
"In Hong Kong, we have relied on the pillars of success in our old economy ... to transform ourselves from a manufacturing economy in the 1970s and 1980s, to a globalized, service-oriented economy in the 1990s. The next step ... is to develop Hong Kong into a leading economy in the 21st century," Yau said. At the summit, hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Yau drew on Hong Kong's own experiences and urged traditional industries to use information technology to gain an edge in competitive marketplaces around the world.
Hong Kong is quickly transforming itself into the e-commerce hub of Asia, an official noted this week at a conference organized by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development in Dubai this week.
"We have enormous opportunities to be a key player in the global e-commerce world," said Alan Siu, deputy secretary for information technology and broadcasting of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). "To seize the opportunities ahead, Hong Kong will continue to enhance its information infrastructure and exploit new technologies and applications. We will also work closely with other economies to contribute to more regional and international cooperation in promoting cross-border e-commerce."
- by Maureen Sirhal
NEW FEATURE
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
-Advertisement-
