Profit-making satirical works may be vulnerable under copyright law

Profit-making online media who have pushed hard against the copyright law update could be vulnerable to being sued for copyright infringement and should make this clearer to their users, experts argue. 

100 Most stands out in Hong Kong's dwindling print media circles. Founded nearly three years ago, the satirical weekly broke even in three months. Its publisher Blackpaper Ltd turned a post-tax profit of nearly HK$8 million in the fiscal year ending March 2015. 

Blackpaper still prints on paper, but 100 Most has built a following based on its viral content and satirical works designed for social media. Its Facebook page as of Wednesday was followed by 640,000 users. 

100 Most and Apple Daily, whose digital business made a profit for the first time in the last fiscal year, have not been shy in fueling netizens' battle to dissuade the legislature from passing the copyright amendment bill. A daily news satire segment of 100 Most has dedicated all five videos to the topic since last Thursday. 

Some media outlets could have informed their readers better about their special position under the copyright law, senior counsel and ex-lawmaker Ronny Tong Ka-wah said. 

"It'd be difficult for media to convince others to use intellectual properties in a business operation without the owners' consent or without paying a fee," Tong said. 

Many of the parody or illustrative videos feature movie and news clips - although it has rarely been explained if consent was sought from copyright holders. 

Profit-making entities are seemingly less protected by new clauses designed to safeguard individuals' rights under the revised copyright law. 

The purpose of the distribution as well as the nature of the work, "including its commercial value", are among the factors proposed in the bill for the courts to consider whether an infringement of intellectual properties constitutes a criminal offense under the revised law. 

The bill also offers "fair dealing" exceptions for quotation, commenting, parody, satire, caricature and pastiche. Also new in the bill is that the courts will be required to consider "whether the dealing is for a non-profit-making purpose and whether the dealing is of a commercial nature". 

On top of a clearer line drawn between different purposes, media companies are inevitably more exposed to the threat of copyright lawsuits. This was due to their commercial gain and high visibility, explained Chinese University of Hong Kong intellectual property expert Tommy Leung Tin-cheuk. 

He noted the academic community has always been deeply divided about striking a balance between protection for intellectual property holders and encouraging creativity. 

The government has promised an immediate review after passing the current amendment bill. 100 Most founder Lam Yat-hei refused to be interviewed on the revised law's impact on his publication.