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Bicycle Thieves Thwarted in Hong Kong

Bicycle Thieves Thwarted in Hong Kong

Officers from the Intellectual Property Investigation Bureau (IPIB) of the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department have recovered several innovative and trademark-infringing foldable bicycles following raids on shops and the Internet.

The raids followed a tip-off by an anonymous copyright and trademark owner and eight shops in several districts, including Cheung Sha Wan and Tai Po, were found to contain the trademark-infringing bicycles. A total of 29 bicycles were recovered, worth HK$66,700, and nine men and a woman were arrested.

Hong Kong’s Anti-Internet Piracy Team, assisted by an Internet Service Provider, also arrested two men believed to be selling the bicycles on the Internet via a local auction web site. All the arrested individuals are on bail pending further investigations.

Under copyright law in Hong Kong, anyone knowingly possessing an infringing copy of a copyright work in the course of business is committing a criminal offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of HK$50,000 per article and four years’ imprisonment.

The message from the Divisional Commander of the Copyright Investigation Division, Mr Koon Hon-chuen, is clear. He warned suspicious shopkeepers to stay vigilant, particularly if approached from first time distributors and sources. ‘If in doubt, shop owners should approach the respective authorised dealers of the copyrighted goods,’ he said.

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