Hong KongCopyright Ordinance, section 4(1)(a), protection of a compilation of data as a literary work
Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528), s. 4(1)(a)
In force since .
A database right rule binding public and private bodies.
As of .
What it requires
- Do not copy a compilation of data or other material that by reason of the selection or arrangement of its contents constitutes an intellectual creation, including by storing it in any medium by electronic means, without the copyright owner's licence (ss. 4(1)(a), 22(1)(a), 22(2), 23(2)).
- Copyright subsists only in an original literary work, and not in a compilation unless and until it is recorded, in writing or otherwise (ss. 2(1)(a), 4(2)).
These lines are LexLint's reading of the law's text, as of .
What this law does
Section 4(1) of the Copyright Ordinance defines a literary work as any work, other than a dramatic or musical work, which is written, spoken or sung, and provides that it includes a compilation of data or other material, in any form, which by reason of the selection or arrangement of its contents constitutes an intellectual creation, including a table.
Under section 2(1)(a), copyright is a property right that subsists in original literary works, and under section 4(2) it does not subsist in a literary work unless and until the work is recorded, in writing or otherwise.
Section 22(1)(a) gives the copyright owner the exclusive right to copy the work, section 23(2) defines copying as reproducing the work in any material form, including storing it in any medium by electronic means, and under section 22(2) copyright is infringed by a person who without the licence of the copyright owner does, or authorizes another to do, an act restricted by the copyright.
When LexLint raises it
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