Hong Kong Ordinances

COPYRIGHT ORDINANCE - SECT 181

Meaning of first publication and material time

(1) For the purposes of section 180, publication in one country, territory or
area is still regarded as first publication if simultaneous publication occurs
elsewhere; and for this purpose publication elsewhere within the previous 30
days is treated as simultaneous.

(2) For the purposes of sections 178 and 180, the material time in relation to
a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work is-

   (a)  in the case of an unpublished work, when the work was made or, if the
        making of the work extended over a period, a substantial part of that
        period;

   (b)  in the case of a published work, when the work was first published or,
        if the author had died before that time, immediately before his death.

(3) For the purposes of sections 178 and 180, the material time in relation to
other descriptions of work is as follows-

   (a)  in the case of a sound recording or film, when it was made;

   (b)  in the case of a broadcast, when the broadcast was made;

   (c)  in the case of a cable programme, when the programme was included in a
        cable programme service;

   (d)  in the case of the typographical arrangement of a published  edition,
        when the edition was first published. [ cf. 1988 c. 48 ss. 154 & 155
        U.K.]