Hong Kong Ordinances

BROADCASTING ORDINANCE - SECT 13

Prohibition on anti-competitive conduct

PART V

REQUIREMENTS RELATING TO LICENSED SERVICES

(1) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), a licensee shall not engage in conduct
which, in the opinion of the Broadcasting Authority, has the purpose or effect
of preventing, distorting or substantially restricting competition in a
television programme service market.

(2) The Broadcasting Authority may consider conduct to fall within subsection
(1) as including, but not limited to-

   (a)  direct or indirect agreements to fix the price in a television 
        programme service market;

   (b)  conduct preventing or restricting the supply of goods or services to
        competitors;

   (c)  direct or indirect agreements between licensees to share any
        television programme service market between them on agreed geographic
        or customer lines;

   (d)  limiting or controlling production, markets, technical development or
        investment;

   (e)  applying dissimilar conditions to equivalent agreements with other
        trading parties, thereby placing them at a competitive disadvantage;

   (f)  making the conclusion of agreements subject to acceptance by the other
        parties of supplementary obligations which, by their nature or
        according to commercial usage, have no connection with the subject of
        such agreements.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), a provision in an agreement is void in so far
as it provides for or permits, whether directly or indirectly, conduct which
contravenes subsection (1).

(4) The Broadcasting Authority may-

   (a)  on an application made to it in the specified form by a licensee;

   (b)  on a prescribed ground; and

   (c)  by notice in writing served on the licensee, exempt conduct specified
        in the application from subsection (1) subject to such conditions as
        the Broadcasting Authority thinks fit specified in the notice.

(5) Subsection (1) shall not apply to-

   (a)  any restriction imposed on the inclusion in a television 
        programme service of a television programme produced wholly or
        substantially by the licensee of the service; or

   (b)  any prescribed restriction.

(6) For the avoidance of doubt, it is hereby declared that nothing in this
section shall prejudice the existence of any rights arising from the operation
of the law relating to copyright or trademarks.