Customs silence karaoke joints over copyright breaches
Customs officers on Thursday said they had arrested five people for allegedly offering karaoke songs to party room customers without the consent of the copyright holders. Seven party rooms in Kwun Tong, Tuen Mun, Lai Chi Kok and Kwai Chung were raided, with officers confiscating seven sets of karaoke players containing around 200,000 songs suspected of infringing copyright law. Four of the party room operators and a member of staff were arrested. They were all released on bail as an investigation continues, officials said. At a press briefing, senior inspector Leung Man-chung called on the public not to use party rooms that engage in copyright breaches. "We urge residents to respect intellectual property rights and avoid using these party rooms that provide facilities in violation of copyright laws," Leung said. Leung also urged people to report any suspected copyright infringements to customs officials.