On October 20, the IFACT-GC and the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (IVE) held a ceremony marking the end of service for the 2008 IVE IPR Ambassadors and the inauguration of the new 2009 IPR Ambassadors. The ceremony, attended by a number of key players in the education and IPR field, also hosted the award ceremony for the IPR Short Video Competition.

The ceremony was opened by Mr. Peter Cheung, Acting Director of the Intellectual Property Department (IPD) and attended by more than 120 guests, including:

• Mr. Johnny Ho, Director of the International Intellectual Property Protection Centre (IIPPC)
• Dr. Michael Fung, Principal of IVE – Sha Tin
• Mr. Albert Chu, Vice Principal of IVE – Tsing Yi
• Mr. Raymond Pang, Principal of Youth College
• Mr. Gary Au, Assistant Executive Director, of the Vocational Training Council
• Mr. Sam Ho, Executive Director and General Manager of the IFACT-GC

Commenting on the impressive growth of the scheme IPD Director Mr. Peter Cheung said "Positive engagement with young people is essential to nurture respect for creativity and creative products like movies. The IVE IPR Ambassador Scheme is now starting its third year and continues to grow.  As more young people are drawn to the scheme from the IVE student body so the support from a wide range of IPR stakeholders in the community is increasing. The success of the scheme is due in large part to the commitment from the IVE administration and the support of rights holders' organizations like IFACT-GC. The IVE IPR Ambassador Scheme is an example of cooperation between IPR stakeholders and on behalf of the Hong Kong SAR Government, I congratulate all those who have contributed to its success and look forward to even greater achievements in the future."

The contribution of 34 Ambassadors from IVE-Sha Tin, IVE- Kwai Chung and IVE-Kwun Tong was recognized by the award of certificates and 57 new Ambassadors aged between 15 and 21 were, appointed representing IVE-Sha Tin, IVE-Kwai Chung, IVE- Kwun Tong, IVE-Tsing Yi and the Youth College.

The IPR Ambassadors Scheme, organized by the IFACT-GC and the IVE, was launched in May 2007 with the IVE-Tsing Yi and the Youth College joining for the first time this year. The programme includes IPR-related seminars, visits and other activities designed to inform the IPR Ambassadors on the importance of IPR protection.

During the ceremony, prizes were presented to the winners of IPR Short Video Competition 2008/2009.  The competition, co-organized by the IFACT-GC and the IVE with the support of the Hong Kong Customs & Excise Department (HKC&E), the IPD and the IIPPC, was open to all higher education students in Hong Kong. Entries consisted of short videos promoting IPR awareness on the theme “Love Yourself, Love the Future”.

A total of 64 entries were received and were judged on how successfully they promoted IPR awareness in a creative and effective way.  Sitting on the panel of judges were:

• Mr. Tam Yiu-keung, Assistant Commissioner (Intelligence and Investigation) of HKC&E
• Ms. Jenny Wong, Head, Marketing Division of IPD
• Mr. Richard Ma, Assistant to the Director of the IIPPC
• Ms. Anna Ho, Principal Student Affairs Officer of Youth College
• Movie directors Mr. Lee Lik-Chee and Mr. Chan Wing-chiu
• Mr. Sam Ho, Executive Director and General Manager of IFACT-GC

The winning short video “Past, Present, Future” came from Mr. William So and Mr. Ho Ka-ki, with awards also being given to Ms. Ng Hiu-tung and Ms. Chow Chor-kwan (1st Runners Up), and Mr. Cho Kin-shing and Mr. Lam Ho-tak (2nd Runners Up). Mr. William So and Mr. Ho Ka-ki were also awarded a special “On-line Popularity” prize for attracting the most on-line votes from the public. Winners’ prizes included Tokyo round trip air tickets, movie ticket coupons and book vouchers.

A new IPR competition for Mobile Phone Screen Savers has been launched aiming to “Promote Creativity and Protect Intellectual Property Rights”.  Details of the competition can be found at http://stsao.vtc.edu.hk/ .