During the online seminar held on October 28, as part of the Innovation and Technology Carnival (InnoCarnival), Dr. Sharon WONG, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society and the Executive Chairlady (Administration) of the “Publishing 3.0” Organizing Committee, introduced the concept of “Publishing 3.0” and the important milestones of the “e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform”. At the same seminar, Dr. Frank TONG, Director of Research and Development and Technology Development at the Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, also shared insights into the application of AI in the “e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform”. They discussed the digitalization trends in the publishing industry, providing meaningful insights for the future development of “Publishing 3.0”.

Pub 3.0 team is currently joining the “Soaring Creativity – Hong Kong Pavilion” at Frankfurt Book Fair 2023 from 18 to 22 October 2023 to showcase the e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform and the first collection of “Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub” with 400+ selected Hong Kong-published Chinese e-books that are available for copyright trading and bulk purchase. Dr Wong Yin Yue, Sharon, Executive Director of Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society will also conduct two sharing sessions with the theme “Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub ”, inviting everyone to ‘explore Hong Kong through reading ‘ during the book fair.

“Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub” is a collection of selected Hong Kong smart e-books that are available for copyright trading or bulk purchase. Selected Hong Kong-published Chinese books have been translated and converted to e-books in Chinese and English, as well as audiobooks in Cantonese, Putonghua and English by the e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform driven by Artificial Intelligence (AI) under the project “Publishing 3.0 – Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub” (Pub 3.0) . The “Hong Kong Smart e-book Hub” currently features classic works by renowned authors, as well as the latest masterpieces by emerging writers. These publications can be classified into following categories:
Living & Social Lives, History & Biography, Medical Healthcare, Literature & Fiction and Finance & Business.

The LSCM Logistics Summit featured a technology exhibition showcasing the latest developments in logistics and supply chain technologies by the LSCM. The representatives from Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre (LSCM) under Innovation and Technology Commission introduced the “Celebrity x AI Voice Narration Book” project, demonstrating the AI voice technology developed by LSCM that is comparable to the quality of human narration. “Publishing 3.0” will actively explore the application of this technology to enhance the collection of audio books in the “Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub” thereby increasing readers’ interest in audio books and promoting a greater interest in reading among the general public.

The International Federation of Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO) held its General Assembly and World Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland in October 2023. The event, hosted by IFRRO’s Icelandic member, was a representative gathering of global members. The HKRRLS also delegated representative, the Executive Director Dr Sharon Wong to attend this significant event. The Congress was opened by the Guest of Honour, President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, who gave an inspiring speech on the value of literature, creativity, and copyright. The opening ceremony also featured a keynote address by Benoît Müller, Director of the Copyright Management Division at the World Intellectual Property Organisation. The event highlighted the challenges and opportunities of generative AI for creators and rightsholders, with a keynote presentation by Peter Schoppert, Director of National University of Singapore Press and Board Director of Singaporean RRO, CLASS. The event demonstrated IFRRO’s commitment to addressing key issues in the collective management sector. The Congress was also a testament to IFRRO’s role as a leading international network advocating for creators’ and publishers’ rights.

The “Publishing 3.0” set up a promotional booth at Hong Kong Book Fair 2023 from July 19 to 25, where different Hong Kong publishers, authors, editors as well as readers visited to experience various functions available on the “Publishing 3.0” one-stop service portal. These functions include translation of Chinese books into English using AI, conversion of printed books into e-books, as well as audio books in Cantonese, Putonghua and English using Text to Speech (TTS) technology.

Alongside the promotion at the fairground, a sharing session was held on July 22, 2023. Speakers included Dr. Charles CHEUNG, Senior Data Scientist & Deputy Director from Nividia AI Tech Centre Hong Kong branch, and Dr. Frank TONG, Director of the (LSCM) had in-depth exchanges with the participants on generative AI with industry transformation, as well as technical applications and operation of the “e-Book Publishing Conversion Platform”.

With positive feedback from the industry on the open call, the first collection of “Hong Kong Smart e-Book Hub” with over 1,000 selected Hong Kong-published Chinese e-books were compiled and officially inaugurated on the first day of Hong Kong Fair 2023 on July 19. The latest development and future promotion plan of the “Publishing 3.0” were also introduced in the concurrent seminar to encourage more Hong Kong publishers and writers to participate in the scheme.

The inauguration ceremony was officiated by Mr. Kevin Yeung Yun-hung, GBS, JP, Secretary from Culture, Sports and Tourism of the HKSAR Government (middle in the photo on the left). Other distinguished guests included the Honourable Kenneth FOK Kai-kong, JP, Member of the Legislative Council (Sport, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication) of the HKSAR (second left); Mr. Victor Tsang Chiu-hok, Head of CreateHK (first left); Dr. Elvin LEE Ka-kui, Chairman of the HKPF and Chairman of the “Publishing 3.0” Organizing Committee (second right); Ir. Dr. Alan LAM Hiu-fung, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the LSCM (first right); Dr. Sharon WONG, Executive Chairlady (Administration) and Mr. Ponch POON, Executive Chairman (Information Technology) of the “Publishing 3.0” Organizing Committee joined Mr. YEUNG in the ceremony.

Mr. Kevin YEUNG Yun-hung remarked that the “Publishing 3.0” could attract more publishers and writers from the Mainland and overseas to collaborate with Hong Kong publishers to produce Chinese and English e-books, as well as audio books in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. This would help develop Hong Kong into a regional hub for copyright trading of e-books and audio books, taking an important step towards industrialization of Hong Kong’s cultural, creative and art works.

Following the inauguration ceremony, a seminar was held to explore technological applications, optimization, transformation, and development trends in the publishing industry. It was hosted by Mr. Ponch POON, Executive Chairman (Information Technology) of the “Publishing 3.0” Organizing Committee, and the panelists included Professor Benny ZEE, Director of the Office of Research and Knowledge Transfer Services of The Chinese University of Hong Kong; Ir. Dr. Alan LAM Hiu –fung Chairman of the Board of Directors of the LSCM; Dr. Elvin LEE and Dr. Sharon WONG.

《2022年版權（修訂）條例》(《修訂條例》)及與《修訂條例》中的安全港制度有關的《實務守則》已於5月1日實施。修訂內容包括為版權擁有人引入科技中立的專有傳播權利，允許他們通過任何電子傳送模式傳播其作品，以加強數碼環境的版權保護。

香港書刊版權授權協會榮幸得到知識產權署支持於4月28日（星期五）舉辦講座，署長黃福來先生蒞臨致辭及署理助理署長（版權）許麗珊女士介紹條例內容和解答同業查詢，大大提高出版界同業對《2022年版權（修訂）條例》的認識和理解。

The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society (HKRRLS)’s office will be relocated effective from 2 May, 2023 (Tuesday) to the address below.  HKRRLS’s telephone number, fax number and website will remain unchanged.

New office address: Unit D, 15/F, E-Trade Plaza, 24 Lee Chung Street, Chai Wan, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2516 6268

Fax: (852) 3105 1468

Website: www.hkrrls.org.hk

The Hong Kong Reprographic Rights Licensing Society

25 April 2023