Following the enactment of the Prevention of Copyright Piracy Ordinance in May 1998, optical discmanufacturers are required to take out a licence from the Commissioner of Customs and Excise.
Iran, which dreamt up the idea, has a big car market with several manufacturers building vehicles under licence from foreign firms such as Peugeot and Renault.
The cost of developing new drugs, and the loss of income as cheaper foreign manufacturers have snapped up licence opportunities, has forced a huge cut-back in researchers.