SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Tony Yeo, Meryl Koh, Rozalynne Asmali and Javier Yeo, Drew & Napier LLC
6. Other IP Rights 6.1 Trade Marks
• where the claimant is a nominal claimant who is suing for the benefit of some other person and that there is reason to believe that they will be unable to pay the costs of the defendant if ordered to do so; or • where the claimant has not stated or has incor ‑ rectly stated the claimant’s address in the originat ‑ ing claim or originating application, or the claimant changed the claimant’s address during the course of the proceedings so as to evade the conse ‑ quences of the litigation. Along with the grounds above, the court will still have regard to all the circumstances of the case and order the SFC if it thinks it just to do so. The process of obtaining SFC is started by the defendant writing to the claimant requesting for security to be provided. If the claimant refuses, the defendant will have to make a formal application to court by way of sum ‑ mons supported by affidavit. This affidavit will con ‑ tain the defendant’s reasons for wanting security to be provided and the amount of security sought. If the court grants an application for SFC, the claimant may provide security by way of depositing the sum of mon ‑ ies into an account held by the Singapore Court, by way of a bank guarantee, or by way of a solicitor’s undertaking. For claims under the Simplified Process, the total costs recoverable is subject to an overall cap of SGD50,000 for the trial, and an overall cap of SGD25,000 for any bifurcated assessment of monetary relief. In line with the spirit of streamlining intellectual property dispute resolution, the court will also give directions on all matters that are necessary for the dispute to proceed expeditiously and where practicable, will give direc ‑ tions to ensure that the trial is completed within two days. 5.6 Relevance of Claimant/Plaintiff Conduct to Relief See 5.5 Legal Costs .
A health product is counterfeit if it is presented in such a manner as to resemble or pass off as a registered health product when in fact it is not, or it is presented with any false information as to its manufacturer or origin (Section 2 (2)(b), HPA). The principal regulatory agency tackling the problem of counterfeiting in the pharmaceutical sector in Sin ‑ gapore is the HSA. All health products (which includes Western medi ‑ cines – also known as therapeutic products) must be granted a licence by the HSA before they are allowed to be marketed and sold in Singapore. This better ena ‑ bles the HSA to detect counterfeit, adulterated and/or illegal health products at the first instance. The manufacture, import or supply of a counterfeit health product in Singapore is an offence under the HPA and is punishable by a fine not exceeding SGD100,000 and/or imprisonment for up to three years. In this regard, the HSA has wide powers of enforce ‑ ment, including the power to search premises that are suspected to be used for or in connection with the manufacture, import or supply of counterfeit health products. The HSA can also seize any health products that are suspected to be counterfeit. In addition, the HSA continually monitors the safety, integrity and quality of health products, acting on its own independent surveillance reports as well as in response to reports or complaints from the public. It also maintains a publicly accessible list of illegal health products in Singapore that have been detected and tested. 6.2 Copyright Copyright disputes in the life sciences and pharma sector are not common. 6.3 Trade Secrets Trade secrets disputes in the life sciences and phar ‑ ma sector are not common, save for situations where
231 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook