SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Yvonne Tang, Lim Siau Wen and Ruby Tham, Drew & Napier LLC
1. Trade Mark and Copyright Law 1.1 Governing Law Governing Laws Statutes and the common law govern trade marks and copyright in Singapore. The respec - tive primary legislation is the Trade Marks Act 1998 (the “Trade Marks Act”) and the Copyright Act 2021 (the “Copyright Act”). Common Law Trade Marks/Copyright Common law trade marks are recognised. Common law copyright is generally not recog - nised. 1.2 Conventions and Treaties/Rights of Foreign IP Holders Singapore is a member of the following main treaties/conventions relating to trade mark/ copyright. They are not self-executing: • the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; • the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works; • the Brussels Convention Relating to the Distribution of Programme-Carrying Signals Transmitted by Satellite; • the Nice Agreement Concerning the Interna - tional Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks; • the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trade - marks; • the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partner - ship Agreement; • the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; • the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agree - ment Concerning the International Registra - tion of Marks; • the WIPO Copyright Treaty; and
• the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. Trade Marks The Trade Marks Act and its subsidiary legisla - tion, particularly the Trade Marks (International Registration) Rules, govern the rights of foreign trade mark holders in Singapore. Copyright The Copyright Act and its subsidiary legislation, particularly the Copyright Regulations 2021, govern the rights of foreign copyright holders in Singapore. 2. Trade Mark Ownership, Protection and Rights 2.1 Types of Trade Marks Types of Trade Marks/Source Identifiers The potential types of trade marks include trade marks, service marks, collective marks, certifi - cation marks, geographical indications, signs (including a letter, word, foreign word, name, sur - name, slogan, signature, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, colour, aspect of packaging or any combination thereof), images, shapes, get-ups (akin to trade dress), moving signs, smells, sounds, gestures, holograms, buildings and grilles. As with the potential types of trade marks listed above, an industrial design is entitled to trade mark protection, so long as it is a sign capable of being represented graphically and capable of distinguishing goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade by a person from goods or services so dealt with or provided by any other person.
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