SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Yvonne Tang, Lim Siau Wen and Ruby Tham, Drew & Napier LLC
the provisions are Regulations 17 to 21 of the Copyright Regulations 2021. Termination The Copyright Act provides for the duration of copyright, and does not specify means of “ter - mination” of copyright. 3.6 Collective Rights Management Systems The Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) operating in Singapore include those representing composers and lyricists, major record labels, authors and book publishers, Hol - lywood studios, and independent, special inter - est and local producers. The Copyright Act and its subsidiary legislation, particularly the Copyright (Collective Manage - ment Organisations) Regulations 2023, govern these systems. According to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, a CMO’s role involves the collective management of content usage, encompassing copyright works and pro - tected performances, contributed by various creators such as authors, makers, publishers or performers who are unrelated to the CMO. This management is carried out either as the rights- owner or with the rights-owner’s authority, for the collective benefit of those creators or rights- owners. Furthermore, a CMO is responsible for offering one or more tariff schemes to the public in Singapore. Further, a CMO is appointed by rights-owners to manage the rights in their copyright works or protected performances. A CMO administers the licensing of rights, collection of royalties and enforcement of rights on behalf of these rights- owners. A CMO will then monitor the use of the works and performances, and will collect licence fees on behalf of the rights owners. The Regula -
tions do not control the fees/tariff schemes set by a CMO. A CMO is free to make its own poli - cies, as long as they are not inconsistent with the class licence conditions. 3.7 Copyright Registration There is no copyright registration regime in Sin - gapore. 3.8 Copyright Application Requirements There is no copyright registration regime in Sin - gapore. 3.9 Refusal of Registration There is no copyright registration regime in Sin - gapore. 3.10 Related Rights A copyright can also be protected by trade mark or related rights. As it stands, the scope of copy - right laws is generally not limited by the trade marks laws. 4. Trade Mark Registrations and Applications 4.1 Trade Mark Registration When a trader conducts business under their trade mark in Singapore, it gives rise to good - will attaching to their business. This goodwill is protected by the common law tort of passing off. Concurrently, the registration of a trade mark under the Trade Marks Act confers upon the registered proprietor the exclusive rights to use that mark and to obtain relief for infringement. There is no requirement for the proprietor to have used their mark. To obtain registration, the mark must be free from absolute and relative grounds for refusal of registration. The standards for registration are the same for different types of
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