SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Tony Yeo, Meryl Koh, Rozalynne Asmali and Javier Yeo, Drew & Napier LLC
1.3 Preliminary Injunction Proceedings An application for an interim injunction in pat - ent litigation follows similar principles as those in civil cases. The applicant must show that there is a seri - ous question to be tried, that damages are not an adequate remedy and that the balance of convenience lies in favour of granting an injunc - tion. The procedure for obtaining an interim injunction is set out in Order 13 of the Rules of Court 2021 (ROC 2021). In exchange for obtain - ing an interim injunction, the claimant may be required to undertake to the court to compen - sate the defendant in the event that his/her claim fails and the interim injunction has caused the defendant loss. An application for an interim injunction must be made by summons together with a supporting affidavit. The supporting affidavit should set out the nature of the alleged infringing acts, wheth - er these acts are impending and/or continuing, the strength of the patent proprietor’s case on infringement and the strength of the validity of the patent. It should also provide evidence as to why damages are not an adequate remedy, thereby necessitating an interim injunction. Most applications for interim injunctions are made with notice (ie, inter-partes). If the applica - tion is filed with notice, the alleged infringer will be given the opportunity to file a reply affidavit to set out its response. The court will manage the timelines. The alleged infringer is typically given 2–3 weeks to respond with its reply affida - vit, and the application will be fixed for a hearing 4–6 weeks from the date that the application for interim injunction is filed. The application will be heard before a judge.
Where the case is urgent and where notice to the alleged infringer will significantly prejudice the patent proprietor or nullify any benefit of an interim injunction (if granted), the applica - tion may be made and heard without notice (ie, ex-parte). Even if the patent proprietor intends to file an ex-parte application for injunction, the Supreme Court Practice Directions 2021 requires the patent proprietor to give notice to the other concerned parties prior to the hearing. The notice may be given by way of email, or, in cases of extreme urgency, orally by telephone. Except in cases of extreme urgency or with the permission of the court, the party must give a minimum of two hours’ notice to the other par - ties before the hearing. The notice should inform the other parties of the date, time and place fixed for the hearing of the application and the nature of the relief sought. If possible, a copy of the originating process, the summons without notice or the originating application without notice (if no originating process has been issued yet) and supporting affidavit(s) should be given to each of the other parties in draft form as soon as they are ready to be filed in court. At the hearing of the application without notice, in the event that some or all of the other parties are not present or represented, the applicant’s solicitors should inform the court of: • the attempts that were made to notify the other parties or their solicitors of the making of the application; • what documents were given to the other par - ties or their solicitors and when these docu - ments were given; and • whether the other parties or their solicitors consent to the application being heard with - out their presence. Notice need not be given if the giving of the notice to the other parties, or some of them, would or
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