5 February 2021
MinLaw and IPOS Seek Feedback on Draft Copyright Bill
1. The Ministry of Law (MinLaw) and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) today launched a public consultation that will run for two months, ending on 1 April 2021, to seek feedback on the draft Copyright Bill.
2. The draft Bill will seek to repeal and replace the current Copyright Act (Cap.60). The draft Bill:
a. Introduces new rights, exceptions and remedies (detailed in the Annex), to better address how copyrighted works are produced and used today;
b. Enhances the clarity and accessibility of the copyright regime, by:
i. Restructuring the Copyright Act into themes and consolidating exceptions into a single Part; and
ii. Simplifying the language in the legislation and illustrations to show how provisions should be applied in particular situations.
3. The public consultation will come in two parts, both ending on 1 April 2021:
a. Part 1 (starting on 5 February) seeks views on whether the draft Bill will appropriately implement recommendations previously raised for public consultation in 2016 and published in a report in 2019, as well as whether the revised language in the draft Bill makes the legislation more easily understood.
b. Part 2 (to be released on 22 February) will seek views on legislative provisions relating to the regulation of collective management organisations, which were separately raised for public consultations in 2017 and 2020.
4. MinLaw and IPOS invite members of the public, particularly legal practitioners, academics, content creators, content users, performers and interested institutions, to provide their feedback, particularly on the following aspects of the draft Bill:
a. Legal clarity and/or workability
b. Operational and implementation issues
c. Language and structure
ay be viewed online at https://go.gov.sg/copyright-consult2021.
6. Members of the public are invited to submit their views by 1 April 2021. They may submit feedback via the online forms accessible at the link above or email to MLAW_Consultation@mlaw.gov.sg with the subject or header “Feedback on Copyright Bill Consultation Paper”.
MINISTRY OF LAW
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE OF SINGAPORE
Annex – New Rights, Exceptions and Remedies in Draft Copyright Bill
The draft Copyright Bill updates Singapore’s copyright regime to better address how copyrighted works are produced and used today. New rights, exceptions and remedies have been introduced, to benefit all stakeholders.
a. Creators can look forward to new rights, such as:
i. a right for creators and performers to be identified whenever their works or performances are used publicly; and
ii. default ownership of commissioned photographs, portraits, engravings, sound recordings and films unless otherwise provided for under contract.
b. Users can look forward to expanded rights of use, such as:
i. a specific right to use works for the purpose of computational data analysis, including uses relating to text and data mining, data analytics, and machine learning;
ii. a new right for educators and students to use online materials for educational purposes, whether for face-to-face sessions or online learning; and
iii. expanded rights for certain uses of works by galleries, libraries, archives and museums to facilitate their work, such as for the purposes of an exhibition, and preservation and cataloguing of works.
c. Intermediaries can benefit from enhanced remedies, such as: i. New civil and criminal liabilities for commercial dealings in illicit TV set-top boxes
