MinLaw and IPOS seek feedback on draft Copyright Bill

5 February 2021

Singapore's Ministry of Law and Intellectual Property Office launch a two-month public consultation on the draft Copyright Bill, which aims to modernise and clarify copyright laws, introducing new rights and exceptions to address current content creation and usage practices.

Singapore, 5 February 2021 - 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, 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

5. The full public consultation paper may 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

5 FEBRUARY 2021

For media queries, please contact:

Abigail See
Abigail_See@mlaw.gov.sg

Gracie Xiang
Gracie_Xiang@ipos.gov.sg