Does P2P have a future? Perspectives from Singapore

• Main Authors: SAW, Cheng Lim, KOH, Winston T. H.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2005
• Subjects: Asian Studies; Intellectual Property Law
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/754; http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijlit/eam005
• Institution: Singapore Management University

On 16 November 2004, the Singapore Parliament passed the Copyright (Amendment) Act (Act 52 of 2004) to amend the Copyright Act 1987 (the 'Act').1 These amendments, being the most extensive since the Act was last revised in 1999 and passed pursuant to Singapore’s obligations under the IP Chapter of the United States – Singapore Free Trade Agreement ('USSFTA'), came into force in Singapore on 1 January 2005. Not long before this, Parliament had already amended the Act by increasing the term of protection for authors' works to life plus 70 years (up from 50 years) and for sound recordings, cinematograph films and live performances for a further 20 years (also up from 50 years). However, a second wave of legislative amendments was necessary to update our copyright laws in light of rapid advancements in computer, digital and Internet technologies as well as to align them further with those of the US (in particular). It therefore comes as no surprise that we now discover in Singapore's newly-amended copyright legislation the introduction of, inter alia, anti-circumvention provisions (modelled on those in the US Digital Millennium Copyright Act 1998), stronger protection for Rights Management Information, a new exclusive right of communication to the public, a generic fair dealing defence as well as a more detailed 'safe harbour' regime for network service providers.