# Copyright Act 1987 (Singapore)/Part II

Layout 2
PART II INTERPRETATION
Interpretation
7.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
    “adaptation”—
       (a) in relation to a literary work in a non-dramatic form, means a version of the work (whether in its original language or in a different language) in a dramatic form;
       (b) in relation to a literary work in a dramatic form, means a version of the work (whether in its original language or in a different language) in a non-dramatic form;
       (c) in relation to a literary work being a computer program, means a version of the work (whether or not in the language, code or notation in which the work was originally expressed) not being a reproduction of the work;
       (d) in relation to a literary work (whether in a non-dramatic form or dramatic form), means—
          (i) a translation of the work; or
          (ii) a version of the work in which a story or action is conveyed solely or principally by means of pictures; and
       (e) in relation to a musical work, means an arrangement or transcription of the work;
    “archives” means—
       (a) archival material in the custody of the National Archives and Records Centre established by the National Archives and Records Centre Act (Cap. 310); and
       (b) a collection of documents or other material to which this paragraph applies by virtue of subsection (4);
    “artistic work” means—
       (a) a painting, sculpture, drawing, engraving or photograph, whether the work is of artistic quality or not;
       (b) a building or model of a building, whether the building or model is of artistic quality or not; or
       (c) a work of artistic craftsmanship to which neither paragraph (a) nor (b) applies;
    “author”, in relation to a photograph, means the person who took the photograph;
    “broadcast” means broadcast by wireless telegraphy, and
    “broadcasting” shall have a corresponding meaning;
    “building” includes a structure of any kind;
    “cable programme” means a programme which is included in a cable programme service;
    “cable programme service” means a service which consists wholly or mainly in the sending by any person, by means of a telecommunication system (whether run by him or by any other person), of sounds or visual images or both either—
       (a) for reception, otherwise than by wireless telegraphy, at two or more places in Singapore, whether they are so sent for simultaneous reception or at different times in response to requests made by different users of theservice; or
       (b) for reception, by whatever means, at a place in Singapore for the purpose of their being presented there either to members of the public or to any group of persons;
    “cinematograph film” means the aggregate of visual images embodied in an article or thing so as to be capable by the use of that article or thing—
       (a) of being shown as a moving picture; or
       (b) of being embodied in another article or thing by the use of which it can be so shown,
    and includes the aggregate of the sounds embodied in a sound-track associated with such visual images;
    “citizen of Singapore” includes a person who, if he had been alive on 1st November 1957, would have qualified for Singapore citizenship under the Singapore Citizenship Ordinance 1957 (Ord. 35 of 1957);
    “computer program” means an expression, in any language, code or notation, of a set of instructions (whether with or without related information) intended, either directly or after either or both of the following:
       (a) conversion to another language, code or notation;
       (b) reproduction in a different material form, to cause a device having information processing capabilities to perform a particular function;
    “construction” includes erection and “reconstruction” shall have a corresponding meaning;
    “copy”, in relation to a cinematograph film, means any article or thing in which the visual images or sounds comprising the film are embodied;
    “Copyright Act 1911” means the Copyright Act 1911 of the United Kingdom insofar as it has effect as part of the law of Singapore;
    “Copyright Tribunal” or “Tribunal” means the Copyright Tribunal established under Part VII;
    “dramatic work” includes—
       (a) a choreographic show or other dumb show if described in writing in the form in which the show is to be presented; and
       (b) a scenario or script for a cinematograph film,
    but does not include a cinematograph film as distinct from the scenario or script for a cinematograph film;
    “drawing” includes any diagram, map, chart or plan;
    “educational institution” means—
       (a) a school or similar institution at which full-time primary education or full-time secondary education is provided or both full-time primary education and fulltime secondary education are provided;
       (b) a junior college, a university, a college of advanced education or a technical and further education institution;
       (c) an institution that conducts courses of primary, secondary or tertiary education by correspondence or on an external study basis;
       (d) a school of nursing that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies;
       (e) an undertaking within a hospital, being an undertaking that conducts courses of study or training in the provision of medical services, or in the provision of services incidental to the provision of medical services, that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies;
       (f) a teacher education centre that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies;
       (g) an institution that has, as its principal function, the provision of courses of study or training for the purpose of—
          (i) general education;
          (ii) the preparation of persons for a particular occupation or profession; or
          (iii) the continuing education of persons engaged in a particular occupation or profession,
       and that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies;
       (h) an undertaking within a body administering an educational institution of a kind referred to in paragraphs (a) to (g) of this definition, being an undertaking that has as its principal function, or as one of its principal functions, the provision of teacher training for persons engaged as instructors in educational institutions of such a kind, or of two or more such kinds and that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies;
       (i) an institution, or an undertaking within a body administering as educational institution of a kind referred to in paragraphs (a) to (h) of this definition, being an institution or undertaking that has as its principal function, or as one of its principal functions, the furnishing of materials to educational institutions of a kind referred to in paragraphs (a) to (h) of this definition, or to educational institutions of two or more such kinds, for the purpose of assisting those institutions in their teaching purposes and that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be an institution to which this paragraph applies,
    but does not include an institution that is conducted for the profit, direct or indirect, of an individual or individuals;
    “engraving” includes an etching, lithograph, product of photogravure, woodcut, print or similar work, not being a photograph;
    “exclusive licence” means a licence in writing, signed by or on behalf of the owner or prospective owner of copyright, authorising the licensee, to the exclusion of all other persons, to do an act that, by virtue of this Act, the owner of the copyright would, but for the licence, have the exclusive right to do, and “exclusive licensee” shall have a corresponding meaning;
    “future copyright” means copyright to come into existence at a future time or upon the happening of a future event;
    “handicapped reader” means—
       (a) a blind person;
       (b) a person suffering severe impairment of his sight;
       (c) a person unable to hold or manipulate books or to focus or move his eyes; or
       (d) a person suffering from a perceptual handicap;
    “infringing copy”—
       (a) in relation to a work, means a reproduction of the work, or of an adaptation of the work, not being a copy of a cinematograph film of the work or adaptation;
       (b) in relation to a sound recording, means a copy of the sound recording not being a sound-track associated with visual images forming part of a cinematograph film;
       (c) in relation to a cinematograph film, means a copy of the film;
       (d) in relation to a television broadcast, sound broadcast or cable programme, means a copy of a cinematograph film of the broadcast or programme or a record embodying a sound recording of the broadcast or programme; and
       (e) in relation to a published edition of a work, means a reproduction of the edition,
    being an article the making of which constituted an infringement of the copyright in the work, recording, film, broadcast, programme or edition or, in the case of an article imported without the licence of the owner of the copyright, the making of which was carried out without the consent of the owner of the copyright;
    “institution” includes an educational institution;
    “institution assisting handicapped reader” means—
       (a) an educational institution; or
       (b) any other institution, not being an institution conducted for profit, direct or indirect, of an individual or individuals,
    that has as its principal function, or one of its principal functions, the provision of literary or dramatic works to handicapped readers and that is declared by regulations made under this Act to be, for the purposes of this Act, an institution assisting handicapped readers;
    “international organisation to which this Act applies” means an organisation that is declared by the regulations made for the purposes of section 185 to be an international organisation to which this Act applies, and includes—
       (a) an organ of, or office within, an organisation that is so declared; and
       (b) a commission, council or other body established by such an organisation or organ;
    “judicial proceeding” means a proceeding before any court, tribunal or person having by law power to hear, receive and examine evidence on oath;
    “literary work” includes—
       (a) a table, or compilation, expressed in words, figures or symbols (whether or not in a visible form); and
       (b) a computer program or compilation of computer programs;
    “manuscript”, in relation to a work, means an original document embodying the work, whether written by hand or not;
    “minimum royalty”, in relation to a record, means the amounts applicable in respect of the record under section 57(3) and paragraph (b)(i) of section 58 or, if those provisions are affected by regulations made for the purposes of section 59, under those provisions as so affected;
    “photograph” means a product of photography or of a process similar to photography, other than an article or thing in which visual images forming part of a cinematograph film have been embodied, and includes a product of xerography, and photography shall have a corresponding meaning;
    “plate” includes a stereotype, stone, block, mould, matrix, transfer, negative or other similar appliance;
    “programme”, in relation to a cable programme service, includes any item included in that service;
    “prospective owner”—
       (a) in relation to a future copyright that is not the subject of an agreement of a kind referred to in section 195(1), means the person who will be the owner of the copyright on its coming into existence; or
       (b) in relation to a future copyright that is the subject of such an agreement, means the person in whom, by virtue of that section, the copyright will vest on its coming into existence;
    “record” means a disc, tape, paper or other device in which sounds are embodied;
    “regulations” means the regulations made under this Act;
    “royalty”, in relation to a record, means the amount applicable in respect of the record under section 57(1) or, if that provision is affected by regulations made for the purposes of section 59, under that provision so affected;
    “sculpture” includes a cast or model made for purposes of sculpture;
    “Singapore Broadcasting Corporation” means the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation established under the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation Act 1979 (Act 33 of 1979);
    “sound broadcast” means sounds broadcast otherwise than as part of a television broadcast;
    “sound recording” means the aggregate of the sounds embodied in a record;
    “sound-track”, in relation to visual images forming part of a cinematograph film, means—
       (a) the part of any article or thing, being an article or thing in which those visual images are embodied, in which sounds are embodied; or
       (b) a disc, tape or other device in which sounds are embodied and which is made available by the maker of the film for use in conjunction with the article or thing in which those visual images are embodied;
    “sufficient acknowledgement”, in relation to a work, means an acknowledgement identifying the work by its title or other description and, unless the work is anonymous or pseudonymous or the author has previously agreed or directed that an acknowledgement of his name is not to be made, also identifying the author;
    “telecommunication apparatus” means apparatus constructed or adapted for use in transmitting or receiving—
       (a) speech, music and other sounds;
       (b) visual images;
       (c) signals serving for the impartation (whether as between persons and persons, things and things or persons and things) of any matter otherwise than in the form of sounds or visual images; or
       (d) signals serving for the actuation or control of machinery or apparatus,
    which is to be or has been conveyed by means of a telecommunication system;
    “telecommunication system” means a system for the conveyance, through the agency of electric, magnetic, electro-magnetic, electro-chemical or electro-mechanical energy, of—
       (a) speech, music and other sounds;
       (b) visual images;
       (c) signals serving for the impartation (whether as between persons and persons, things and things or persons and things) of any matter otherwise than in the form of sounds or visual images; or
       (d) signals serving for the actuation or control of machinery or apparatus;
    “television broadcast” means visual images broadcast by way of television, together with any sounds broadcast for reception along with those images;
    “wireless telegraphy” means the emitting or receiving, otherwise than over a path that is provided by a material substance, of electro-magnetic energy;
    “wireless telegraphy apparatus” means an appliance or apparatus for the purpose of transmitting or receiving sounds or visual images by means of wireless telegraphy;
    “will” includes a codicil;
    “work” means a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work;
    “work of joint authorship” means a work that has been produced by the collaboration of two or more authors and in which the contribution of each author is not separate from the contribution of the other author or the contributions of other authors;
    “writing” means a mode of representing or reproducing words, figures or symbols in a visible form, and “written” shall have a corresponding meaning.
(2) Without limiting the meaning of the expression “reasonable portion” in this Act, where a literary, dramatic or musical work is contained in a published edition of that work, being an edition of not less than 10 pages, a copy of part of that work, as it appears in that edition, shall be taken to contain only a reasonable portion of that work if the pages that are copied in the edition—
    (a) do not exceed, in the aggregate, 10 per cent of the number of pages in that edition; or
    (b) in a case where the work is divided into chapters—exceed, in the aggregate, 10 per cent of the number of pages in that edition but contain only the whole or part of a single chapter of the work.
(3) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
    (a) a reference to the body administering an educational institution or an institution assisting handicapped readers shall be read as—
       (i) in a case where the institution is a body corporate, a reference to the institution; or
       (ii) in any other case, a reference to the body or person (including the Government) having ultimate responsibility for the administration of the institution;
    (b) a reference to the body administering a library or archives shall be read as a reference to the body (whether incorporated or not), or the person (including the Government), having ultimate responsibility for the administration of the library or archives;
    (c) a reference to a copy of a sound recording shall be read as a reference to a record embodying a sound recording or a substantial part of a sound recording being a record derived directly or indirectly from a record produced upon the making of a sound recording;
    (d) a reference to the copying records of an educational institution or an institution assisting handicapped readers shall be read as a reference to the collection of—
       (i) the relevant records in respect of copies of articles and other works made by or on behalf of the body administering the institution in reliance on section 52; and
       (ii) the relevant records in respect of copies of articles and other works made by or on behalf of the body administering the institution in reliance on section 54,
    other than any such records as have been duly destroyed by, or by authority of, the body administering that institution;
    (e) a reference to the custodian in charge of the copying records of an educational institution or an institution assisting handicapped readers shall be read as a reference to the person having responsibility for the day-to-day administration of the institution;
    (f) a reference to the making, by reprographic reproduction, of a copy of a document, or of the whole or a part of a work, shall be read as a reference to the making of a facsimile copy of the document or the whole or that part of the work, being a facsimile copy of any size or form;
    (g) a reference to a handicapped reader’s copy of a work, or of a part of a work, shall be read as a reference to—
       (i) a record embodying a sound recording of the work, or of the part of the work, being a record that was made by, or on behalf of, the body administering an institution assisting handicapped readers for use by a handicapped reader for the purpose of research or study that he is undertaking or proposes to undertake or for the purpose of instructing himself on any matter; or
       (ii) a Braille version, large-print version or photographic version of the work, or of the part of the work, being a Braille version, large-print version or photographic version, as the case may be, made by, or on behalf of, the body administering the institution assisting handicapped readers for use by a handicapped reader for the purpose of research or study that he is undertaking or proposes to undertake or for the purpose of instructing himself on any matter;
    (h) a reference to a microform copy of the whole or a part of a work shall be read as a reference to a copy of the whole or part of the work produced by miniaturizing the graphic symbols of which the work is composed;
    (i) a reference to a periodical publication shall be read as a reference to an issue of a periodical publication and a reference to articles contained in the same periodical publication shall be read as a reference to articles contained in the same issue of that periodical publication;
    (j) a reference to a record embodying a sound recording shall be read as a reference to—
       (i) a record produced upon the making of a sound recording; or
       (ii) another record embodying the sound recording directly or indirectly derived from a record so produced;
    (k) a reference to a relevant record, or a relevant declaration, in relation to the making, in reliance on a particular section—
       (i) of a copy, or a handicapped reader’s copy, of the whole or a part of a work; or
       (ii) of a copy of a sound recording,
    shall be read as a reference to any record or declaration of a kind referred to in that section that is required by this Act to be made in relation to the making of that copy.
(4) Where—
    (a) a collection of documents or other material of historical significance or public interest that is in the custody of a body, whether corporate or unincorporate, is being maintained by the body for the purpose of conserving and preserving those documents or other material; and
    (b) the body does not maintain and operate the collection for the purpose of deriving a profit,
​paragraph (b) of the definition of “archives” in subsection (1) shall apply to that collection.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, telecommunication apparatus which is situated in Singapore and—
    (a) is connected to but not comprised in a telecommunication system; or
    (b) is connected to and comprised in a telecommunication system which extends beyond Singapore,
shall be regarded as a telecommunication system and any person who controls the apparatus shall be regarded as running the system.
Residence
8.—(1) For the purpose of this Act, a “person resident in Singapore” includes a person who, at the material time, is residing in Singapore by virtue of a valid pass lawfully issued to him under the Immigration Act (Cap. 81) to enter and remain in Singapore for any purpose otherwise than for a temporary purpose.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person who, at a material time, was ordinarily resident in a country (including Singapore) but was temporarily absent from that country shall be treated as if he had been resident in that country at that time.
Acts comprised in copyright
9.—(1) A reference in this Act to an act comprised in the copyright in a work or other subject-matter shall be read as a reference to any act that, under this Act, the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to do.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, the exclusive right to do an act in relation to a work, an adaptation of a work or any other subject-matter includes the exclusive right to authorise a person to do that act in relation to that work, adaptation or other subject-matter.
​Acts done in relation to substantial part of work or other subject-matter deemed to be done in relation to the whole
10.—(1) In this Act, unless the contrary intention appears—
    (a) a reference to the doing of an act in relation to a work or other subject-matter shall be read as including a reference to the doing of that act in relation to a substantial part of the work or other subject-matter; and
    (b) a reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a work shall be read as including a reference to a reproduction, adaptation or copy of a substantial part of the work, as the case may be.
(2) This section shall not affect the interpretation of any reference in sections 27, 185, 196 and 197 to the publication, or absence of publication, of a work.
References to acts done with licence of owner of copyright
11. For the purposes of this Act, an act shall be deemed to have been done with the licence of the owner of a copyright if the doing of the act was authorised by a licence binding the owner of the copyright.
References to partial assignment of copyright
12. A reference in this Act to a partial assignment of copyright shall be read as a reference to an assignment of copyright that is limited in any way.
Libraries established or conducted for profit
13. For the purposes of this Act, a library shall not be taken to be established or conducted for profit by reason only that the library is owned by a person carrying on business for profit.
Names under which work is published
14.—(1) A reference in this Act to the name or names under which a work was published shall be read as a reference to the name or names specified in the work as the name of the author or the names of the authors of the work.
​(2) For the purposes of this Act, a publication of a work under two or more names shall not be taken to be pseudonymous unless all those names are pseudonyms.
Reproduction of works
15.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, reproduction, in the case of a literary, dramatic or musical work, includes a reproduction in the form of a sound recording or cinematograph film of the work, and any record embodying such a recording and any copy of such a film shall be deemed to be a reproduction of the work.
(2) Subsection (1) shall apply in relation to an adaptation of a work in like manner as it applies in relation to a work.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, an artistic work shall be deemed to have been reproduced—
    (a) in the case of a work in a two-dimensional form,—if a version of the work is produced in a three-dimensional form; or
    (b) in the case of a work in a three-dimensional form,—if a version of the work is produced in a two-dimensional form,
and the version of the work so produced shall be deemed to be a reproduction of the work.
(4) Subsection (3) shall have effect subject to Division 9 of Part III.
Provisions relating to the making of a work or other subject-matter
16.—(1) A reference in this Act to the time when, or the period during which, a literary, dramatic or musical work was made shall be read as a reference to the time when, or the period during which, as the case may be, the work was first reduced to writing or to some other material form.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a literary, dramatic or musical work that exists in the form of sounds embodied in an article or thing shall be deemed to have been reduced to a material form and to have been so reduced at the time when those sounds were embodied in that article or thing.
​(3) For the purposes of this Act—
    (a) a sound recording shall be deemed to have been made at the time when the first record embodying the recording was produced; and
    (b) the maker of the sound recording is the person who owned that record at that time.
(4) For the purposes of this Act—
    (a) a reference to the making of a cinematograph film shall be read as a reference to the doing of the things necessary for the production of the first copy of the film; and
    (b) the maker of the cinematograph film is the person by whom the arrangements necessary for the making of the film were undertaken.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, a television broadcast or sound broadcast shall be deemed to have been made by the person by whom, at the time when, and from the place from which—
    (a) the visual images or sounds in question, or both, as the case may be, are broadcast; or
    (b) in the case of a television broadcast or sound broadcast made by the technique known as direct broadcasting by satellite, the visual images or sounds in question, or both, as the case may be, are transmitted to the satellite transponder.
Computer storage
17. References in this Act to the reduction of any work or of an adaptation of a work to a material form, or to the reproduction of any work or of an adaptation of a work in a material form, shall include references to the storage of that work or adaptation in a computer.
Sound recordings and records
18.—(1) For the purposes of this Act, sounds embodied in a soundtrack associated with visual images forming part of a cinematograph film shall be deemed not to be a sound recording.
​(2) A reference in this Act to a record of a work or other subject-matter shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as a reference to a record by means of which the work or other subject-matter can be performed.
References to sounds and visual images embodied in an article
19. For the purposes of this Act, sounds or visual images shall be taken to have been embodied in an article or thing if the article or thing has been so treated in relation to those sounds or visual images that those sounds or visual images are capable, with or without the aid of some other device, of being reproduced from the article or thing.
Provisions relating to broadcasting
20.—(1) A reference in this Act to broadcasting shall, unless the contrary intention appears, be read as a reference to broadcasting whether by way of sound broadcasting or of television.
(2) A reference in this Act to the doing of an act by the reception of a television broadcast or sound broadcast shall be read as a reference to the doing of that act by means of receiving a broadcast—
    (a) from the transmission by which the broadcast is made; or
    (b) from a transmission made otherwise than by way of broadcasting, but simultaneously with the transmission referred to in paragraph (a),
whether the reception of the broadcast is directly from the transmission concerned or from re-transmission made by any person from any place.
(3) Where a record embodying a sound recording or a copy of a cinematograph film is used for the purpose of making a broadcast(referred to in this subsection as the primary broadcast), a person who makes a broadcast (referred to in this subsection as the secondary broadcast) by receiving and simultaneously making a further transmission of—
    (a) the transmission by which the primary broadcast was made; or
    (b) a transmission made otherwise than by way of broadcasting but simultaneously with the transmission referred to in paragraph (a),
shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed not to have used the record or copy for the purpose of making the secondary broadcast.
(4) In this Act—
    (a) a reference to a cinematograph film of a television broadcast shall be read as including a reference to a cinematograph film, or a photograph, of any of the visual images comprised in the broadcast; and
    (b) a reference to a copy of a cinematograph film of a television broadcast shall be read as including a reference to a copy of a cinematograph film, or a reproduction of a photograph, of any of those images.
(5) In this section, “re-transmission” means any re-transmission, whether over paths provided by a material substance or not, and includes a re-transmission made by making use of any article or thing in which the visual images or sounds constituting the broadcast, or both, as the case may be, have been embodied.
Cable programmes
21.—(1) References in this Act to the inclusion of a programme in a cable programme service are references to its inclusion in such a service by the person providing that service.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, no account shall be taken of a cable programme service if, and to the extent that, it is provided for a person providing another such service or for the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation.
(3) Where a service of distributing matter over wires or over other paths provided by a material substance is only incidental to, or part of, a service of transmitting telegraphic or telephonic communications, a subscriber to the last-mentioned service shall be taken, for the purposes of this section, to be a subscriber to the first-mentioned service.
​Performance
22.—(1) Subject to this section, a reference in this Act to performance shall—
    (a) be read as including a reference to any mode of visual or aural presentation, whether the presentation is by the operation of wireless telegraphy apparatus, by the exhibition of a cinematograph film, by the use of a record or by any other means; and
    (b) in relation to a lecture, address, speech or sermon, be read as including a reference to delivery,
and a reference in this Act to performing a work or an adaptation of a work shall have a corresponding meaning.
(2) For the purposes of this Act, broadcasting, or the causing of a work or other subject-matter to be included in a programme in a cable programme service, shall be deemed not to constitute performance or to constitute causing visual images to be seen or sounds to be heard.
(3) Where visual images or sounds are displayed or emitted by any receiving apparatus to which they are conveyed by the transmission of electro-magnetic signals (whether over paths provided by a material substance or not), the operation of any apparatus by which the signals are transmitted, directly or indirectly, to the receiving apparatus shall be deemed not to constitute performance or to constitute causing visual images to be seen or sounds to be heard but, insofar as the display or emission of the images or sounds constitutes a performance, or causes the images to be seen or the sounds to be heard, the performance, or the causing of the images to be seen or sounds to be heard, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be effected by the operation of the receiving apparatus.
(4) Without prejudice to subsections (2) and (3), where a work or an adaptation of a work is performed or visual images are caused to be seen or sounds to be heard by the operation of any apparatus referred to in subsection (3) or of any apparatus for reproducing sounds by the use of a record, being apparatus provided by or with the consent of the occupier of the premises where the apparatus is situated, the occupier of those premises shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be ​the person giving the performance or causing the images to be seen or the sounds to be heard, whether he is the person operating the apparatus or not.
Performance of works or other subject-matter by students, etc
23.—(1) Where a musical work is performed by the students of an educational institution in the premises of the institution or elsewhere in the presence of an audience and is so performed in the course of the activities of the institution, the performance shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed not to be a performance in public.
(2) Where a literary or dramatic work is performed by the students of an educational institution in the premises of the institution or elsewhere in the presence of an audience and is so performed in the course of the activities of the institution, the performance shall, for the purposes of this Act, be deemed not to be a performance in public if the audience is limited to persons who are taking part in the instruction or are otherwise directly connected with the place where the instruction is given.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a person shall be deemed to be directly connected with a place where instruction is given if he is a parent, guardian, brother or sister of a student who receives instruction at that place.
(4) Subsections (2) and (3) shall apply in relation to cinematograph films in like manner as they apply in relation to literary, dramatic and musical works but, in the application of those subsections in relation to such films, any reference to performance shall be read as a reference to the act of causing the sounds concerned to be heard or the visual images concerned to be seen.
Publication
24.—(1) Subject to this section, for the purposes of this Act—
    (a) a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, or an edition of such a work, shall be deemed to have been published if, but only if, reproductions of the work or edition have been supplied (whether by sale or otherwise) to the public;
    (b) a cinematograph film shall be deemed to have been published if, but only if, copies of the film have been sold, let on hire, or offered or exposed for sale or hire, to the public;
    (c) a sound recording shall be deemed to have been published if, but only if, records embodying the recording or a part of the recording have been supplied (whether by sale or otherwise) to the public.
(2) In determining, for the purposes of subsection (1)(a), whether reproductions of a work or edition have been supplied to the public, section 10 shall not apply.
(3) For the purposes of this Act, the performance of a literary, dramatic or musical work, the supplying (whether by sale or otherwise) to the public of records of a literary, dramatic or musical work, the exhibition of an artistic work, the construction of a building or of a model of a building, or the supplying (whether by sale or otherwise) to the public of photographs or engravings of a building, of a model of a building or of a sculpture, shall not constitute publication of the work.
(4) A publication that is merely colourable and is not intended to satisfy the reasonable requirements of the public shall be disregarded for the purposes of this Act except insofar as it may constitute an infringement of copyright or a breach of a duty under Part IX.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, a publication in Singapore or in any other country shall not be treated as being other than the first publication by reason only of an earlier publication elsewhere, if the two publications took place within a period of not more than 30 days.
(6) In determining, for the purposes of any provision of this Act—
    (a) whether a work or other subject-matter has been published;
    (b) whether a publication of a work or other subject-matter was the first publication of the work or other subject-matter; or
    (c) whether a work or other subject-matter was published or otherwise dealt with in the life-time of a person,
​any unauthorised publication or the doing of any other unauthorised act shall be disregarded.
(7) Subject to section 49, a publication or other act shall, for the purposes of subsection (6), be taken to have been unauthorised if, but only if—
    (a) copyright subsisted in the work or other subject-matter and the act concerned was done otherwise than by, or with the licence of, the owner of the copyright; or
    (b) copyright did not subsist in the work or other subject-matter and the act concerned was done otherwise than by, or with the licence of—
       (i) the author or, in the case of a sound recording, cinematograph film or edition of a work, the maker or publisher, as the case may be; or
       (ii) persons lawfully claiming under the author, maker or publisher.
(8) Nothing in subsections (6) and (7) shall affect any provision of this Act relating to the acts comprised in a copyright or to acts constituting infringements of copyrights or any of the provisions of Part IX.
Ownership of copyright for particular purposes
25.—(1) In the case of a copyright of which (whether as a result of a partial assignment or otherwise) different persons are the owners in respect of its application to—
    (a) the doing of different acts or classes of acts; or
    (b) the doing of one or more acts or classes of acts in different countries or at different times,
the owner of the copyright, for any purpose of this Act, shall be deemed to be the person who is the owner of the copyright in respect of its application to the doing of the particular act or class of acts, or to the doing of the particular act or class of acts in the particular country or at the particular time, as the case may be, that is relevant to that purpose, and a reference in this Act to the prospective owner of a ​future copyright of which different persons are the prospective owners shall have a corresponding meaning.
(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), where under any provision of this Act a question arises whether an article of any description has been imported or sold, or otherwise dealt with, without the licence of the owner of any copyright, the owner of the copyright, for the purpose of determining that question, shall be taken to be the person entitled to the copyright in respect of its application to the making of articles of that description in the country into which the article was imported, or, as the case may be, in which it was sold or otherwise dealt with.