WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/N/1/SGP/4 
9 July 2009 
 
 (09-3360) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
SINGAPORE 
 
  The present text reproduces a notification r eceived from the Permanent Mission of Singapore, 
dated 15 April 2009, under Article 63.2 of the Agreement.    
 
_______________ 
 
  1. Please find enclosed Singapor e's Consolidated Notification
1 under Article 63.2 of the TRIPS 
Agreement, which details all amendments to our IP legislation from 2000 to 2008.  
 2. The consolidated notification is divided into the following sections:  (i) copyright;  (ii) patents;  (iii) registered designs;  (iv) tr ademarks;  (v) plant varieties;  (vi) undisclosed 
information;  and (vii) the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Act.  Texts of the 
amended/updated legislation corresponding to each section are also enclosed below. 
  
Subject  Description / List of Amended/Updated Legislation  
 
Consolidated Notification1  
Main document with table of all amendments made to IPR 
legislation 
 (i) Copyright   
• Copyright Act 2006 Revised Edition
2 
 
• Copyright Regulations3 
 
• Copyright (Excluded Works) Order 20054  
 
• Copyright (Excluded Works) Order 20085 
 
                                                      
1 Annex to the present document. 
2 IP/N/1/SGP/C/1/Rev.1. 
3 IP/N/1/SGP/C/5/Rev.1.  
4 IP/N/1/SGP/C/8. 
5 IP/N/1/SGP/C/8/Add.1. IP/N/1/SGP/4 
Page 2  
 
  Subject  Description / List of Amended/Updated Legislation  
 
  
• Copyright Tribunal (Procedure) Regulations6  
 
• Copyright (Border Enforcement) Regulations7  
 
• Copyright (Network Service Provider) Regulations 
20058  
 
• Interpretation (Copyright Act – Fees) Order9   
 
 (ii) Patents  
• Patents Act 2005 Revised Edition
10  
 
• Patents Rules11  
 
• Patents (Patent Agents) Rules 200112 
 
 
(iii) Registered Designs  
• Registered Designs Act 2005 Revised Edition13  
 
• Registered Designs Rules14  
 
• Registered Designs (International Registration) Rules 
200515 
 
 
(iv) Trademarks  
• Trade Marks Act 2005 Revised Edition16  
 
• Trade Marks Rules17  
 
• Trade Marks (International Registration) Rules 200018 
 
• Trade Marks (Border Enforcement Measures) Rules19 
 
                                                      
6 IP/N/1/SGP/C/7/Rev.1.  
7 IP/N/1/SGP/C/9. 
8 IP/N/1/SGP/C/10. 
9 IP/N/1/SGP/C/11. 
10 IP/N/1/SGP/P/1/Rev.1. 
11 IP/N/1/SGP/P/2/Rev.1. 
12 IP/N/1/SGP/P/6. 
13 IP/N/1/SGP/D/1. 
14 IP/N/1/SGP/D/2. 
15 IP/N/1/SGP/D/3. 
16 IP/N/1/SGP/T/1/Rev.1. 
17 IP/N/1/SGP/T/2/Rev.1. 
18 IP/N/1/SGP/T/6. 
19 IP/N/1/SGP/T/7.  IP/N/1/SGP/4 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Subject  Description / List of Amended/Updated Legislation  
 
(v) Plant Varieties  
• Plant Varieties Protection Act 2006 Revised Edition20 
 
• Plant Varieties Protection Rules21 
 
 
(vi) Undisclosed Information  
• Medicines Act 1985 Revised Edition22 
 
 (vii) Intellectual Property Office of 
Singapore Act
23 
  
Legislation covering composition of offences under the 
Patents, Trade Marks and Registered Designs Acts 
 
  
                                                     
 
20 IP/N/1/SGP/P/4. 
21 IP/N/1/SGP/P/5. 
22 IP/N/1/SGP/U/2/Add.1.  
23 IP/N/1/SGP/I/1. IP/N/1/SGP/4 
Page 4  
 
  ANNEX 
 
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROP ERTY LAWS AND REGULATIONS  
 
Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Copyright    
Intellectual Property 
(Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 
2004 
 1 July 2004 Extends the length of copyright protection from 50 to 
70 years. 
Copyright (Amendment) Act 
2004 1 January 2005 (i) Introduces a new communication right to enhance 
the protection of copyright for copyright owners of 
original works, films, television and sound broadcasts, 
cable programmes and performances.  
 (ii) Introduces civil and criminal liability for the 
removal or alteration of rights management 
information. 
 (iii) Expands civil and criminal liability for copyright 
infringements, in particular, wilful copyright 
infringement that are either to a significant extent or 
done for the purpose of obtaining a commercial advantage.   
 (iv) Introduces new provisions against the 
circumvention of technological protection measures 
and provisions governing the limitation of liability for 
network service providers where they cooperate with 
copyright owners by deterring unauthorized use of copyright materials found in their systems or networks.  
 (v) Introduces border measures similar to equivalent 
trade marks provisions, thereby enhancing border 
enforcement against infringing imports, exports and infringing goods in transit that are consigned to a party 
with a local presence.   
 (vi) The fair dealing provision for research and study 
has been expanded to become a generic one (without specifying that only certain purposes are deemed fair 
dealing).  
  IP/N/1/SGP/4 
 Page 5 
 
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Copyright 
(Amendment) 
Regulations 2005 18 April 2005 Updates the regulations  and forms to take into account 
the amendments to the Copyright Act vide Copyright 
(Amendment) Act 2004. 
 
Copyright (Excluded 
Works) Order 2005 18 April 2005 Allows the circumvention of technological access 
control measures to be applied to specified works, 
material or performances unde r certain circumstances.  
 
Copyright Tribunal 
(Procedure) 
(Amendment) Regulations 2005 
 18 April 2005 Updates the regulations  and forms to take into account 
the amendments to the Copyright Act vide Copyright 
(Amendment) Act 2004. 
Copyright (Border Enforcement) 
(Amendment) 
Regulations 2005 
 18 April 2005 Enables border enfo rcement measures to be taken 
against unauthorized performances. 
Copyright (Network Service Provider) Regulations 2005 18 April 2005 Provides prescribed forms whereby network service 
providers may be notified of infringing material on their networks pursuant to relevant provisions in the 
Copyright Act. 
 
Interpretation 
(Copyright Act – Fees) 
Order 18 April 2005 Prescribes the fees payable by a network service 
provider for providing a designated representative to 
IPOS under the Copyright Act.  
 
Copyright 
(Amendment) Act 
2005 15 August 2005 Clarifies that incide ntal reproduction of material, as 
part of a technical process of making and receiving a 
communication, would be an infringement if the communication itself is infringing. 
 
Statutes 
(Miscellaneous 
Amendments) 
(No.2) Act 2008 17 December 
2008 Among other things, the amendment enables the 
Minister to make limited exemptions to the prohibition 
on the circumvention of technological protection 
measures applied to works, other subject matter or performance, and to set out the purpose for which the 
circumvention may be carried out and the person who 
may carry out the act of circumvention. 
 
Copyright (Excluded Works) Order 2008 1 January 2009 Sets out the limited exemptions to the prohibition on 
the circumvention of technological access control 
measures applied to specified works, other subject matter or performances.   
 IP/N/1/SGP/4 
Page 6  
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Patents    
Intellectual Property 
Office of Singapore 
Act 2001 
 1 Apr 2001 
 Provides composition of certain offences under the 
Patents Act. 
 
Patents (Amendment) 
Act 2001 
 
Patent (Amendment) 
Rules 2001 
 17 October 2001 (i) Streamlines patent processes as well as simplifies 
the Date of Filing requirements - Removed the need 
for claims in order to get a Date of Filing.   
 
(ii) Introduces a patent agents regulatory regime. 
   
Patents (Patent 
Agents) Rules 2001 
 2 January 2002 Puts in place procedur al requirements in the regulation 
of patent agents. 
 
Patent (Amendment 
No. 2) Rules 2002 15 August 2002 Allows Singapore patent applicants to rely on the final 
search and examination results of a corresponding 
patent application filed with the Patent Office of the 
Japan, in lieu of filing a search and exam request with IPOS.  
 
Patent (Amendment) 
Rules 2003 1 August 2003 Relaxes the translation requirements for non-English 
priority documents. They need only to be furnished 
when the validity of the claim to priority is relevant to determining whether the invention concerned is patentable and upon request from the Registrar. 
 
Patents (Amendment) 
Act 2004  
 
  
 
  
Patents (Amendment) 
Rules 2004 1 July 2004 (i) Allows for a patent  term to be extended as a result 
of unreasonable administrative delays that had occured 
during the patent application process or whilst 
obtaining marketing approval in the case of a patent 
(which includes any substa nce which is an active 
ingredient of any pharmaceutical product).  
 
(ii) Provides for a default fast track timeline for patent 
applications to proceed to grant quickly, and an 
optional slow track timeline for patent applications to 
proceed at a slower pace. 
 
(iii) The requirement for furnishing priority documents 
was relaxed, and now needs to be furnished only when 
required by the Registrar. 
  IP/N/1/SGP/4 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Patents (Amendment) 
Rules 2005 1 April 2005 (i) Clarifies certain filing procedures.  
 
(ii) Increases the operational efficiency of the Patents 
registry by allowing flexibility to specify (via Practice 
Directions) the types of forms that can be filed online.  
 
Patents (Amendment) 
Rules 2006 2 June 2006 Allows Singapore patent applicants to rely on the final 
search and examination results of a corresponding 
patent application filed with the Patent Office of the 
Republic of Korea, in lieu of filing a search and exam request with IPOS.  
 
Patents (Amendment 
No. 2) Rules 2006 1 August 2006 Provides for PCT appli cations with a date of filing on 
or after 1 July 2004 that enter national phase into 
Singapore, to move into the slow track without having 
to pay the block extension fees. 
 
Patent (Amendment) 
Rules 2007 1 February 2007 Removal of fees for downloading information from 
patent register and publis hed patent specifications. 
 
Statutes 
(Miscellaneous 
Amendments) Act 2007 
  
Patent (Amendment) 
(No. 2) Rules 2007 
 
Patents (Patent 
Agents) (Amendment) 
Rules 2007 1 April 2007 
 
 
  
 
 Amends the Patents Act to: 
 
(i) Align the Singapore patent system with two 
significant changes to the Regulations under the Patent 
Cooperation Treaty (PCT) to which Singapore is a 
party, namely  incorporation by reference and 
restoration of right of priority.  
 
(ii) Clarify or simplify filing requirements and 
procedures.  
 (iii) Clarify the provisions on the entitlement of 
persons to act as patent agents. 
 (iv) Clarify or simplify filing requirements and 
procedures with regards to, inter alia,  priority claims 
and early national phase entry  requirements. 
 (v) Clarify the circumstances in which an individual 
acting in his capacity as employee of his employer can 
perform patent agent work without contravening existing legal requirements. 
 IP/N/1/SGP/4 
Page 8  
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Patents (Amendment) 
Act 2008 1 December 
2008 (i) Implements the WTO General Council decision in 
August 2003 viz Paragraph 6 of the Declaration on the 
TRIPS Agreement and Public Health adopted in November 2001, as well as the 2005 Protocol 
amending the TRIPS Agreement. 
 (ii) Removes the blanket prohibition on certain 
agreements deemed anti-competitive, so that these 
agreements can be dealt with under Singapore’s competition regime. 
 
Registered Designs    
Registered Designs 
Act 
 13 November 
2000 Creates a registration system for the protection of 
industrial designs in Singapore. 
Registered Designs 
Rules 
 13 November 
2000 
 Implements the procedures for, inter alia  the filing of, 
and registration of designs. 
 
Intellectual Property 
Office of Singapore 
Act 2001 
 1 April 2001 Provides composition of certain offences under the 
Registered Designs Act. 
 
Intellectual Property 
(Miscellaneous 
Amendments) Act 2004 
 1 July 2004  
 Amends the Registered Designs Act (Chapter 266 of 
the 2001 Revised Edition) to implement certain 
obligations undertaken by Singapore under the United States-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (USSFTA) 
concluded in 2003.  
 
Registered Designs 
(Amendment) Act 
2004 (i) Enables Singapore to give effect to the Act of the 
Hague Agreement Concerning the International 
Registration of Industrial Designs signed at Geneva on 
2 July 1999 (Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement). 
 
(ii) Modifies certain administrative procedures and 
practices and restates the law on priority and 
Convention applications. 
 
Registered Designs 
(Amendment) Rules 
2004 1 January 2005 
Introduces, inter alia,  procedural enhancements such 
as: 
 
(i) streamlining revocation proceedings with that in the 
Trade Marks Act, and (ii) the procedure for requesting 
an extension of time in any proceedings or under the 
Rules. 
  IP/N/1/SGP/4 
 Page 9 
 
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Registered Designs 
(Amendment) Rules 
2005 
 1 September 
2005 Provides, inter alia , the procedures for electronic on-
line filing of designs. 
Registered Designs (International 
Registration) Rules 2005 
 17 April 2005 Gives effect to Singapore's accession to the Hague 
Agreement for the International Registration of 
Registered Designs. 
Trade marks    
Trade Marks 
(International 
Registration) Rules 
2000 31 October 2000 Gives effect to Singapore's accession to the Protocol 
Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the 
International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol). 
 
Intellectual Property 
Office of Singapore Act 2001 
 1 Apr 2001 
 Provides composition of certain offences under the 
Trade Marks Act. 
 
Trade Marks 
(Amendment) Act 
2004  
 
Trade Marks (Border 
Enforcement 
Measures) (Amendment) Rules 
2004 1 July 2004 (i) Allows for the registration of non-visual marks. 
 
(ii) Improves border measures to allow for more pro-
active enforcement at the border against imports, 
exports out of Singapore and goods in transit that are 
consigned to a party with a local presence.  
 
(iii) Protects well-known marks against any use that 
would indicate a connection between the goods or 
services in question and the proprietor of the well-
known mark.  In addition, where the mark is well-known to the public at large in Singapore, the 
protection is as against any use that would cause 
dilution in an unfair manner of the distinctive character of the well-known mark. 
 
(iv) Removes the adverse c onsequences for failure to 
record the grant of a licence under a protected 
international trade mark. 
 
Trade Marks 
(Amendment) Rules 
2004 1 July 2004 Eases or simplifies various filing requirements and 
procedures involving, inter alia , artwork copies in 
colour, claim to priority, application to change name of 
proprietor, etc.     
Trade Marks (International 
Registration) 
(Amendment) Rules 2004 1 July 2004 Clarifies certain procedural issues such as amendments 
of ambiguous specifications in international 
registration designating Singapore for protection. IP/N/1/SGP/4 
Page 10  
 
  Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Statutes 
(Miscellaneous 
Amendments) (No. 2) Act 2005 1 January 2006 Amends the Trade Marks Act to fine-tune certain 
registration procedures.  In particular, it clarifies when 
an application for registration of trade marks, and applications for collective and certification marks will 
be treated as withdrawn by the Registrar. 
 
Trade Marks 
(Amendment) Rules 
2005 1 January 2006 Clarifies or fine-tun es certain procedural requirements 
pertaining to, inter alia , service of documents, notices 
of renewal of trade marks, restoration of withdrawn 
applications, etc. 
 
Trade Marks 
(Amendment) Act 
2007 
Trade Marks 
(Amendment) Rules 
2007 
 
Trade Marks 
(International 
Registration) 
(Amendment) Rules 
2007 2 July 2007 (i) Allows for multi-class applications and division of 
applications under the Singapore trade marks regime.  
 (ii) Aligns Singapore trademark procedures with the 
provisions in the Singapore Treaty on the Law of 
Trademarks (STLT). 
Plant Varieties    
Plant Varieties 
Protection Act 1 July 2004 Provides for protection for new plant varieties, in 
accordance to the principles under UPOV. 
 
Plant Varieties 
Protection Rules 
 1 July 2004 Provides, inter alia , the procedures for registration of 
new plant varieties. 
 
Statutes 
(Miscellaneous 
Amendments) Act 
2007 (No. 2 of 2007) 
 1 February 2007 Aligns the Plant Varieties Protection Act with 
corresponding sections in the Trade Marks, Patents, 
and Registered Designs Acts  regarding composition of 
offences. 
 
 
 
 
    
 
     IP/N/1/SGP/4 
 Page 11 
 
 
   
  
Name of Legislation Date of entry 
into force Brief description of key Amendments/Regulatory 
developments 
Undisclosed 
Information   
Medicines 
(Amendment) Act 
2004 1 July 2004 Provides, inter alia , that the authority is prohibited, for 
5 years from the date of grant  of the product licence for 
a medicinal product, from granting a product licence to 
another person for a similar product on the basis of the 1st licence, unless the holder of that 1st licence 
consents. 
 
 
 
Consolidated and finalized on 31 March 2009  
 Primary legislation listed above (i.e. Revised  Editions of Acts) may be publicly accessed at 
http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/   
  
__________