SINGAPORE’S CHANGING IP LAWS
AND HOW YOU’D BE AFFECTED

From recent newspaper articles, you may have read about the changing Intellectual Property (“IP”) laws in Singapore. Being the key person in your company, you may be impacted by these changes.

CHANGING IP LAWS

In recent years, the Singapore government recognises that for the country’s economy to continue growing, emphasis has to be placed on driving knowledge-intensive activities here. As such, the government’s continually seeking ways to strengthen Singapore’s IP laws to support the country’s transition into a pro-IP economy.

Furthermore, there’re also terms (related to the strengthening of IP laws) that Singapore has to adhere to when she signed the Free Trade Agreement with the U.S. on 6 May 2003.

For your information, the Singapore parliament has passed the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2004 on 16 Nov 2004, and the new changes in IP laws should come into effect by 1 Jan 2005. If you wish to find out more about the changes in the new IP laws, you may visit http://www.newiplaws.org.sg.

Under the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2004, provisions to make the use of pirated software a criminal offence would be put in place. Examples of software piracy include under-licensing and the use of counterfeit software. This means directors, managers, and responsible officers of a company will be prosecuted under the new IP laws, and may face fines and/or a jail term if found guilty of flouting the law.

So what might a recalcitrant face under the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2004?

1. Wilful infringements of copyrights on a commercial scale would be punishable by fine of up to S$20,000 and/or imprisonment of up to six months jail.

2. For subsequent offences, S$50,000 and/or three years jail.

I.T. ASSET MANAGEMENT TOOL

Thus from now on, applying a systematic approach to managing your company’s software assets is essential – and Software Exchange can help.

Whichever number of computers there are in your company, we could recommend you the right tool to use to help you monitor hardware and software products that are installed on your computers with or without your authorisation. What’s more, using an asset management tool would help you with keeping track of your software inventory so that your company would neither be under- nor over-licensed.

Therefore, what you’re really getting out of a tool like this is a peace of mind and cost savings.

If you wish to have an idea of the process you’d need to put in place to manage your I.T. assets, you may email your request to Han Sing at hansing@softwareexchange.com.sg. We’d then dedicate some time to go through the procedures with you.

IPOS SOFTWARE LICENSING PROGRAMME

From now till 31 Dec 2004, five software vendors – Adobe, Autodesk, Macromedia, Microsoft, and Symantec – would be participating in the IPOS Software Licensing Programme. Discounts of up to 40% are being offered to small and medium enterprises in Singapore by these vendors. See appendix for promotion details.

Incidentally, Software Exchange is an authorised reseller of all five brand names. As such, we’re well-poised to offer you in-depth knowledge on the right licensing types to get and design a package that would provide you the biggest overall savings based on your current software requirements.

With such attractive discounts being offered, you may wish to take advantage of this opportunity to either top-up your anticipated shortfall in software licenses as a result of increasing head count or upgrade your software.

What’s more, if your potential software investment is substantial and you’re wondering how you may manage your cash flow better, we could link you up with ORIX Capital Limited that provides leasing for software acquisitions.

If you wish to better understand the basics of software licensing and terminology used by most software vendors, go to http://www.softwareexchange.com.sg/store/licensing.cfm. The information in there mayn’t be exhaustive, but it should get you started.

Finally, Singapore’s IP laws will change from 1 Jan 2005 - and we have to get ourselves prepared. There’re tools to help you manage your I.T. assets, and promotions to lower your cost of software investment. So, do make the best use of them.

Let us know how we may help. Give me a call at tel. no. 6883 1411 or email me at kirby@softwareexchange.com.sg regarding any related issues you might have.

Thanks.

Yours faithfully

 

Poh Kirby
Director, Sales & Marketing
Software Exchange (Singapore) Pte Ltd