Upcoming New Legislation on Court Procedures for Intellectual Property Disputes

23 FEB 2022

23 Feb 2022 Posted in Announcements

  1. In 2015, the Ministry of Law (“MinLaw”) appointed a committee to review the intellectual property (“IP”) dispute resolution system in Singapore to enhance its accessibility, particularly for individuals and SMEs. One key recommendation from the review is to establish an optional track for IP litigation, which contains several features aimed at facilitating quicker and more cost-effective dispute resolution.
  1. In October 2018, MinLaw held a public consultation on reforms to enhance access to our court system for IP disputes, including the implementation details of the optional track for IP litigation. The public consultation paper is accessible here.
  1. The new optional track for IP litigation will be implemented when the new Supreme Court of Judicature (Intellectual Property) Rules 2022 (“new Rules”) comes into force. It will be named the “Simplified Process for Certain Intellectual Property Claims”.
  1. Besides introducing the new optional track, the new Rules will also consolidate the Rules of Court relating to IP rights in a single piece of legislation. In addition, the new Rules will implement obligations to notify the Registrar of Designs, Geographical Indications, Patents and Trade Marks under the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore of certain IP proceedings in the Supreme Court, and harmonise related provisions across the different IP rights.
  1. The new Rules are expected to come into force on 1 April 2022.
  1. To give stakeholders sufficient time to be familiar with, and prepare for, the new Rules, a draft version of the new Rules has been made available here for interim reference. Please note that the draft is subject to changes as it is currently undergoing the vetting process. The finalised new Rules will be published before they come into force on 1 April 2022.
  1. For queries, please contact Lim Ming Wei (LIM_Ming_Wei@mlaw.gov.sg), or Shaun Ng (Shaun_Ng@mlaw.gov.sg).

MINISTRY OF LAW
23 FEBRUARY 2022

Last updated on 23 Feb 2022