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Although parallel imports are permitted under Singaporean law, there are ways in which the courts can be used to restrict them, write Mr Tan Bok Hoay and Mr Simon Seow, Donaldson & Burkinshaw
Parallel import goods are legitimately manufactured or genuine goods which are imported through channels other than those authorized by the owner of the intellectual property rights. Consistent with its free trade policy, the Singapore government has stated that it is not against parallel imports. However, some uncertainties still remain in different fields of intellectual property.
Copyright
There would be infringement if, inter alia, the making of an article was carried out without the consent of the copyright owner. The Copyright Act was recently amended to clarify the definition of copyright owner. In moving the amendment bill, the Singapore Government declared that "all legitimate reproductions of copyright products may in future be imported into Singapore regardless of who the copyright owner was."
The consent that is now required would be that of the copyright owner in the country where the article was made. Where there is no copyright owner in the country of manufacture, then only the consent of the Singapore copyright owner would be required (this is to prevent the import of counterfeit articles manufactured in countries without copyright protection).
What then if the copyright owner in the country of manufacture gave only a limited consent (eg, by restricting the distribution to certain countries)? The amendments provide that "the making of the article shall be deemed to have been carried out with the consent of that [copyright] owner if, after disregarding all conditions as to sale, distribution or other dealings in the article after...