Intellectual Property (IP), like other tangible properties, may be used without the owner's consent. In such cases of infringement, you may wish to enforce your IP rights.  

What Can You Do When Your Rights Are Infringed?

• seeking relief in the form of an injunction to stop the infringing action
  
  
• demanding profits gained by the infringing party at his expense
  
  
• seeking damages for loss suffered

• The infringing party will have certain civil and/or criminal liabilities when infringement of your IP is proved.

When Your Patent Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when an invention of a patented product or process is used without the consent of the patent owner while the patent is in force.

• The patent owner can take civil legal action.

• If you do not have a patent or have not applied for one, you should not claim that you have one.

• It is a criminal offence to make such false claims regarding your patent or patent rights.

When Your Trade Mark Is Infringed...

• There is infringement when there is a use of registered trade mark in the course of trade without the consent of the trade mark owner.

• Once infringement is established, the owner can enforce his rights as conferred by the Trade Mark Act.

• When the infringement involves the use of a counterfeit trade mark in relation to goods and services, the owner of the registered trade mark has an additional alternative remedy of statutory damages.

False Claims

• It is a criminal offence to falsely represent a trade mark as registered when it is not registered or if it is pending registration.

• It is also a criminal offence to make a false representation as to the goods and services for which a trade mark is registered.

When Your Registered Design Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when there is a clear use of a registered design without the consent of its registered owner.

• Once a registered owner discovers that his design has been infringed (e.g. when he sees unauthorised reproductions of his design on the shelves), he can enforce his rights as conferred by the Registered Designs Act.

False Claims

• It is a criminal offence to falsely represent a design as registered when it is not registered or if it is pending registration.

When Your Copyright Is Infringed...

• Infringement occurs when one does something that only the copyright owner has the exclusive right to do or when one engages in an unauthorised use.

• For example, you photocopy a book (copyrighted material) without prior permission of the copyright owner.

• Infringement can give rise to both civil and criminal liabilities depending on the circumstances of infringement.

• Once a copyright owner discovers that his copyright has been infringed, he can enforce his rights as conferred by the Copyright Act.

Substantial Amount

• It is important to note that it is not necessary to have reproduced the entire copyright work before it is considered as an infringement. It is an infringement as long as a substantial amount has been copied.

• In a dispute, a substantial amount is not measured merely in terms of the quantity that has been copied.

• The Court also takes into account the nature of the portion that has been copied or reproduced.

• If the portion copied constitutes the primary part or essence of the copyright material, the Court may construe that a substantial amount has been copied.

Other Infringing Acts

• It is also an infringement to:
  
  
  • import infringing copies for sale or distribution
    
    
  • distribute infringing copies for trade
    
    
  • distribute infringing copies to an extent that will prejudice the owner of copyright
    
    
  • make false claims on the authorship of a work

Licensing Disputes

• In the event of licensing disputes between copyright owners and users of copyright materials, the Copyright Tribunal may be contacted to resolve the dispute.

Other Copyright Provisions

• Border Enforcement Measures
• Exceptions to Copyright Infringement
• Circumvention of Technological Measures
• Rights Management Information (RMI) Provisions
• Copyright and the Internet
• Liability of Network Service Providers (NSPs)
• Copyright and Computer Programs
• Copyright and Registered Designs
• Special Provisions for Educational Institutions

The Intellectual Property Rights Branch Of The Police (IPRB)

• IPRB is the Government agency responsible for criminal enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights in Singapore.

• It is a specialized branch of the Police under the Criminal Investigation Department.

• In general, copyright criminal offences are handled by the IPRB. Blatant piracy and syndicated cases are given the highest priority.

• The IPRB may seize goods that infringe trade mark rights and copyright. The IPRB follows up with investigation and prosecution.

• At the borders, IPRB is assisted by the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority in locating the infringing goods and in facilitating enforcement and investigation. This arrangement extends beyond inland and border enforcement, and applies to goods that are trans-shipped (imported and re-exported) through Singapore's territorial jurisdiction.