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Websites which blatantly infringe copyright material may soon be blocked in Singapore. The Law Ministry has proposed amendments to the Copyright Act aimed at helping rights holders protect themselves more effectively through judicial means.
SINGAPORE: Websites which blatantly infringe copyright material may soon be blocked in Singapore.
The Law Ministry has proposed amendments to the Copyright Act aimed at helping rights holders protect themselves more effectively through judicial means.
A public consultation on the proposed new laws is underway till April 21.
Under current laws, rights holders can issue a take-down notice to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to request that it removes infringing copyright material.
If ISPs don't respond, rights holders will need to sue them, however the process is often too complicated as disputes of facts will arise during a trial.
No ISP has ever been sued in Singapore for copyright infringement.
The proposed changes to the law target the websites and not the ISPs.
The onus is on the rights holders to apply to the courts for injunctions to prevent access to "egregious" sites. There will be a non-exhaustive list to help define what constitutes as "egregious".
The list includes whether the site's primary purpose is to facilitate copyright infringement or whether the site contains guides on circumventing blocking measures.
In coming up with the proposal, the Law Ministry studied other jurisdictions like the UK, Malaysia, Spain and France.
Some countries like Spain and Malaysia take an administrative approach where orders for site blocking come from a government body.
France on the other hand, targets internet users with a "graduated response system".
Internet users are notified of their infringing activity by their ISP and can be penalised if they continue with their actions despite repeat notifications.
The Law Ministry said the government considered those possible measures but decided against them because they are too intrusive on internet users.
Those interested can review the draft bill and submit feedback here.
SINGAPORE: Websites which blatantly infringe copyright material may soon be blocked in Singapore.
The Law Ministry has proposed amendments to the Copyright Act aimed at helping rights holders protect themselves more effectively through judicial means.
A public consultation on the proposed new laws is underway till April 21.
Under current laws, rights holders can issue a take-down notice to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) to request that it removes infringing copyright material.
If ISPs don't respond, rights holders will need to sue them, however the process is often too complicated as disputes of facts will arise during a trial.
No ISP has ever been sued in Singapore for copyright infringement.
The proposed changes to the law target the websites and not the ISPs.
The onus is on the rights holders to apply to the courts for injunctions to prevent access to "egregious" sites. There will be a non-exhaustive list to help define what constitutes as "egregious".
The list includes whether the site's primary purpose is to facilitate copyright infringement or whether the site contains guides on circumventing blocking measures.
In coming up with the proposal, the Law Ministry studied other jurisdictions like the UK, Malaysia, Spain and France.
Some countries like Spain and Malaysia take an administrative approach where orders for site blocking come from a government body.
France on the other hand, targets internet users with a "graduated response system".
Internet users are notified of their infringing activity by their ISP and can be penalised if they continue with their actions despite repeat notifications.
The Law Ministry said the government considered those possible measures but decided against them because they are too intrusive on internet users.
Those interested can review the draft bill and submit feedback here.
