Law of Confidence
Quality of Confidence |
Relation of Confidence |
Unauthorised use of information |
Information must NOT be trivia (Must be confidential) |
Obligation of confidence? |
'public interest' defence |
Ideas can be protected as long as it is sufficiently developed to be saleable and is able to be realised |
Government Secrets, Trade Secrets, Personal Information, Artistic & Literary information |
Anton Pillar order - order made against defendant to allow a plaintiff to enter the defendant premises and remove documents or evidence which are essential to the legal proceedings
Registered Designs
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What is a design? Features of shape, configuration, pattern or ornament applied to anm article by industrial process
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What can be registered? Any design which is new (Novel)
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What cannot be registered? 'Must fit' / 'Must Match' / Computer program
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Defences? If the person was not aware of the registered design, then no account of profits/ damages
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Trademark
Elements |
Absolute Grounds for Refusal |
Relative Grounds for refusal |
Capable of being represented graphically |
Not distinctive |
Trademark is identical to competitor's earlier trademark & deal in the same course of trade |
capable of distinguishing goods and services with or provided in the course of trade |
Consists exclusively of signs of kind,quality,intended purpose, vcalue, geographical origin, time of production, characteristics |
Trademark is identical to competitor's current one |
From goods and services provided by any other person |
Consists exclusively of signs or indications which are customary in current language or trade |
Trademark conflicts with well known ones (doesnt have to be in same course of trade but the well known one has to prove that there is confusion in the public) |
Honest concurrent use - mark will not be refused on grounds of S8 if applicant is honest concurrent user.
Both marks have been in use for a similar period of time, no intention of part of concurrent user to take unfair advantage of the applicant mark
Law of Passing Off
Elements |
Defences |
Goodwill (within country) |
No damage/ likelihood of damage |
Defendant made a misrep |
Public havent heard of plaintiff |
Misrep is made in the same course of trade |
Public havent head of Defendant |
Misrep must/ is likely to cause damage |
Public is not confused between the 2 products |
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Patents
Requirements? |
Novelty (new, not made public) |
Inventive Step (cannot be obvious) - Test is whether a person skilled in he art would say that the invention is obvious |
Industrial Application (can be industrially manufactured & used) |
For the patent application, there must be clear and complete disclosure
Patent Infringement
What constitutes patent infringement |
What are the Defences? |
Disposing of/ use/ import/ keeping produt |
Done privately & not for commercial purposes |
Using/offering process for use in SG when he knows that the use without the consent would be an infringement |
Experimental purpose |
Disposing of/ use/ import/ keeping of any product obtained directly by means of patented process |
For a medicine in accordance with a prescription |
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consists of use on aircraft, hovercraft or vehicle |
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Prior use defence (need in good faith) |
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Copyright
What can be Copyrighted? |
Connecting factors for protection in SG |
Literary Work |
Work is first published in SG |
Dramatic Work |
Author is Singaporean/ ordinarily resident |
Artistic Work |
Musical Work |
Copyright Infringement
Primary |
Secondary |
Fair Dealing defence |
eg. making an unauthorised copy of a book |
eg. selling an unautorised copy of a book |
Research and study |
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Criticism and review |
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Reporting current events |
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