Regulation And Licensing Of Collective Management Organisations - Public Consultation On Proposed Draft Regulations

• Published date: 17 November 2022
• Subject Matter: Intellectual Property, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Copyright, Licensing & Syndication, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution
• Law Firm: Rajah & Tann
• Author: Mr Kok Keng Lau and Daniel Quek

Introduction

The Ministry of Law ("MinLaw") and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ("IPOS") are conducting a Public Consultation on the proposed draft Copyright (Collective Management Organisations) Regulations 2023 ("Regulations"). The Public Consultation will be held from 7 November 2022 to 4 December 2022.

The Public Consultation is part of an ongoing review of Singapore's copyright regime, and seeks to introduce a class licensing scheme for collective management organisations ("CMOs"). MinLaw and IPOS had earlier conducted a consultation in 2020 ("2020 Consultation") on the collective rights management ecosystem. For more information on the 2020 Consultation, please see our earlier Legal Update here.

The draft Regulations implement the proposals made at the 2020 Consultation and take in the feedback received on those proposals. While CMOs have thus far not been subject to substantive regulation, the draft Regulations set out a series of licence conditions which CMOs must comply with, which address issues relating to members' rights and dispute resolution between the CMO and its members and users. The Public Consultation thus involves the rights and interests of members and users, as well as the obligations of CMOs.

This Update highlights the key elements of the draft Regulations in this Public Consultation.

CMO Licensing Regime

As part of the reform of Singapore's copyright regime, MinLaw and IPOS seek to address the lack of regulation and independent oversight over the governance and management of CMOs. This is to be achieved through the introduction of a licensing scheme that sets out certain key standards for CMOs.

The legislation establishing the statutory framework for the regulation of CMOs is contained in Part 9 of the Copyright Act 2021 (which is not yet in force). Under this mandatory class licensing scheme, all CMOs will be automatically licensed and must comply with all applicable licence conditions. CMOs and their officers who breach the licence conditions may be subject to regulatory action by IPOS. Part 9 and the Regulations will come into force at the same time.

In this latest Public Consultation, MinLaw and IPOS have provided further details on the proposed CMO licensing framework through the draft Regulations. The Public Consultation seeks views on the language of the draft Regulations, in particular feedback on whether there is any:

• ambiguity or lack of clarity as to the scope of any provision or how it should operate...