From the Chief Editor
Intellectual property (IP) is everywhere around us. The laptop you frantically type your assignments on, the music you listen to, that oh-so-fabulous pair of branded sneakers you sashay in – all these contain IP rights (IPR).

IP forms a cornerstone of today’s society and knowledge-based economy. IPR legislation aims to create a balance between private and public interests. When establishing IPR laws, legislators seek to ensure that the rights and obligations of creators and users of IPR are balanced with the social, economic and developmental objectives that governments desire their IPR laws to promote. As the economic importance of IPR has grown, so too has public debate over the social, economic and political consequences of the laws under which IPR, which are essentially monopoly rights, are legally protected.

This issue of Juris discusses some recent interesting and noteworthy IP developments. We also bring you a special interview with the Director-General of IPOS, Ms Liew Woon Yin, who shares with us IPOS’ work in regulating, facilitating and promoting IP in Singapore. In addition, WongPartnership gives us an intimate look into the work of an IP lawyer. Rounding up this issue is a special feature examining the recent measures aimed at addressing the problem of the shortage of lawyers in Singapore, from a law firm’s perspective.

We would like to thank WongPartnership for continuing its wholehearted support of the Singapore Law Review, through its generous sponsorship of Juris. Thank you very much!

The Singapore Law Review wishes all fellow students the very best for your upcoming examinations!

Maureen Poh

• An Introduction to Intellectual Property by Foo Meng Yeen
  

  Intellectual property refers to creations of the human mind which when duly protected can become valuable property. Intellectual property comprises an open list of protected intangibles that is consistently growing. Some of the more traditional areas of intellectual property are copyright, trademarks, patents and rights related thereto. Read More

• Personal Liability for Peer-to-Peer (P2P) File Sharing under Singapore’s Copyright Act: Trends and Implications by Peggy Pao
  

  Until recently, legal prohibitions on the illegal sharing of digital music seemed to be honoured more in the breach than the observance in Singapore. However, this month has seen high-profile enforcement actions against end users. On 17 October, the Recording Industry Association of Singapore (RIAS) filed with the police 25 new cases of illegal music file-sharing. Just days before, the police had seized the computers of seven illegal music file-sharers. Coupled with the imprisonment of two Singaporean men in February for the non-profit distribution of pirated digital music files Read More…

• Compulsory Licensing: An Erosion of the Absolutism of IP Rights by Jeth Lee
  

  Patents are grants of statutorily prescribed exclusive rights in relation to an invention for a specific period of time. Such grants are often described as a quid pro quo whereby the patentee receives the benefit of a monopoly in exchange for conferring new knowledge on the general public. The balance in such exchanges has however been altered with the introduction of the WTO’s Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Read More

• Intellectual Property – The Perspective of the Man on the Street by Andrew Teo
  

  If you were to ask any student on the street today as to the means by which you are able to download music, chances are that he will be able to name you a myriad of peer-to-peer (P2P) networks where music is easily available in free and unlimited amounts. In contrast, ask any student about his idea of intellectual property (IP) and chances are that he will not be able to name the organizations that are responsible for protecting the IP rights of artistes, for example. Read More

• T®ademark ©lones by Tan An Qi
  

  Trademarks serve the purpose of distinguishing a business and its products and services from that of other businesses. They therefore explain why we tend to choose certain goods over others even though the nature of other products is similar. When the distinctiveness factor is of paramount importance, it poses a legal problem when the owner of a registered trademark can no longer maintain exclusive rights due to an unauthorised use of the same or similar sign. Read More…

• In Conversation with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
  

  Our call to everyone is to respect IP and reject piracy. Illegal downloading of copyrighted music, or of any other copyrighted materials such as movies, is a breach of our copyright law. It is equivalent to stealing, as the copyright owner has not given permission for the download. The Internet and advancements in technology have made it easier for individuals to be able to cause considerable harm to copyright owners, their investments and creative efforts. It is therefore important that copyright laws prevent this. Read More

• An Interview with an IP Lawyer with Sim Bock Eng, a partner at WongPartnership, by Pey Yinjie
  

  Faith in inventions, creations or ideas which a lot of people may put little weight on because it is out of the ordinary. An IP lawyer should remember that clients are people on the cutting-edge, with novel ideas, inventions, which may be the next “big thing” to take the world. Read more

• The Shortage of Lawyers: A Law Firm’s Perspective with Tay Peng Cheng, Recruitment Partner at WongPartnership
  

  In addition to lawyers who leave the Firm to take up an in-house position, or who move to foreign firms, the trend of lawyers leaving the profession altogether is also a concern. Not everyone who reads Law becomes a lawyer. Not everyone who becomes a lawyer stays the long term. We’ve had pupils and associates leave us to fulfill their lifelong dreams — going into the arts, becoming a financial analyst, an oil trader or even taking up baking. Read More