“Would you steal a car?”

OK, we know how this one goes. But how about:

“Would you steal chicken rice?”

Recently, Malaysia has said it wants to ‘lay claim’ on ‘Malaysian’ food which, perhaps ironically, apparently includes Hainanese chicken rice.

Is it really possible to copyright a dish that is sold in practically every hawker centre here and across the Straits?

This brings to mind a little-known fact about something else which is even more popular – the Happy Birthday song.

The most popular tune in the world was written by two sisters, and the song was copyrighted in 1935 by a third sister. The copyright is now owned by Time Warner and will only expire around 2030. This is not merely a “fun fact” – the copyright is really enforced in practice. In fact, the song earns nearly $3m in royalties a year.

But copyrighting Happy Birthday and copyrighting chicken rice are two very different things. Most of all, we actually know who wrote the song. Nonetheless, it would be rather interesting if Malaysia succeeds. If just the name is copyrighted, it is quite foreseeable that creative Singaporeans unwilling to give up their national favourite would give the dish a unique christening.

“A plate of ginger rice with chicken breast, please.”

It will be somewhat similar to ordering sautéed vermicelli from a five-star hotel and getting a plate of fried beehoon.

The issue of copyrighted mp3 downloads is old hat (and was in fact covered in a previous article). Intellectual property law can be more interesting than that. For example, do you know why McDonald’s does not sell McNoodles?

Read the full list of articles below:

Why You Can’t Buy MacNoodles from McDonald’s: A Primer on Trademarks by Aloysius Chang & Jeremy Lua (here)
Private Education is Still a Viable Alternative by Anthony Chuah (here)
• The Streetdirectory.com Saga by Sim Junhui (here)
• Expanding the Powers of the Copyright Tribunal by Ray Hong (here)
• The Agency Issue in Skandinaviska by Too Xing Ji (here)

Sincerely,

CHARISSA L
Deputy Chief Editor & Juris Illuminae Editor
Singapore Law Review Editorial Board