Singapore and WIPO unite to lower copyright dispute costs
In a bid to strengthen Singapore’s position as the region’s alternative dispute resolution (ADR) hub, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) is collaborating with the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
The collaboration, announced today, August 7, will see WIPO’s Arbitration and Mediation Center offer reduced rates to businesses and creators that opt for mediation as an
ADR to resolve copyright disputes in Singapore.
According to IPOS, the goal is for stakeholders in the copyright and creative industries to gain greater access to more efficient and cost-effective routes to resolve their copyright disputes.
The reduced rates already apply to disputes before IPOS involving patents, registered designs and trademarks.
Since 2010, the WIPO Center has administered arbitration and mediation cases in Singapore through its office in Singapore, with 35% of the cases administered relating to copyright disputes.
Mark Lim, director of hearings and mediation at IPOS, said: “The creative community is a key sector driving innovation and economic output. Inevitably, disputes can arise over the use, licensing and ownership of IP.”
Lim added that with the extension of reduced rates to copyright disputes, those in the creative industries will “enjoy a practical, efficient and cost-effective avenue to resolve their disputes, with the assurance that settlements can be readily enforced”.
Over the past five years, WIPO’s copyright caseload has increased by 8%, said Erik Wilbers, senior director, WIPO Center.
Wilbers added: “The extension of the WIPO Center’s collaboration with IPOS to copyright disputes aims to increase awareness in Singapore of the particular advantages that mediation brings for resolving copyright disputes.”
Singapore: ADR hub
In recent years, Singapore has pushed to cement its standing as an ADR hub.
Today, members of the United Nations (UN) signed the Singapore Convention on Mediation, an agreement which aims to create a global framework that will increase the enforceability of settlement agreements that arise out of mediation.
The agreement was signed in Singapore by 46 UN members, including the US and China.
The landmark convention gives innovation-driven enterprises the confidence that mediated settlement agreements can be enforced in cross-border disputes, added IPOS.
In June, IPOS united with specialist insurance market Lloyd’s Asia to launch the Intellectual Property Insurance Initiative for Innovators (IPIII), which aims to support innovative enterprises as they enter global markets.
In collaboration with managing agent Antares Underwriting Asia, the initiative will provide enterprises with insurance coverage for legal expenses that may be incurred in IP infringement proceedings worldwide.
Months before, on April 1, IPOS opened its geographical indications (GI) registry for worldwide applications.
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