DELINEATING THE BOUNDARIES OF FAIR DEALING IN SINGAPORE :TOWARDS AN AUTOCHTHONOUS APPROACH

Abstract

Fair dealing in Singapore is a severely underexplored and underdeveloped subject with little academic literature and no case law. The goal of this paper is therefore to propound a workable interpretation of section 35(2), taking into account the peculiarities of Singapore's copyright policy and copyright industries. This autochthonous approach to fair dealing in Singapore, however, is not expounded in a vacuum, but draws on UK and Australian jurisprudence—because of the historical roots of Singapore's Copyright Act—and US jurisprudence— because of the striking similarity in the legislative provisions. Ultimately, since Singapore's fair dealing provision must be shaped by prevailing local circumstances and by its sociolegal context, the autochthonous approach departs from foreign jurisprudence when necessary to give effect to Singapore's copyright policy of "creating] an environment conducive to the development of creative works, and also facilitating] greater investment, research and development in copyright industries."