The development of Singapore's intellectual property rights regime

Abstract

In 1984, United States Senator Patrick J. Leahy, member of the Subcommittee on Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks, described Singapore as “the piracy capital of the world”. In less than three decades, however, Singapore’s intellectual property rights regime is consistently recognised as one of the best in the world by international surveys. This case study describes the development of Singapore’s intellectual property rights regime after independence and separation from Malaysia in 1965. It first provides a brief background on the development of international laws and conventions on intellectual property (IP) and the arguments for and against IP protection as stated by developed and developing countries. It then describes the economic development of Singapore, the evolution of the intellectual property rights regime here, and provides an overview of the institutions established for the civil and criminal enforcement of IP rights.

This is part of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy – Microsoft Case Study Series on IT, Public Policy and Society.