RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/178/Add.1
26 May 2000
(00-2136)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English
REVIEW OF LEGISLATION
Questions Posed by the European Communities and their member States
Addendum
By means of communications from the Permanent Delegation of the European Commission,
dated 24 May 2000, the Secretariat has received copies of the following questions addressed to
Cyprus and Singapore.
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CYPRUS
A. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
1. Please explain whether or not the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement are directly applicable
in Cyprus.
2. Please explain how the term "public" is defined under the Copyright Law.
3. Please explain how databases are protected under the Copyright Law as foreseen under
Article 10.2 of the TRIPS Agreement.
4. Please explain how Cyprus grants rental righ ts to producers of phonograms as contained in
Article 14.4 of the TRIPS Agreement in conjunction with Article 11 of the TRIPS Agreement.
5. Please explain whether and how Cyprus grants exclusive rights to producers of phonograms
for the importation, broadcasting and communication to the public and public performance of sound
recordings.
6. How does Cyprus justify that the exclusive right of broadcasting organizations of the
communication to the public does not include places where no admission fee is charged in the light of
Article 9 of the TRIPS Agreement in conjunction with Articles 11 and 11 bis of the Berne
Convention?
7. Does the term "copyright" under sections 13(2) and 14(1) of the Copyright Law include
works, sound recordings, fixation of performances and broadcasts?
8. Please explain the "manner that the Minister w ill determine" under section 14A(1) concerning
the obligation of affixing a special sticker to phonograms, cinematographic works and computer
programs.  Please provide any relevant regulation or implementing measure.IP/C/W/178/Add.1
Page 2
9. Please explain how section 15(1) of the Copyright Law allowing, under certain
circumstances, a "competent authority" to "direct that…a licence shall be deemed to have been
granted by the licensing body" is compatible with the provisions of the TRIPS Agreement.  Please
provide the regulations referred to under section 15(4).  Please describe how often and the manner in
which Article 15 was applied.
10. Please describe how Cyprus grants national treatment to nationals of other WTO Members.
Please provide the Regulations referred to under section 16(2) of the Copyright Law.  Please explain
whether or not section 18 of the Copyright Law also applies to sound recordings, fixations of
performances and broadcasts.
B. TRADEMARKS
11. Please clarify if the list of signs under "mark" in section 2 of the Trade Mark Law is
exhaustive.  Clarify how it applies in conjunction with the definition of "trademark"(2(a) of N.206/90).  Please explain how these provis ions comply with the requirement of Article 15 of
the TRIPS Agreement which states that any sign capable of distinguishing goods or services shall be
capable of constituting a trademark.
12. Please clarify whether or not the final decision taken by the Register under section 5 of the
Trade Mark Law can be reviewed.
13. Please explain the operation of section 6(2) of the Trade Mark Law, with respect to goods to
be exported.
14. Please give examples of prohibited registrations under section 13 of the Trade Mark Law.
15. Please state what is a "prescribed time" under section 20 of the Trade Mark Law.
16. Please clarify whether or not a trademark registration can be renewed indefinitely under
section 22 of the Trade Mark Law after the initial period of seven years.
17. Please clarify whether or not, under section 28(3) of the Trade Mark Law, what
circumstances, independent of the will of the right holders, would be taken into account to determine
the non-use.
C. 
GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
18. Please give the definition of a geographical indication as described in your legislation or
clarify under which concept as defined in section 4(1) of the Trade Descriptions Law of 1987, it is
covered.
19. Please clarify whether or not section 5(2) of the Trade Descriptions Law of 1987 can be
interpreted as covering indications that suggest the goods may originate in a geographical indication
area, other than the true place of origin.
20. Please explain how section 13(1) complies with the requirements of Article 22.1 of the TRIPS
Agreement, which states that the goods have a characteristic essentially attributable to its
geographical origin.
21. Please clarify the scope of the exceptions to false trade descriptions, provided under
section 30(1) of the Trade Descriptions Law of 1987.IP/C/W/178/Add.1
Page 3
22. Please state if regulations were made pursuant to section 35(1) of the Trade Descriptions Law
of 1987.  If yes, please notify these regulations.
23. Please describe whether or not additional protection is granted by your legislation to wines
and spirits.  Please mention other types of products, if any, covered by this additional protection.
D. INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
24. Please explain whether or not your legislation extends protection to designs dictated
essentially by technical or functional considerations.  Please explain how textile designs are protected.
25. Please explain how your legislation protects ri ght holders of a design against importing of
articles bearing embodied or copied design.
26. Please mention whether or not your legislation provides for the right to issue a compulsory
licence for industrial designs.
27. Please indicate for which period of time your legislation grants protection for industrial
designs.
E. PATENTS
28. Please explain whether or not in your legislation, patent or otherwise, patent rights are
enjoyed without any exclusions.  If exclusions are provided for, please describe in detail how these
exclusions are applied in legal as well as practical terms.
29. Please explain how your legislation protects pa tent right holders against importing and against
offering for sale of a patented invention.
30. Please describe if your legislation provides for limited exceptions to the exclusive rights
conferred by a patent.  If affirmative, please make a reference to relevant legislation.
31. Please explain whether or not your legislation provides for compulsory licensing.  If so,
please explain in detail the conditions under which a compulsory licence may be granted.  In
particular, please explain how your national legislation considers individual merits in the
authorization of such use.
32. Please explain how your legislation explicitly ensures that a proposed user has made efforts to
obtain authorization from the right holder on reasonable commercial terms and conditions and thatsuch efforts have not been successful within a reasona ble period of time.  In this context, how do you
define "reasonable period of time".  Please also explain how your legislation ensures that the use of a
compulsory licence shall be authorized predominan tly for the supply of the domestic market of the
Member authorizing such use.
33. Please explain how your legislation provides for the reversal of the burden of proof in relation
to process patents.
F. 
LAYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
34. Please describe how your legislation protects topographies.IP/C/W/178/Add.1
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35. Please explain what protection your national le gislation grants to right holders against the
unlawful importation, sale or distribution for commercial purposes of topographies including
integrated circuits or other articles in which a topography is incorporated in accordance with
Article 36 of the TRIPS Agreement.
36. Please explain how your legislation provides for the derogation from Article 36 as specified
in Article 37 of the TRIPS Agreement where a person has no knowledge or reasonable grounds to
know when acquiring an integrated circuit or an arti cle incorporating such an integrated circuit that it
contains an unlawful topography.
37. Please state the term of protection granted by your legislation to topographies.
G. PROTECTION OF UNDISLCOSED INFORMATION
38. Please explain whether or not your legislation grants a defined period of time for the
protection of undisclosed information.  If so, please give the time-span.
39. Please explain how your legislation defines "undisclosed information".
40. Please explain how your legislation defines data submitted to governments or governmental
agencies.IP/C/W/178/Add.1
Page 5
SINGAPORE
A. COPYRIGHT AND RELATED RIGHTS
1. Please identify the exceptions to copyright and related rights contained in the Copyright Act
notably for libraries, educational purposes, private use, use by government officials.  Please explain in
details how they can be justified under the TRIPS Agreement and the Berne Convention.  Please
provide, if any, major judicial decisions interpreting these provisions.
2. Does the exception provided in section 39(3) of the Copyright Act extend beyond personal
use by the programme owner?
3. What is the purpose of section 40A of the Copy right Act and why is it applicable only to
imported products?
4. The Copyright (Import Restrictions) Regulations in force in Singapore
(document IP/N/1/SGP/C/6) make mention of secti on 142 of the Act, but the Copyright Act, revised
edition 1988 (document IP/N/1/SGP/C/1) of which th e Council for TRIPS has been notified, contains
no section 142.  Please explain this.
B. TRADEMARKS
5. What guidance is available to right holders in the interpretation of "implied consent
(conditional or otherwise)" referred to in Article 29(1) of the Trade Mark Act?
C. INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS
6. Please explain whether or not your legislation extends the protection to designs dictated
essentially by technical or functional considerations.  Please explain how textile designs are protected.
7. Please explain how your legislation protects ri ght holders of a design against importing of
articles bearing an embodied or copied design.
8. Please mention whether or not your legislation provides for the right to issue a compulsory
licence for industrial designs.
9. Please indicate for which period of time your legislation grants protection for industrial
designs.
D. PATENTS
10. On what basis would the Government of Singa pore authorize a person to make, use, exercise
or vend a patented invention so that they were not infringing the patent in the terms of Section 61 of
the Patents Act?
11. What is the basis in TRIPS for limiting process patent infringements to use of the process by a
person without consent only where that person has actual or implied knowledge in the terms of
Section 66(1)(b) of the Patent Act?
12. What is the meaning of the term "(conditional or otherwise)" in Section 66(2)(g) of the Patent
Act?  Would any conditions of the consent be respected in Singapore?IP/C/W/178/Add.1
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E. LAYOUT -DESIGNS (TOPOGRAPHIES ) OF INTEGRATED CIRCUITS
13. Does the qualified owner of a layout-design be ar the burden of proving that an identical
layout-design was not independently created to avoid a ruling that use of the layout-design is
non-infringing under the terms of Section 10(f) of the Layout-Designs of Integrated Circuits
Act 1999?
14. What is the meaning of "independently created" in Section 10(f)(ii) of the Layout-Designs of
Integrated Circuits Act 1999?
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