IPR: SINGAPORE CHARGES FIRST COMPANY UNDER AMENDED

UNCLAS SINGAPORE 000811

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE PASS TO USTR FOR VESPINEL AND JJENSEN
COMMERCE FOR CPETERS
UPSTO FOR PFOWLER
COPYRIGHT OFFICE FOR STEPP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KIPR ECON ETRD EINV SN
SUBJECT: IPR: SINGAPORE CHARGES FIRST COMPANY UNDER AMENDED
ANTI-PIRACY LAW

REF: 05 SINGAPORE 2817


1. (U) Summary: The Singapore Subordinate Court on March 9
charged interior design firm PDM International with three
counts of copyright infringement, in the first case based on
2005 amendments to Singapore's Copyright Act. Business
Software Alliance (BSA) representatives believe a successful
prosecution will result in a significant drop in the use of
pirated business software in Singapore. End Summary.


2. (U) Singapore Police raided PDM's offices on September 15,
2005, based on a tip from the BSA; prosecutors accuse PDM of
using over 50 copies of illegal software (reftel). The court
has not charged any PDM officials individually, but the
company now faces a maximum fine of S$20,000 (US$12,000) per
violation. Microsoft, Adobe, and Autodesk, whose copyrights
PDM infringed, may also take civil action against PDM. Prior
to the 2005 amendments, which Singapore implemented in part
to fulfill its commitments under the U.S.-Singapore Free
Trade Agreement, civil prosecution was the only recourse
available in IP piracy cases.


3. (SBU) BSA representatives earlier had told Econoff they
were concerned about delays in bringing this case to trial.
BSA sources attributed the holdup to a disagreement within
the government over the wording of the Copyright Act
amendments. BSA explained that the Attorney General's
Chambers initially interpreted the law to suggest that only
illegal software installations post January 1, 2005 were
subject to prosecution. Prosecutors now believe they could
convict PDM for all illegal software police discovered during
the raid, regardless of whether PDM installed it before or
after January 1, 2005, BSA concluded.


4. (SBU) Both BSA and the Singapore office of the Motion
Picture Association of America (MPAA) said that successful
prosecution of this case should result in a considerable drop
in piracy rates in Singapore. The BSA pointed out that,
according to studies conducted by the research firm IDC,
piracy rates in Singapore have fallen 20 percent since
enactment of the Copyright Act amendments. Observing that
Singaporeans are generally law abiding and respectful of
government regulations, one BSA representative suggested that
if Singapore pursued three to four successful (and well
publicized) prosecutions per year, Singapore's business
software piracy rate could become among the lowest in the
world.
HERBOLD