Opening Remarks by Mr Wong Sheng Kwai, IPOS at the BSA, IPOS and IPOS IP Taskforce SAM Seminar at Grand Coptorne Waterfrone Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Level 4

Opening Remarks by Mr Wong Sheng Kwai, Assistant Director-General, Intellectual Property Office of Singapore at the BSA, IPOS and IPOS IP Taskforce SAM Seminar On Monday and Tuesday, 14 & 15 November 2005 at 8.40 a.m, at Grand Coptorne Waterfront Hotel, Grand Ballroom, Level 4.

Mr. Jeffrey Hardee,
Asia Pacific Vice President and Regional Director
Business Software Alliance

Ladies and gentlemen

A very good morning to all of you.

It is my pleasure to join you at today’s software asset management or SAM seminar. Your presence here this morning shows that all of you recognize the importance of Intellectual Property or IP issues in your business.
This month has been very exciting. November has been designated by the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) as the “Creativity Month”. You have “Beyond 2005: The Global Summit for Creative Industries”, the Singapore Design Festival, the Asia Media Festival and the Creative Youth Xchange @ Gallery Hotel. Through these activities, MICA hopes to create new opportunities and inspiration for our own creative industries which encompass the arts, design and media sectors as well as profile Singapore capabilities to the international audience. These sectors will become a key competitive advantage in the next phase of Singapore's progress and development. Empowering their rise will be intellectual property (IP).
Dr. Lee Boon Yang, Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts in a speech to his Asian counterparts at Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum (ACCF) just last week (10 Nov 05) had said,

“...intellectual property..is the lifeblood of the Cultural and Creative Industries. Such enterprises are based on creative works that have to be protected by copyrights, designs, trademarks, and even patents in the area of information technology and other emerging areas. Without a robust IP protection framework, many creative enterprises will face difficulties in introducing their innovation to market and exploiting the full commercial values of such innovations. In promoting the Cultural and Creative Industries, one of the fundamentals is to develop an environment that accord respect and rewards creative effort in bringing exciting and innovative ideas to market.”
Singapore, has over the years, made significant headway in establishing a strong IP regime to ensure investors and creators have confidence to conduct their IP business here. Especially, in the last two years, we overhauled our IP laws in light of social, economic and technological advances to spur innovation and creativity. Our efforts have been noted. Singapore was ranked: “lowest for IP rights risk in Asia”, by the Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (2002 – 2004) and “no 1 for Asia in IP protection” by the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report (2002 – 2004).
Our good reputation in this regard has also translated into investments flowing into Singapore from top international companies. Take RGM Holding’s for example. RGM Holdings is an international talent management and executive production company which represents talents such as Academy Award-winner Cate Blanchett etc. They announced in July this year the establishment of their headquarters and a US$100 million media financing facility in Singapore. RGM commented that Singapore was a natural choice for RGM’s expansion into Asia given the copyright protection and accessible infrastructure in place.
RGM is just one that has been added to Singapore’s list of international media companies that have set up headquarters here. Consider the presence of Lucasfilms, Sony, Discovery and Koei. These companies provide Singapore’s media talent and industry with boundless opportunities and importantly, the exposure to the larger international stage.
Just this year too, WIPO or the World Intellectual Property Organization chose Singapore to open its first Asian office. The WIPO Singapore Office will be responsible for promoting the creation, protection and commercialisation of IP in Asia. WIPO’s Singapore office will work with governments and IP agencies on legislation, education and other efforts to help instill a culture of IP in the region. WIPO’s decision to base their Asian office here reflects its confidence in Singapore and its role in helping to facilitate the development of the IP agenda for the region.
So, we are making good progress and confirms that we are on the right track. Let’s come back to the context of today’s SAM seminar. On January 1, this year, our amendments to the Copyright Act took effect, making it a criminal offence where the copyright infringement is carried out willfully and on a commercial scale or to a significant extent. In the context of the use of computer software, companies can face criminal prosecution for infringing use in the business context – whether through under-licensing or the use of unauthorised or infringing software.
Many of you may have heard that on October 31, the findings released from an IPOS commissioned survey highlighted that for small medium enterprises, nearly a third of them are still not fully compliant in the proper usage of software products in their business. The survey also found that among those who were non-compliant, a significant number were smaller companies, averaging 10 workstations or less.
As mentioned earlier by Mr. Jeffrey Hardee, on September 15, the Singapore police raided a company for using suspected illegal and unlicensed software. The penalty that an infringing company could face is up to six months imprisonment, or up to S$20,000 fine, or both for first time offenders. Businesses should also be aware that copyright holders are also at liberty to take civil action against the copyright infringers. In view of this, it is imperative that all organisations and businesses take steps to ensure that they are on the right side of the law.
Our findings show that smaller companies are still facing problems becoming compliant. It suggests that more needs to be done to educate this group on the implications of copyright infringement as well as the benefits that compliancy will bring to their own business.
In response, the software industry has banded together to offer help to these companies, with the launch of the second Software Licensing Program or SLP. The SLP is a private-sector driven initiative supported by IPOS and the IP Taskforce. Companies can obtain legitimate software at a discount, as a step to becoming compliant. The first Software Licensing Program was introduced in 2004 to help companies prepare themselves for the copyright law which took effect on January 1, 2005.
The software companies participating in the second SLP include Adobe, Autodesk, Borland, Computer Associates, Microsoft, Novell, SIACAD, Sun Microsystems and Symantec.
We hope that companies who have not been able to benefit from the first SLP last year, will be able to do so this time. Besides drawing support from industry, we will continue to conduct awareness talks and seminars like today’s SAM seminar, to equip businesses with information on proper software usage,
Oftentimes, we find that software non-compliance in the business environment is the result of a lack of a proper SAM process in your organisation. We hope that our session today will help you better understand and stay in line with the IP law changes by putting in place a robust SAM process in your organization.
We all need to do our part. In the larger context of Singapore’s growth as a creative and IP rich nation, our businesses need to be outfitted to compete effectively. We can start by managing a fundamental IP risks - our software usage – put that in order. On this note, I would like to leave you with our speakers this morning. We have with us Mr. Lau Kok Keng from Rajah and Tann who will tell you what your business should know about the amendments to the copyright law (note: Mr Lau Kok Keng is presenting on 14 November and Mr. Daniel Koh on 15 November). We also have with us Mr. Jimmy Wu from Deloitte & Touche, who will share with you details on how to implement SAM in your organisation.
Finally, on behalf of the BSA, IPOS and the IP Task Force members, I would like to thank all of you for being here, and I wish all of you a very fruitful and informative seminar.

Thank you.