Copyright Tribunal

There is a President to the Copyright Tribunals, as well as two Deputy Presidents and up to 15 members. Either the President or a Deputy President may preside over a Tribunal that is formed, and each Tribunal will consist of three members.

The current presiding Copyright Tribunal is DJ James Leong, District Judge, Subordinate Courts of Singapore. (See the membership of the Copyright Tribunal.)

A Tribunal is empowered to:

• Resolve disputes relating to licences and licence schemes in relation to a work or other subject matter.
• Ascertain the royalty payable for the recording of musical works and, where applicable, apportion the royalty in respect of a record.
• Determine what constitutes "equitable remuneration" for the right to film artistic works for permitted broadcasts or cable programmes.
• Determine what constitutes "equitable remuneration " for the making available to the public of a sound recording through a non-interactive digital audio transmission;
• Determine what constitutes "equitable remuneration" payable by educational institutions when they use copyright materials within the permissible limits allowed under the Copyright Act; and
• Determine the terms on which the Singapore Government can use copyright material.

A Tribunal has the power to refer to the High Court any matter that comes before it for the determination on a point of law. This may be done on its own volition or at the request of any party to the matter.

The procedure for applications to be made to a Tribunal is set out in the Copyright Tribunal (Procedure) Regulations 1988.

The Tribunal will consider the application and, after giving the parties an opportunity to present their cases, shall issue an order. Orders for previous applications may be required.

IPOS is the Secretariat and assists with the administration of the Copyright Tribunal.

The submission of any forms or fees should be made to the Secretariat:

As part of our Covid-19 measures we have made the following arrangements to continue to serve you during this period:  

• For new applications or references to the Copyright Tribunal, please give us at least 2 working days notice of your intention to make an application or reference, so that we can make the necessary arrangements to assist you and receive your documents. Please write to the Tribunal Secretariat at: Nur_Dianna_MOHD_IDRIS_CHUA_from.TP@ipos.gov.sg.
• For all existing matters, please continue to correspond with the Tribunal Secretariat via email.