Geographical Indications Bill

Bill No. 13/2014

Read the first time on 5th March 2014.

An Act to repeal and re-enact with amendments the Geographical Indications Act (Chapter 117B of the 1999 Revised Edition) to provide for the protection of geographical indications in relation to goods, and for matters connected therewith, and to make related amendments to certain other written laws.

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows:

PART I

PRELIMINARY

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Geographical Indications Act 2014 and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“Court” means the High Court;

“earlier geographical indication”, in relation to an application for registration of a geographical indication made under section 39 (referred to in this definition as the application in question), means a geographical indication —

(a)	which has been registered under section 48; or
(b)	an application for registration of which has been made under section 39,

before the date of the application in question;

“geographical indication” means any indication used in trade to identify goods as originating from a place, provided that —

(a)	the place is a qualifying country or a region or locality in a qualifying country; and
(b)	a given quality, reputation or other characteristic of the goods is essentially attributable to that place;

“goods” means any natural or agricultural product or any product of handicraft or industry;

“homonymous geographical indication” means a geographical indication that, in part or in whole, has the same spelling as, or sounds the same as, a geographical indication for any goods having a different geographical origin;

“interested party”, in relation to goods identified by a geographical indication, means a producer of the goods, a trader of the goods, or an association of such producers or traders or of such producers and traders;

“international trade mark (Singapore)” has the same meaning as in the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332);

“Office” means the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore established under the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore Act (Cap. 140);

“Paris Convention” means the Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property signed at Paris on 20th March 1883, and any revision or amendment thereto which has come into force and has been accepted by the Government;

“place”, in relation to a geographical indication, means a country or territory and includes a region or locality in a country or territory;

“producer” means —

(a)	in relation to agricultural products, a person who produces those products for sale or other commercial purposes;
(b)	in relation to natural products, a person who exploits those products for sale or other commercial purposes; or
(c)	in relation to products of handicraft or industry, a person who manufactures those products for sale or other commercial purposes;

“proprietor” means —

(a)	in relation to a registered trade mark, the person in whose name the trade mark is registered;
(b)	in relation to an unregistered trade mark that is a well known trade mark, the person to whom the trade mark belongs; or
(c)	in relation to a trade mark referred to in section 41(5)(b), the person who used the trade mark in accordance with that provision;

“qualifying country” means any country or territory which is —

(a)	a member of the World Trade Organization;
(b)	a party to the Paris Convention; or
(c)	designated by the Minister as a qualifying country under section 83;

“register” means —

(a)	when used as a noun, the register of geographical indications maintained by the Registrar under section 21; and
(b)	when used as a verb, to enter in the register;

“registered geographical indication” means a geographical indication that is registered under section 48;

“registered trade mark” means a trade mark registered under the Trade Marks Act;

“registrant”, in relation to a registered geographical indication, means the person in whose name the geographical indication is registered;

“Registrar” means the Registrar of Geographical Indications appointed under section 17 and includes any Deputy Registrar or Assistant Registrar of Geographical Indications appointed under that section;

“Registry” means the Registry of Geographical Indications established under section 19;

“repealed Act” means the Geographical Indications Act (Cap. 117B) repealed by this Act;

“trade mark” has the same meaning as in the Trade Marks Act;

“trader”, in relation to goods, means any person —

(a)	who sells the goods in Singapore; or
(b)	who supplies the goods in Singapore for the purpose of their being sold by another person in Singapore;

“use” means use as part of, or in connection with —

(a)	any transaction, including a purchase, a sale or an exchange;
(b)	any importing or exporting;
(c)	any advertisement; or
(d)	any invoice, wine list, catalogue, business letter, business paper, price list or other commercial document;

“well known trade mark” has the same meaning as in the Trade Marks Act.

Application of Act

3.—(1) Unless expressly provided otherwise in subsection (2) or elsewhere in this Act, this Act shall apply to all geographical indications, whether or not registered under section 48.

(2) Sections 4(6) to (9), 75, 76 and 79, Division 2 of Part III, Division 2 of Part V, and Part VI shall only apply to registered geographical indications.

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