Division 1 — The Registrar
Registrar of Geographical Indications and other officers
Open ↗17.—(1) There is to be a Registrar of Geographical Indications who has the control of the Registry of Geographical Indications.
(2) There are to be one or more Deputy Registrars of Geographical Indications who, subject to the control of the Registrar, have all the powers and functions of the Registrar under this Act, other than the powers of the Registrar under section 18.
(3) There are to be one or more Assistant Registrars of Geographical Indications.
(4) The Registrar and all the other officers under this section must be appointed by the Minister.
Delegation by Registrar
Open ↗18.—(1) The Registrar may, in relation to a particular matter or class of matters, by writing under the hand of the Registrar, delegate all or any of the Registrar’s powers or functions under this Act (except this power of delegation) to an Assistant Registrar of Geographical Indications, any public officer, or any person with the relevant qualifications for or experience in the matter or class of matters, so that the delegated powers and functions may be exercised by the delegate with respect to the matter or class of matters specified in the instrument of delegation.
(2) A delegation under this section is revocable at will and no delegation prevents the exercise of a power or function by the Registrar or by a Deputy Registrar of Geographical Indications.
(3) A person with the relevant qualifications or experience mentioned in subsection (1) is, when exercising the delegated powers and functions, deemed to be a public servant for the purposes of the Penal Code 1871.
Registry of Geographical Indications
Open ↗19. For the purposes of this Act, there is established an office known as the Registry of Geographical Indications.
Seal of Registry
Open ↗20. There is to be a seal of the Registry and impressions of the seal are to be judicially noticed.
Division 2 — The register
Register of geographical indications
Open ↗21.—(1) The Registrar must maintain a register of geographical indications.
(2) All of the following are to be entered in the register in accordance with this Act:(a)
registered geographical indications;
(b)
such other matters relating to registered geographical indications as may be prescribed.
(3) The register may be kept in whole or in part using a computer.
(4) Any record of a particular or other matter made by using a computer for the purpose of keeping the register is taken to be an entry in the register.
Rectification of register, etc.
Open ↗22.—(1) Any person having a sufficient interest may apply for the rectification of an error or omission in the register.
(2) An application for rectification may not be made in respect of a matter affecting the validity of the registration of a geographical indication.
(3) An application for rectification may be made either to the Registrar or to the Court, except that —(a)
if proceedings concerning the geographical indication in question are pending in the Court, the application must be made to the Court; and
(b)
if in any other case the application is made to the Registrar, the Registrar may at any stage of the proceedings refer the application to the Court.
(3A) An application to the Registrar for rectification is subject to the rules mentioned in section 84(2)(ea).[Act 7 of 2022 wef 26/05/2022]
(4) The Registrar or the Court may allow an application for rectification if satisfied that an error or omission exists in the register, and that the rectification should be made.
(5) Except where the Registrar or the Court directs otherwise, the effect of rectification of the register is that the error or omission in question is deemed never to have been made.
(6) The Registrar may, on request made in the prescribed manner by the registrant of a registered geographical indication, enter any change in the registrant’s name or address as recorded in the register.
(7) The Registrar may remove from the register any matter appearing to the Registrar to have ceased to have effect.[Act 7 of 2022 wef 26/05/2022]
Inspection of and extract from register
Open ↗23.—(1) The register must be available at the Registry for inspection by any person during the hours when the Registry is open for business.
(2) If the register, or any part of the register, is kept by using a computer, subsection (1) is satisfied if a person who wants to inspect the register or that part of the register is given access to a computer terminal from which the person can read on a screen, or obtain a printed copy of, the particulars or other matters recorded in the register or that part of the register.
(3) Any person who applies for a certified copy of an entry in the register or a certified extract from the register is entitled to obtain such a copy or an extract on payment of the prescribed fee.
(4) In this section, “certified copy” and “certified extract” mean a copy and an extract certified by the Registrar.
Falsification of register, etc.
Open ↗24. Any person who —(a)
makes, or causes to be made, a false entry in the register;
(b)
makes, or causes to be made, any thing false purporting to be a copy of an entry in the register; or
(c)
produces or tenders or causes to be produced or tendered in evidence any thing referred to in paragraph (b),
knowing or having reason to believe that the entry or thing (as the case may be) is false shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or to both.
Falsely representing geographical indication as registered
Open ↗25.—(1) Any person who —(a)
falsely represents that a geographical indication is a registered geographical indication; or
(b)
makes a false representation as to the goods for which a geographical indication is registered,
knowing or having reason to believe that the representation is false shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $10,000.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the use in Singapore, in relation to a geographical indication, of —(a)
the word “registered”; or
(b)
any other word or symbol importing a reference (express or implied) to registration,
is deemed to be a representation as to registration under this Act unless it is shown that the reference is to registration elsewhere than in Singapore and that the geographical indication is in fact so registered for the goods in question.
Division 3 — Powers and duties of Registrar
Costs awarded by Registrar
Open ↗26.—(1) The Registrar may award costs in respect of the matters, and in the amounts provided for in rules made under this Act, against any party to proceedings brought before the Registrar.
(2) The rules may provide for the assessment of the costs, or any part of the costs, by the Registrar.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(3) A party desirous to obtain costs or to have the costs assessed must apply to the Registrar in accordance with the rules.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(4) If a party is ordered to pay the costs of another party, the costs may be recovered in a court of competent jurisdiction as a debt due by the first party to the other party.
Security for costs
Open ↗27. If a person who neither resides nor carries on business in Singapore —(a)
gives notice of opposition under section 45;
(b)
makes a request under section 46 for the entry in the register of a qualification of the rights conferred upon a registered geographical indication; or
(c)
applies to the Registrar under section 52 for the registration of a geographical indication to be cancelled,
the Registrar may require the person to give security for the costs for the proceedings and may, if security is not given, dismiss the proceedings.
Evidence before Registrar
Open ↗28. The Registrar may, for the purposes of any proceedings before the Registrar under this Act —(a)
summon witnesses;
(b)
receive evidence on oath, whether orally or otherwise; and
(c)
require the production of documents or articles.
Disobedience to summons an offence
Open ↗29.—(1) A person who has been summoned to appear as a witness before the Registrar must not, without lawful excuse, fail to appear in obedience to the summons.
(2) A person who has been required by the Registrar to produce any document or article must not, without lawful excuse, fail to produce the document or article.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
Refusal to give evidence an offence
Open ↗30.—(1) A person who appears before the Registrar must not, without lawful excuse, refuse to be sworn or to make an affirmation, or to produce documents or articles, or to answer questions, which the person is lawfully required to produce or answer.
(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $2,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months or to both.
Exclusion of liability in respect of official acts
Open ↗31.—(1) The Office and the Registrar are not to be taken to warrant the validity of the registration of a geographical indication under this Act or under any treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement to which Singapore is a party.
(2) Neither the Office nor the Registrar is subject to any liability by reason of, or in connection with, any examination required or authorised by this Act, or any such treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement, or any report or other proceedings consequent on such examination.
(3) No proceedings shall lie against an officer of the Office or the Registrar in respect of any matter for which, by virtue of this section, the Office or the Registrar is not liable.
Appeals from Registrar
Open ↗32.—(1) Except as provided under subsection (2) or by rules made under this Act, there is no appeal from a decision of the Registrar for any matter under this Act or the rules made under this Act.
(2) The following are subject to appeal to the Court:(a)
a decision of the Registrar under section 22;
(b)
a decision of the Registrar under section 40(2) as to whether any specific goods fall within a category of goods set out in the Schedule;
(c)
a decision of the Registrar as to the registrability of a geographical indication;
(d)
a decision of the Registrar under section 42(2) on the practical conditions differentiating a homonymous geographical indication from an earlier geographical indication;
(e)
a decision of the Registrar under section 46(6) on a request for entry in the register of a qualification of the rights conferred upon a registered geographical indication;
(f)
a decision of the Registrar relating to a request for cancellation under section 52.
(3) An appeal does not lie to the appellate court from a decision of the Court on appeal from a decision of the Registrar for any matter under this Act or the rules made under this Act unless permission to appeal is given by the appellate court.[23/2019; 40/2019]
[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(4) In this section, “appellate court” means the court to which an appeal under subsection (3) is to be made under section 29C of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1969.[40/2019]
Division 4 — Forms, fees, hours of business and publication
Forms and directions of Registrar
Open ↗33. The Minister may make rules for the publication by the Registrar of —(a)
the forms to be used for any purpose relating to the registration of a geographical indication or any other proceedings before the Registrar under this Act; and
(b)
the practice directions issued by the Registrar.
Fees
Open ↗34.—(1) There must be paid in respect of applications and registration and other matters under this Act such fees as may be prescribed.
(2) The Minister may make rules as to the remission of fees in the prescribed circumstances.
(3) All fees collected must be paid into the funds of the Office.
Hours of business and excluded days
Open ↗35.—(1) The Registrar may issue practice directions to specify —(a)
the hours of business of the Registry; and
(b)
the days which are to be treated as excluded days.
(2) The Minister may prescribe the effect of doing any business under this Act —(a)
on any day after the hours of business of the Registry; or
(b)
on any day which is an excluded day.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2) —(a)
different hours of business may be specified for different classes of business;
(b)
different excluded days may be specified for different classes of business; and
(c)
different effects of doing business —(i)
outside the hours of business of the Registry; or
(ii)
on an excluded day,
may be prescribed for different classes of business.
(4) In this section, “excluded day”, in relation to any specific class of business, means any day on which the Registry is taken to be closed for the purposes of the transaction by the public of that class of business.
Publication of geographical indication applications, etc.
Open ↗36. The Minister may make rules for the publication by the Registrar of the particulars of any application for registration of a geographical indication and such other information relating to geographical indications as the Registrar thinks fit.
Recognition of agents
Open ↗37. Except as otherwise provided by rules, any act required or authorised by this Act to be done by or to a person in connection with the registration of a geographical indication, or any procedure relating to a registered geographical indication, may be done by or to an agent authorised by that person orally or in writing.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
