Costs in proceedings before Registrar
56.—(1) The Registrar may, in proceedings before the Registrar under this Act, by order award to any party such costs as the Registrar may consider reasonable and direct how and by what parties they are to be paid.
(2) The rules may provide for the assessment of the costs, or any part thereof, 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.
Correction of Register
57.—(1) The Registrar may, in accordance with the provisions of this section and the rules mentioned in section 74(2A), correct any clerical error in the Register.[Act 7 of 2022 wef 26/05/2022]
(2) A correction may be made under this section either upon a request in writing made by any person interested, or on the Registrar’s own initiative.
(3) A request referred to in subsection (2) must be made in the prescribed form and be accompanied by the prescribed fee.
(4) The Registrar is not obliged to correct on his or her own initiative any error not due to the default of the Registrar.
(5) Where the Registrar proposes to make any correction on his or her own initiative, the Registrar must give notice of the proposal to every person who appears to the Registrar to be likely to be affected by the correction, and must give the person an opportunity to be heard before making the correction.
Powers of Registrar
58. The Registrar may, for the purposes of this Act —(a)
summon witnesses;
(b)
receive evidence on oath, whether orally or otherwise; and
(c)
require the production of documents, articles or devices for projecting non‑physical products.[29/2017]
Disobedience to summons an offence
59.—(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 a document, an article or a device for projecting a non‑physical product must not, without lawful excuse, fail to produce the document, article or device.[29/2017]
(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
60.—(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, articles or devices for projecting non‑physical products, or to answer questions, which the person is required by the Registrar to produce or answer.[29/2017]
(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.
Immunity of Office and Registrar as regards official acts
61. Neither the Office nor the Registrar nor any person acting under its, his or her authority —(a)
is to be taken to warrant the validity of the registration of any design registered under this Act or under any treaty, convention, arrangement or engagement to which Singapore is a party; or
(b)
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.
Appeal from decision or order of Registrar
62.—(1) Except as provided by rules made under this Act, an appeal lies to the Court from any decision or order of the Registrar under this Act.
(2) Any appeal under this Act which concerns an application for registration of a design must be heard in private unless the Court otherwise directs.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(3) An appeal does not lie to the appellate court from a decision of the Court on appeal from a decision or order of the Registrar 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;
“decision” includes any act of the Registrar done in the exercise of a discretion vested in the Registrar by or under this Act.[40/2019]
Exercise of discretionary power
63. Where any discretionary power is given to the Registrar by this Act, the Registrar must not exercise the power without giving to any person who may be adversely affected by the Registrar’s decision an opportunity to be heard.
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
