News

KUALA LUMPUR, June 21-- The lengthy process and delays in patenting inventions have caused Malaysian innovators to lose interest in innovation said Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shafie Apdal.

The Ministry of Law and the Monetary Authority of Singapore had embarked on a major review of the Singapore Trustees Act in 2003.

Amendments have been passed on 15 June 2004 to update the Trade Marks Act, the Patents Act, the Copyright Act, the Registered Designs Act and the Layout- Designs of Integrated Circuits Act.

A new Plant Varieties Protection Act and Manufacture of Optical Discs Act were also passed on 15 June 2004.

Amendments to allow for locum solicitors to practice passed by Singapore Parliament on 15 June 2004.

As a result of a drafting error in section 189 of the Companies Act, the set of documents available for inspection or purchase by the shareholders of a company was inadvertently extended to minutes of meeting of directors and managers.

To reduce e-mail spam in Singapore, the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Attorney-General's Chambers of Singapore (AGC) are issuing a joint consultation paper which proposes a legislative framework to control e-mail spam in Singapore. The proposed legislative framework seeks to balance the legitimate interests and concerns of different groups such as e-mail users and ISPs on the one hand, and marketers on the other. Many jurisdictions such as Australia, the European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and South Korea have enacted legislation for the control of e-mail spam.

The Ministry of Finance is conducting a public consultation exercise to seek public comments on the draft Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) Bill 2004 which sets out the legal framework for LLPs in Singapore, as recommended by the Study Team on LLPs. MOF plans to table the draft Bill for First Reading in Parliament in the third quarter of 2004.

Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) is embarking on a public consultation of the proposed amendments to the Hire-Purchase Act to solicit feedback on the proposed law.

The Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) a new statutory board under the Ministry of Finance will be officially launched by 2nd Minister of Finance, Mr Lim Hng Kiang on 12 May 2004.

The draft Human Cloning and Other Prohibited Practices Bill is now posted for public consultation. The Ministry of Health would like your comments on this draft Bill. The closing date for submission of feedback is 31 May 04.

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