The legal framework
The Copyright Act 2021 replaced the 1987 statute. It sets a term of life plus seventy years, introduced a new right of attribution for creators and performers, made creators the default first owners of commissioned photographs and portraits, and created a general permitted-use exception assessed by reference to statutory factors, closer to fair use than to fair dealing.
Key points
| Statute | Copyright Act 2021, in force since November 2021 |
|---|---|
| Term | Life plus 70 years |
| Attribution right | New statutory right to be identified as creator or performer |
| Commissioned works | The creator is now the default owner of commissioned photographs and portraits |
| Permitted use | Open factors test, closer to fair use |
| Text and data mining | Specific exception for computational data analysis |
| Computational data analysis | A specific exception, subject to lawful access |
| Term for unpublished works | Now limited, ending perpetual protection |
In practice
- Assume everything you find online is protected: absence of a copyright notice means nothing.
- Look for an explicit licence — Creative Commons, a stock licence, a written permission — and keep a copy of it.
- Credit alone is not a defence: attribution does not replace permission.
- For anything commercial, get permission in writing and keep it for as long as you use the work.
- Put a written assignment in place when commissioning photographs: the default changed in 2021.
Recent changes
The Copyright Act 2021 was the first full rewrite since 1987 and changed several default rules, including ownership of commissioned works.
Where to go
- Intellectual Property Office of Singapore.
- COMPASS and other collecting societies.
- IPOS mediation and adjudication services.
Worth knowing
The 2021 reversal of ownership for commissioned photographs matters for anyone hiring a photographer: without a written assignment the photographer now owns the images. The 2021 Act reversed ownership of commissioned photographs. Anyone hiring a photographer now needs an express assignment.
Official sources and links
- gov.sg — official government portal
- Singapore Statutes Online — legislation in force