Question 1
Ah Teng is a successful durian merchant. He is keen to innovate and explore how to improve
the sales of durian in Singapore. He thus appointed a polytechnic, NSP, to help carry out
research on how to efficiently de-husk and vacuum pack durians so that they can be carried on
public transport.
Ah Teng spent many hours working with the engineers from NSP, sharing with them his knowhow on how to handle durians and the best way to de-husk them. He also made available to
NSP his proprietary design machete, which he had jealously guarded as a trade secret. Ah Seng
was very proud of this machete as it was capable of making a very clean cut out of a durian
husk with significantly less effort. The NSP team was also very impressed with his machete
design and incorporated it into a machine which would automatically de-husk durians and,
through the use of a robotic arm, remove the seeds and pack them into a box that would then
be vacuum sealed, all in an automated process. This process was controlled by a computer
software written by the NSP team. NSP filed a patent application in respect of the de-husking
machine.
The machine proved to be very effective and Ah Teng was overjoyed, as he could save on his
manpower costs and also serve his customers more quickly. He nicknamed the machine the
Durian Warrior and featured it extensively in his advertising. Customers soon came to know
of his machine, and many were attracted to buying durians from Ah Teng. Because of this
machine, Ah Teng could offer durians at cheaper prices. Ah Teng also filed a trade mark
application for Durian Warrior.
One of Ah Teng’s competitors, Joe, hired a cyber-hacker to infiltrate NSP’s computers to copy
the plans for the machine and machete as well as the controller software. Joe then started to
manufacture these durian processing machines and sold them under the brand Durian Samurai.
Ah Teng was furious when he learnt that Joe was selling the Durian Samurai machines.
Please answer the following questions:
(a) Classify and identify the different types of intellectual property rights that may be
infringed by Joe’s actions. For each of these types of rights, discuss and explain how
Singapore law defines infringement of these rights. Identify which of Joe’s actions may
specifically constitute infringement of these rights and define who may assert such
infringement claims. Analyse and explain the legal remedies that the courts in
Singapore may award in the event that there is a finding of intellectual property
infringement. (50 marks)
(b) Ah Teng is approached by Adrian who wants to purchase the IP for his durian
processing machine. Ah Teng has come to you for advice. Discuss and demonstrate the
options available to Ah Teng in allowing Adrian to access the IP to his durian
processing machine (and whether he has the necessary rights to do so). Explain and
evaluate which of these options would be preferable from Ah Teng’s perspective.
(50 marks)
Sample Solution