Singapore legislation

Section 133

of Copyright Act 2021

Section 133

First owner — maker of work, etc., is default first owner

(1)

Subject to the provisions of this Act, the first owner of copyright in a work is —

(a)

in the case of an authorial work — subject to subsection (2), the author;

(b)

in the case of a published edition of an authorial work — the publisher;

(c)

in the case of a sound recording — the maker of the recording;

(d)

in the case of a film — the maker of the film;

(e)

in the case of a broadcast — the broadcasting licensee that made the broadcast; and

(f)

in the case of a cable programme — the person providing the cable programme service in which the programme was included.

(2)

If copyright subsists in a work of joint authorship only because one or more (but not all) of the joint authors are qualified individuals, subsection (1)(a) does not confer ownership of the copyright on a joint author who is not a qualified individual.

(3)

Subsections (1) and (2) are subject to any contrary intention in —

(a)

any written agreement made on or after 21 November 2021 by the person who would otherwise be the first owner of a copyright under those subsections; or

(b)

any agreement before 21 November 2021 by the person who would otherwise be the first owner of a copyright under those subsections.