This update covers recent Court decisions and featured articles, videos and developments relating to IP/IT dispute resolution in Singapore.

The High Court set aside interim injunctions previously granted to MoneySmart Singapore Pte Ltd that prevented a former employee from working for a rival company. The High Court agreed with the employee that the non-compete clause contained in the employment contract was unreasonable and unfair. This update discusses the High Court decision.

In an unreported decision in HC/S 236/2022, the General Division of the Singapore High Court held the defendant directors not liable for breach of the duty not to compete with the plaintiff company by providing services to the plaintiff’s former customer. This was based in part on a critical finding of the Court that the directors had been effectively excluded from the plaintiff company by the time they had begun servicing the plaintiff’s former customer.

This update looks at some of the proposed changes recently published in a Singapore Exchange Regulation consultation paper which seeks to facilitate the restructuring process for issuers under Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018, which will enable issuers to restructure more efficiently and lessen the regulatory burden when they are trying to manage their financial affairs and meet time-sensitive milestones.

This article takes a closer look at Taiwan’s controlled foreign corporation rules which was implemented since 1 January 2023 and seeks to prevent tax avoidance by taxing income earned by foreign entities controlled by Taiwanese residents.

In Lutfi Salim bin Talib and another v British and Malayan Trustees Ltd [2024] SGHC 85, the High Court held that the court should not go behind filed affidavits for the purposes of deciding an application under O 11 r 3(1) of the Rules of Court 2021, unless there are very strong reasons to do so.

This update gives a brief background and overview of the Singapore High Court decision in Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd v Encore Films Pte Ltd [2024] SGHC 39 which is the first case in Singapore invoking the “Simplified Process for Certain Intellectual Property Claims”, an optional “fast track” for intellectual property (“IP”) litigation to provide parties with a more affordable and expedited route to enforce their IP rights in Singapore.

The decision of Kyen Resources Pte Ltd (in compulsory liquidation) v Feima International (Hongkong) Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] SGCA 7 saw the Court of Appeal deciding three major points of law for the first time. The decision imposes important limits on when and how liquidators can assert crossclaims of the company in liquidation in order to defeat claims in a creditor’s proof of debt, and also clarifies the law on transnational issue estoppel in insolvency proceedings.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore has responded to feedback on its proposal to repeal the regulatory regime for Registered Fund Management Companies (RFMCs) and application of such RFMCs to become Licensed Fund Management Companies (LFMCs). This article sets out the timing of repeal and application process, details in relation to the application form, considerations in reviewing applications, continuity of operations, applicable requirements and unsuccessful applicants.

This update highlights developments relating to the launch of the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the expansion of the Enterprise Financing Scheme – Green announced during Budget 2024.

The Singapore Exchange Regulation (“SGX RegCo”) recently sought comments on its proposed changes to the SGX-ST Listing Rules to clarify the obligations of issuers listed on SGX-ST undergoing the corporate restructuring process under the IRDA Act. This update provides a brief summary of SGX RegCo’s key proposals to improve the restructuring and trading resumption frameworks.

Once an ex parte order recognising and registering the Singapore-seated arbitral award as an order of court is obtained, is the award debtor’s sole recourse to apply to set aside that very order of Singapore court within that specific originating application or is there an independent or further entitlement to file a fresh originating application to set aside the Singapore judgment registering the award?

This article highlights three key FinTech trends in Singapore in 2023 which saw the Monetary Authority of Singapore actively taking the lead in numerous areas, including the launch of the Orchid Blueprint.

This update looks at some of the key legal highlights over the past 3 months, across various practice areas including deals, restraint of trade, family law and intellectual property among others.

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (“CCCS”) issued, on 1 March 2024, its Guidance Note on Business Collaborations Pursuing Environmental Sustainability Objectives which aims to provide greater clarity to businesses on how CCCS will assess collaborations pursuing environmental sustainability objectives, so that such collaborations may be pursued in a way that does not harm competition. This update briefly outlines the salient aspects of the guidance note.

Construction contracts are unique in having a contractor administrator, whose role has been described as an “officer of the contract”. The conventional wisdom in common law jurisdictions is that where the contract administrator is called upon to decide an issue which affects the interests of both the employer and the contractor, he is required to exercise independent judgment. This case note considers two recent Singapore High Court cases which have held that a contract administrator under the most popular design-and-build standard form of contract in Singapore does not owe such a duty of independence.

This is the second of a two-part article which discusses online safety and cybersecurity risks in video gaming. This second part will explore the common cybersecurity issues and risks that arise from online gaming, as well as examine the forms of legal protection available against cybersecurity threats. Part 1 here.

This update provides an overview of the renewable energy landscape in the region and certain salient legal and regulatory issues affecting the development and deployment of RE in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

The issue of taking security over cryptoassets comes to the force in the financing of cryptoasset investment, as Singapore looks to address the associated money laundering and terrorism financing risks. This update takes a brief look at the position of the Singapore courts in the treatment of cryptoassets as property.

This article advances a principled approach to give certainty and finality to the registered title under the Land Titles Act 1983 (“LTA”). It requires the court to interpret the statutory exceptions to indefeasibility under the LTA as exclusive categories or instances of the prescribed causes of action that may defeat or encumber the registered title wholly or partially. It is argued that this approach gives effect to the purpose of the LTA.