Extracts from website - Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
OWNERSHIP RIGHTS
Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - Authors enjoy the exclusive rights to reproduce the work; publish the work; perform the work in public; communicate the work to the public; and make an adaptation of the work.
Published editions of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works The publisher has the exclusive right to make a reproduction of the edition.
Sound recordings The producer of a sound recording enjoys the exclusive rights to:make a copy of the sound recording; commercially rent out the sound recording; publish the sound recording if it is unpublished; and make available to the public a sound recording by means or as part of a digital audio transmission.
Cinematograph films The producer of a film enjoys the exclusive rights to :make a copy of the film; cause the film to be seen in public; and communicate the film to the public.
Television and radio broadcasts The broadcaster enjoys the exclusive rights to : make a film or sound recording of the broadcast; rebroadcast; communicate the broadcast to the public; and cause the broadcast to be seen or heard by a paying audience.
Cable programmes The producer of the cable programme enjoys the exclusive rights to : make a film or sound recording of the cable programme; communicate the cable programme to the public; and cause the cable programme to be seen or heard by a paying audience.
“Communicate” is defined as to transmit by electronic means (whether over a path or combination of paths or otherwise) a work or other subject matter, whether or not it is sent in response to a request and includes:
(a) Broadcasting
(b) Inclusion in a cable programme
(c) The making available of the work or other subject matter in such a way that the work or subject matter may be accessed by any person from a place and at a time chosen by him (e.g. access over the Internet).
TERM
The duration varies according to the type of copyright work concerned.
Literary, dramatic, musical, artistic works - 70 years from the end of the year the author died. If the work is only published after the death of the author, it lasts for 70 years from the end of the year in which the work was first published.
Published editions of literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works (layout) - 25 years from the end of the year the edition was first published.
Sound recordings and films- 70 years from the end of the year the sound recording or film was first released.
Broadcasts and cable programmes- 50 years from the end of the year the broadcast or cable programme was first made.
Performances - 70 years from the end of the year of the performance.
SEEKING PERMISSION FROM COPYRIGHT OWNERS
To do anything that only the copyright owner has the exclusive rights to do (e.g. reproduce the work), his consent is needed. The mere acknowledgement of the source does not mean the copyright owner has given his consent. Sometimes, consent is indicated in the terms of permitted use e.g. “for Private Use Only”. Otherwise, one should seek permission from copyright owners.
To do so, one may either contact the copyright owners directly and negotiate for a licence to use the copyright material; or obtain a licence through a collective society. A collective society is an organisation that administers the rights of a group of copyright owners. It can grant consent to use the works of its members under specific conditions. A list of these collective societies in Singapore may be found on IPOS’ website.
Unless the family member insist of holding on the rights.