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SINGAPORE: A robust Intellectual Property (IP) environment is essential to the growth of Singapore's creative economy.
And, the government is looking at ways to deal with online piracy, which continues to be a problem here.
Law Minister K Shanmugam said while Singapore has made good progress in eradicating physical piracy such as bootleg DVDs, it still has some way to go in battling online piracy compared to neighbouring countries, as it is a highly-digitised nation.
Law Minister K Shanmugam said this at the launch of "The Mortal Enemy", the winning trailer for The Originals Get Reel Contest.
The contest, a public outreach initiative, aims to raise awareness and respect for Intellectual Property in Singapore.
Speaking after the launch, Mr Shanmugam said his ministry is in discussion with the Motion Picture Association on the piracy issue.
While there's no clear solution to the problem yet, some suggestions include blocking websites that host pirated materials, or putting in place a voluntary regime involving Internet Service Providers.
Mr Shanmugam said many countries have tried blocking websites with limited success.
Mr Shanmugam added: "We will have to work with the ISPs. And the government will have to work with the ISPs and whether it should be a voluntary regime vis-a-vis the ISPs, or whether it should be legislated.
"For example, if the ISPs were to work with the industry, to try and curtail the practices - that's one possibility. But the ISPs would be concerned as to whether that would expose them to other kinds of legal action or international condemnation."
He also said: "There is a problem, but it is a problem that many countries face - the US, Europe, many countries.
"Most countries are struggling to find an effective solution.
"For example, in the US, they tried the voluntary regime. It's not as effective as people wanted it to be, and so there's legislation pending before Congress, to give powers to block sites. But that legislation is facing intense criticism, you can understand why - it raises wider concerns.
"It's something we're all trying to work on, because we believe our next phase of development and growth in Singapore has got to support creativity. And in order for creativity to be supported, you need a legal framework where you protect creative work."
Mr Shanmugam said Singapore's creative industries contributed S$11.8 billion in value-add to the economy in 2010, up from S$3 billion about a decade ago.
He added the digital media sector, especially, has been growing at 25 per cent a year since 2005.
Mr Shanmugam cited the movie "My Magic", the first Singaporean film to be nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, as well as the significant contributions of Lucasfilm Singapore to the production of major blockbusters such as "Transformers 3: Dark of the Moon" and "Iron Man", as examples of how far the local creative content scene has come.
He said: "In order for these engines of growth to manifest their full potential, an environment conducive to the protection of creative content is necessary.
"In 2011, Singapore was ranked second in the world in IP protection in the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report and top in Asia in the 2010 Political & Economic Risk Consultancy Report."
"The Mortal Enemy", created by 26-year-old Erwin Nah, will be featured in cinemas island-wide.
About 180 youths, aged between 17 and 26, participated in the contest.
The contest was organised by the Honour Intellectual Property (or HIP) Alliance, a flagship public outreach initiative spearheaded by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).
- CNA/ck
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