New moneylending regulations in Singapore

The Singapore Ministry of Law will implement the first phase of the Moneylenders (Amendment) Act 2018* and Moneylenders (Amendment) Rules 2018 to provide better protection for borrowers and strengthen the regulation of licensed moneylenders from 30 November. 

The new rules will introduce aggregate loan caps to limit the amount an individual may borrow from all licensed moneylenders combined. As announced on 4 October 2018, the following caps will apply to Singapore citizens and permanent residents, as well as foreigners residing in Singapore**:

To facilitate the implementation of the aggregate loan cap, a regulatory framework has been introduced for the Moneylenders Credit Bureau (MLCB). The new framework places obligations on the MLCB and licensed moneylenders to strengthen the confidentiality, security, and integrity of borrower data. This will better enable the MLCB to function as a central repository of moneylending data, and help moneylenders make more informed and responsible lending decisions, the ministry said. 

The new rules also provide for a self-exclusion*** framework, to help borrowers regulate their borrowing behaviour and participate in debt assistance schemes which typically require self-exclusion. Under the framework, licensed moneylenders are prohibited from lending to any individual who has applied for self-exclusion. Implementation of the self-exclusion system is on-going; more details will be available in due course. 

To prevent undesirable characters from entering the moneylending industry, the approval of the Registrar of Moneylenders will be required before any licensed moneylender can employ or engage any assistant in the business. The Registrar’s approval will also be required before anyone can become a substantial shareholder of, or increase his substantial shareholdings in, a licensed moneylender. 

In addition, it is now an offence for any licensed moneylender to enter into a loan contract that breaches regulatory caps on interest and fees. 

Legislative changes relating to the professionalisation of the moneylending industry will take effect in the first quarter of 2019. All licensed moneylenders will be required to be incorporated as companies limited by shares with a minimum amount of paid-up capital of S$100,000, and to submit annual audited accounts to the Registry of Moneylenders.

*The Moneylenders (Amendment) Act 2018 was passed by the Parliament on 8 January 2018.

**The aggregate loan caps apply to all holders of Work Passes, Dependent’s Passes, Student Passes and Long Term Visit Passes. Holders of Short Term Visit Passes (up to 90 days) will not be covered. 

***In a self-exclusion framework, someone can request that their name is added to a list of people who are excluded from an activity. In the traditional sense, they would be banned from borrowing money though the regulations could implement self exclusion differently - they could be allowed to borrow much less money instead, for example.

New maternity, childcare rules for female Dubai government employees

In his capacity as Ruler of Dubai, VP and PM of UAE HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum issued Decree No (14) of 2017 on maternity and childcare leave for female employees of the Dubai government.

The decree aims to promote a balance between career and family, support the rights of working women and provide a legal framework for enhancing gender balance.

The provisions of the decree will be applied retroactively to current maternity leave and nursing breaks of female employees of the Dubai government.

Under the fecree, any full-time or part-time employee in a permanent position is entitled to 90 days of maternity leave from the date of delivery. The employee can also apply to start her maternity leave 30 days before her due date on the condition that the leave is taken continuously. Furthermore, the employee can combine maternity leave, regular annual leave and leave without pay for a maximum of 120 days.

Additionally, the decree states that an employee who has suffered a miscarriage before the 24th week of her pregnancy is entitled to sick leave based on a duly approved medical report. If the employee had a stillbirth or a miscarriage after the 24th week, she is entitled to 60 days of maternity leave after providing an approved medical report.

An employee who gave birth to a child with disability is entitled to childcare leave of one year, which is renewable up to a maximum of three years based on an approved medical report and approval from the concerned senior official in the government entity.

During the maternity leave and childcare leave prescribed in this Decree, the employee will only receive her basic monthly salary; weekends and official holidays are considered part of the maternity leave and childcare leave.

The decree also states that Dubai government entities must establish a nursery for employees’ children below four years if the total number of children of female employees is 20 or above. If the total number of children is less than 20, two or more government entities can jointly establish a nursery. Government entities may also contract nurseries close to their headquarters if the entity does not have adequate space for the nursery.

This decree annuls any other legislation that contradicts or challenges its articles. The decree is valid from 1 March 2017 and will be published in the Official Gazette.

Singapore changes rules for design protection

The Singapore Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has tabled the Registered Designs (Amendment) Bill for first reading in Parliament. The proposed legislative changes will update Singapore’s design protection regime to take into account latest trends in design and technology. It will support the growth of the design industry by making it easier for designers to protect their creative works.

The bill implements the recommendations from the review of Singapore’s registered designs regime conducted by MinLaw and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS). Key features of the Registered Designs (Amendment) Bill include:

(i) Broaden the scope of registrable designs to include:

 Virtual designs of non-physical products that can be projected onto any surface and have useful functions, for example a light-projected keyboard which works like a physical keyboard.

 Colours as a design feature. For example, a new vacuum cleaner shape together with the yellow and black colours of the vacuum cleaner's body can be registered.

In addition, the amendments will clarify that the designs of artisanal or handcrafted items, such as handmade jewellery, can be registered.

(ii) Allow the designer of a commissioned design, rather than the commissioning party, to own the design by default

Currently, where a designer is commissioned to create a design, the commissioning party is the owner of the design. The amendments will instead give the design ownership to the creator by default. This is to highlight the importance of design creation and the valuable contribution of designers. Both parties would still be free to contract otherwise.

(iii) Broaden and lengthen the grace period provision

Currently, a design cannot be validly registered if it has been publicly disclosed before the application date. However, narrow exceptions are provided–a design can be validly registered if the disclosure took plac in very limited circumstances (for example, when the disclosure was in breach of confidence), and the application for design protection was made within six months of the disclosure.

The amendments will broaden the circumstances covered to any disclosure made by the designer, and lengthen the grace period to 12 months. This will enable designers to still obtain design protection if their works were disclosed inadvertently or out of necessity, and is in line with modern business realities where such disclosures could be necessary, and can take place in a wide range of situations.

Singapore provides for design protection under the Registered Designs Act, which was enacted in 2000.  A review of the registered designs regime was conducted from May 2014 to March 2016. The objectives of the review were to support modern business practices while continuing to balance the interests of design creators/owners and users, provide business certainty and ensure that Singapore’s design protection regime is cost-effective. The review included two rounds of public consultation from May to June 2014, and from October to December 2015 respectively. Focus group discussions and one-to-one consultations were also held, including with industry and design associations, businesses, intellectual property practitioners, and academics.

Singapore’s patent laws are being updated

The Singapore Ministry of Law (MinLaw) has submitted the Patents (Amendment) Bill for a first reading in the Singapore Parliament. The proposed changes will enhance Singapore’s patent regime by increasing the quality of patents and making it more user-friendly, the ministry said.

Two key amendments are being introduced. First, all patent applications are to be fully examined by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to ensure that inventions meet all of Singapore’s patentability standards, increasing the quality of patents and raising confidence in the Singapore patent system. Secondly, inventors will also be given greater flexibility in disclosing their inventions before seeking patent protection.

Specifically:

Closure of foreign route

 Patent applications must be examined by the patent office to ensure that the invention satisfies patentability requirements before a patent is granted.

Currently, patent applicants can submit an examination report issued by a foreign patent office for the invention being considered to expedite their application.

IPOS would then conduct a simplified examination which does not cover key patentability requirements. This practice of using the "foreign route” can result in patents granted that may not fully satisfy Singapore’s patentability standards.

 With the closure of the foreign route, currently planned for 1 January 2020, all patent applications must be fully examined by IPOS. This ensures that all granted patents fully satisfy Singapore’s patentability criteria.

Broadening the grace period provision

 An inventor must generally keep his invention confidential before applying for a patent.

 Currently, public disclosures are only disregarded under very narrow circumstances – for example, when the disclosure was in breach of confidence. Public disclosures outside these narrow circumstances will lead to the invention being ineligible for patent protection.

 The proposed amendments will allow any public disclosure originating from the inventor to be disregarded, if it occurs within 12 months before the patent application. Hence, if inventors disclose their inventions during this period, whether inadvertently or out of necessity, they can still obtain a patent later. This is in line with modern business realities where such practices could be necessary.

 However, inventors are strongly encouraged to continue to avoid disclosing their inventions before applying for a patent. As not all jurisdictions have a similarly broad grace period provision, public disclosures prior to applying for a patent could jeopardise patent protection in other jurisdictions.

 A public consultation on the proposed amendments was conducted by IPOS from 27 October 2016 to 15 November 2016 and received feedback from the Law Society, patent agent associations and the Singapore Inventors’ Development Association (SIDA).

Philippines to get better maternity leave legislation

The Philippines House committee on women and gender equality chaired by Representative Emmeline Aglipay-Villar has endorsed for plenary approval a bill seeking to increase the maternity leave period with an option to extend that leave without pay.

House Bill 4113, a substitute measure for 15 bills, aims to protect the maternal health and postnatal health care of women employed in both the government service and private sector, as well as the welfare of the child.

“The bill reached second reading in the House and a version of the bill from the Senate was passed and transmitted for concurrence during the 16th Congress,” said Aglipay-Villar. Elizabeth Angsioco, National Chairperson of the Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines (DSWP) and one of the resource persons during the committee hearing, said the existing maternity leave benefits of 60 to 78 days is extremely inadequate and applicable laws need to be amended.

“We belong to a group of countries with the shortest maternity leaves in the whole world based on the International Labor Organization (ILO) resources,” Angsioco said.

One of the key provisions of the bill is it increases the maternity leave period to 100 days with pay and an option to extend for an additional 30 days without pay for female workers in the government service and in the private sector.

Likewise, it grants the same coverage to female workers in both government and private sector regardless of civil status, miscarriage, or abortion after termination; to female workers in the informal economy, those with pending administrative cases and those who are not members of the Social Security System (SSS).

The proposal further assures security of tenure to female workers and emphasises that maternity leave shall not be used as basis for demotion in employment or termination, and allows transfer to a parallel position or reassignment from one organisational unit to another in the same agency provided that it shall not involve a reduction in rank, status or salary.

Another provision states that a female SSS member who has paid at least three monthly contributions in the 12-month period immediately preceding the semester of her childbirth or miscarriage shall be paid her daily maternity benefit which shall be computed based on the average monthly salary credit, for 100 days, regardless if the delivery was normal or by Caesarian and subject to conditions as provided in the bill.

The measure specifies that female workers in the private sector availing of the maternity period and benefits must receive not less than two-thirds of their regular monthly wages and that employers shall be responsible for the salary differential between the actual cash benefits received from the SSS and their average weekly or regular wages, for the entire duration of the ordinary maternity leave subject to exceptions.

These exceptions are: those operating distressed establishments; those retail/service establishments employing not more than 10 workers; those who pay their workers on a purely commission, boundary, or task basis; and those who are paid a fixed amount for performing a specific work.

Others included in the exceptions: those considered as micro business enterprises and are engaged in the production, processing, or manufacturing or products or commodities including agro-processing, trading, and services whose total assets are not more than P3 million; and those who are already providing similar or more than the benefits as provided in the bill.

The bill designates the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and the SSS to immediately conduct a review of the maternity leave benefits of women employees in the government service and the private sector, respectively, and include maternity leave benefits in their valuation report conducted every four years for the SSS and every three years for the CSC, or more frequently as may be necessary.

Oman State Council imposes 15% corporate income tax for the year

The State Council of Oman has approved draft income tax laws for both foreign capital investment and insurance companies laws at its fourth sitting of the first annual session of the sixth term under the chair of Dr Yahya bin Mahfoudh al-Manthri, Chairman of the State Council, the Oman News Agency has reported.

The Chairman of the Economic Committee said that the Committee agreed with the government and Majlis A'Shura on increasing the income tax to 15% of the taxable income of any Omani company or establishment or business for any tax year. The Committee believes that this rate should include all business entities without any exception or preferential treatment as this will ensure fair treatment for everyone.

posted from Bloggeroid

Book on Asian Data Privacy Laws compares Asian with international standards

Asian Data Privacy Laws: Trade & Human Rights Perspectives by Graham Greenleaf (ISBN 978-0-19-967966-9) is the first work to examine data privacy laws across Asia. 

Source: OUP.

Professor Greenleaf, a Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales, Australia and Co-founder and Co-Director of the free-access Australasian Legal Information Institute, covers 26 countries and separate jurisdictions, and provides an in-depth analysis of the 14 which have specialised data privacy laws against international standards.

The 624-page hardback from Oxford University Press (OUP) costs £115. It was published in October 2014 and is also available as an e-book.