BITS & BYTES
BITS & BYTES is a monthly bulletin presented by TRAIL and its partners - Allen & Gledhill, Drew & Napier, Rajah & Tann, and WongPartnership – that showcases thought leadership in law and technology. It will cover how technology is used in or impacts different areas of law such as commercial law, intellectual property, banking and finance, tort law, privacy and data protection, and cybersecurity. The bulletin will feature commentaries on a particular area of law, technological development or legal policy, case notes and practice notes.
Articles From This Month's Issue
ENTERTAINMENT & SPORTS
By Lau Kok Keng (Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP)
This is the first of a two-part article which discusses the evolution and state of technology which is deployed in sports today, the impact of the use of such technology in sports, and some of the legal and ethical issues arising from such use.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE & ROBOTS
By Gary Low, Alex Goh and Victor David Lau (Drew & Napier LLC)
This is a first of a two-part series on the use of robots. In this article, we explore how the use of driverless cars may fit within the framework of our road traffic legislation, and whether legislative reform is required to address any issues arising from the use of driverless cars on our roads.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
By Dr Stanley Lai, SC, David Lim and Linda Shi (Allen & Gledhill LLP)
The interactions between the new Copyright Act 2021 and the Registered Designs Act 2000 have stymied many a neophyte in the world of intellectual property rights. The layman who perceives the Graphical User Interface (“GUI”) applied to the latest new-fangled tech release (did someone say “Apple Vision Pro”?) may consider that artistic copyright would apply to protect such a sleek and aesthetically pleasing work of art, before only subsequently discovering to their chagrin that their reliance on artistic copyright protection was misplaced given the strictures of the Copyright Act 2021 (“CA”).
CRYPTOCURRENCY & NFTs
By Jansen Chow, Foo Xian Fong, Rajesh Sreenivasan, Steve Tan, Benjamin Cheong, Lionel Tan & Tanya Tang (Rajah & Tann Singapore LLP)
It has often been said that the world's borders are becoming less and less distinct, be it through transport, communication or commerce. Technology of course plays a key role in this, particularly in light of the relentless advancement of digitalisation, where digital platforms transcend geographical boundaries. One prime example would be the increasing prevalence of cryptocurrencies, non-fungible tokens ("”NFTs") and other crypto assets, demonstrating a shift towards finance and investment in the digital realm.
CRYPTOCURRENCY & NFTs
By Tian Sion Yoong and Daniel Chan (WongPartnership LLP)
Cryptocurrencies have emerged as a potential disrupter in the financial and payments world. This article discusses various policy considerations that are relevant to the question of whether cryptocurrencies and SCS should be recognised as a form of money in Singapore.