TIGER PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT LTD v ENCORE FILMS PTE LTD

[2023] SGHC 255 High Court (General Division) 11 September 2023 HC/OC 466/2022 ( HC/SUM 2172/2023 )

5 cases cited Cited by 3 cases

Key facts

Court	High Court (General Division)
Decided	11 September 2023
Judge	Dedar Singh Gill
Charges / claim	Intellectual Property
Counsel	Allen & Gledhill LLP, Lee & Lee, Lee Junting Basil, Tan Tee Jim, Toh Jia Yi

Source: [2023] SGHC 255, High Court (General Division), decided 11 September 2023 — eLitigation. Updated 10 July 2026.

Catchwords

Intellectual Property — Copyright — Licences Intellectual Property — Copyright — Infringement

Practice Areas

Intellectual Property

Judges (1)

Dedar Singh Gill Delivered

Counsel (5)

Allen & Gledhill LLP Firm Lee & Lee Firm Lee Junting Basil Counsel for the defendant Tan Tee Jim Counsel for the defendant Toh Jia Yi Counsel for the claimant

Parties (2)

Encore Films Pte Ltd Defendant Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd Claimant

Case Significance

Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd v Encore Films Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 255 is a Grounds of Decision of the General Division of the High Court, delivered by Dedar Singh Gill J on 11 September 2023 in Originating Claim No 466 of 2022 (Summons No 2172 of 2023). The claimant, Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd, a company incorporated in the People's Republic of China, brought a copyright infringement claim against the defendant, Encore Films Pte Ltd, a Singapore-incorporated film distributor, over rights to the top-grossing Chinese film "Moon Man", whose copyright owner is a Chinese company known as Kaixin Mahua. The application before the court was to strike out the copyright claim on the ground that the claimant had no standing to sue for infringement, which Dedar Singh Gill J dismissed.

Summary

Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd, exclusive licensee of distribution rights to the Chinese film "Moon Man", sued Encore Films Pte Ltd for copyright infringement, and Encore applied to strike out the claim arguing the claimant had no standing to sue. The dispute turned on whether the claimant remained the statutory exclusive licensee under s 103(1) of the Copyright Act 2021 despite a sub-licence to a third party. The High Court held the claimant retained standing and dismissed the striking out application.

What was Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd v Encore Films Pte Ltd [2023] SGHC 255 about?

It was a decision of Dedar Singh Gill J on 11 September 2023 on an application to strike out a copyright infringement claim brought by Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd against Encore Films Pte Ltd over the Chinese film "Moon Man"; the strike-out application was dismissed.

Why was the strike-out sought in [2023] SGHC 255?

The defendant sought to strike out the copyright claim on the ground that the claimant, Tiger Pictures Entertainment Ltd, had no standing to sue for infringement of the film "Moon Man", whose copyright owner was the Chinese company Kaixin Mahua; the court dismissed the application.