HFW secures Singapore International Commercial Court win in Singapore’s first AI copyright case

Global law firm HFW has secured a significant victory before the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) in a landmark dispute in the region concerning AI systems training/development and alleged confidential digital design materials.

The case, led by HFW Partner Shaun Leong and Senior Associate Theodore Ang, is understood to be among the first in Singapore to examine the intersection between AI product development, data ingestion, copyright and alleged “springboard” advantage in a commercial setting.

The Court declined to grant the wide-ranging injunction sought against Vavetek AI Pte Ltd by Arcop Associates Private Limited, allowing the company to continue operating its AI platform pending trial. The application had sought to restrain alleged reproduction, derivation and commercial exploitation of Building Information Modelling datasets and related design workflows, as well as to impose a time-based “springboard” restraint.

Vavetek AI is a Singapore-based SAAS startup which develops AI co-pilots for building developers and turnkey contractors.

The dispute raises issues of global relevance, including:

• Whether alleged software testing using project-based datasets amounts to copyright infringement

• The threshold for establishing alleged ongoing misuse of confidential digital materials
• The evidential burden required at the stage in complex AI development disputes
• The scope of “springboard” relief in technology commercialisation contexts.
• The judgment highlights the scrutiny applied to allegations of continuing infringement in AI-driven environments and the importance of distinguishing between transient technical processing and actionable reproduction or derivation.

Shaun Leong, Partner, HFW:

“We’re proud to have advised Vavatek AI in this landmark case on AI development in Singapore. This result reflects the quality of HFW’s growing international AI disputes practice and expertise in complex cross-border issues involving AI systems, training data and digital asset structures.

As generative AI systems and AI-enabled platforms scale rapidly across industries, lawful data use and commercialisation are playing an increasing role in global technology litigation.

The timing of this decision is particularly significant – around the world, courts and regulators are grappling with disputes concerning AI training data, proprietary digital content, data provenance and the boundaries between innovation and intellectual property protection.”