GENERAL COUNTRY INFORMATION
The island city-state of Singapore is situated off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, with a current population of 4.9 million. Singapore is ranked third place out of 133 in the global competitiveness survey conducted by the World Economic Forum for the period of 2009-2010. According to the CIA World Factbook, Singapore ranked eighth in the world with a GDP per capita of US$50,300 for year 2009. Singapore has excellent infrastructure for protection and enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). The nation is ranked tenth in the world (third in Asia Pacific) for IPR enforcement based on the Taylor Wessing Global Intellectual Property Index 2009.

Singapore Trademark System

HIGHLIGHTS

Legal basis	Trade Marks Act 1998 effective 24 December, 1998 Trade Marks Act (Chapter 332) 1999 Rev Edition effective 15 January, 1999 Trade Marks Act 2005 Rev Edition Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2004 effective 1 July, 2004 Trade Marks (Amendment) Act, 2007 effective 2 July, 2007
Major international treaties signed	Paris Convention effective 23 February 1995 Madrid Protocol effective 31 October 2000 Nice Agreement effective 18 March 1999 Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Cost of obtaining a trademark	Please contact us at  singapore@mirandah.com
Average time to register a trademark	6 to 8 months
Official language for trademark prosecution	English
Registrable marks	All distinctive and graphically representable signs, such as words, names, acronyms, letters, numerals, devices, shapes, colors, brands, labels, signatures, aspects of packaging or any combination thereof
Filing and prosecution procedures	Stage 1: Filing Stage 2: Examination Stage 3: Advertisement Stage 4: Opposition (if any) Stage 5: Registration Stage 6: Renewal
Number of classes	45 (Nice Classification (8th Edition))
Multiple class filing	Available
Filing of series marks	Available
Necessary document for filing	None
Common objections	Descriptiveness Non-distinctiveness Prior conflicting rights
Extension of office action deadlines	Available
Opposition term	2 months (extendible)
Term of trademark protection	10 years (renewable)
Restoration of lapsed trade mark	Within 6 months from the date of the removal of the trademark from the register
Parallel Imports	Available
Minimum period of use to avoid non-use cancellation action	5 years (continuous)
Useful links	www.mirandah.com www.ipos.gov.sg

ENFORCEMENT

HIGHLIGHTS

Infringement offence	Available
Specialized courts for IP	Not available
Outline of the enforcement steps	Civil Infringement pursuant to the Trade Marks Act 1998 Passing-off
Relief against groundless threats	A declaration that the threats are unjustifiable An injunction against the continuance of the threats Damages in respect of any loss he has sustained by the threats
Declaration of non-infringement	Available
Preliminary injunctions	Available
Time frame for various legal actions	12 months
Alternative dispute resolution	Mediation Arbitration
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement	As per below
Civil Remedies	Injunction Damages Account of profits Statutory damages
Criminal Sanctions	Trade Description Order  Monetary fines or imprisonment or both Border Measure Prohibition of importation; seizure; detention; forfeiture of counterfeit   trademark goods

OTHER INFORMATION

Statistics of Trade Mark Application and Registration from 2000 to 2008

Year

Application

Registration

	Domestic	Foreign	Total	Domestic	Foreign	Total
2000	5187	17062	22249	1970	13052	15022
2001	3281	16992	20273	2487	14225	16712
2002	3343	16732	20075	3388	19553	22941
2003	4254	17032	21286	5735	28790	34525
2004	4839	18409	223248	4063	17238	21301
2005	5067	21919	26986	4154	17534	21688
2006	4852	24364	29216	3865	22055	25920
2007	4602	19781	24383	5393	25238	30631
2008	4209	13964	18173	3544	16073	19617
Total	39634	166255	205889	34599	173758	208357

(Source: Intellectual Property Office of Singapore)

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is intended to serve as a general guideline and is not intended as legal advice.　Although we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness and accuracy with respect of the website or the information. Please contact us for further information.