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Mirandah Asia’s operational nexus is based in Singapore. It is our largest office, and it coordinates the activities of all the others. Founder and director Gladys has a 40-year strong reputation as one of the country’s long-standing IP pioneers: with confidence in her consistently prestigious level of service, clients can look to Mirandah Asia Singapore as their IP hub in Asia.

Overview

Singapore boasts of a strong and enforceable intellectual property (IP) framework. In fact, its IP regime is consistently recognized as one of the best in the world: Singapore was ranked fourth in the world and top in Asia for having the best IP protection in the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2015/2016. Similarly, it was ranked top in Asia for its IP environment in the U.S. Global Intellectual Property Center’s International IP Index 2016. It was also ranked as the most innovative nation in the world on the Innovation Input Sub-Index of the Global Innovation Index 2016.

In 2015, Singapore commenced operation as ASEAN’s first International Patent Search and Examination Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Singapore is the fifth of such in Asia (after China, India, Japan and Korea) and joins a select group of 19 IP offices worldwide that have been appointed as International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA) for the PCT.

Given the various local and international cooperative efforts to maximize the country’s IP capabilities, Singapore stands to be an excellent IP application destination for business owners and innovators wishing to register their IP rights.

Singapore’s famously efficient bureaucracy makes for some of the swiftest turnaround periods for customers wishing to register IPRs in the region – typically, for example, a trade mark without any opposition can expect to be registered from first filing in just 4 to 6 months.

Above all, Singapore strives to provide businesses and clients with quality IP protection and continues to build a reputable IP ecosystem that is recognized not just regionally, but globally.

Development of Singapore’s IP Enforcement

Singapore’s IP laws are administered by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law. The Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Police is responsible for territorial enforcement, whilst Singapore Customs – together with the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority – are responsible for border enforcement of IP rights.

Over the past few years, Singapore has strengthened its border enforcement measures through the lodgement of notice system and the ex-officio approach. Under the notice system, the rights owner can lodge a formal complaint to Singapore Customs to detain a particular shipment, whereas border officials, having ex-officio authority, can detain suspected goods without the need for a formal complaint.

Legal Basis
  • Patents Act 1995 (Chapter 221) effective 23 February 1995
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 1995 effective 01 January 1996
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 2001 effective 25 February 2002
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 2004 effective 1 July 2004
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 2008 (No. 18 of 2008) effective 01 December 2008
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 2012 (No. 15 of 2012) effective 14 February 2014
  • Patents (Amendment) Act, 2017  (No. 18 of 2017) effective 30 October 2017
  • Patent Rules 1995
  • Patent Rules 1993 (Rev. Edition) effective 23 February 1995
  • Patents (Amendment) Rules 1996 effective 24 February 1996
  • Patents (Amendment) Rules 2013 effective 08 April 2013
  • Patents (Amendment) Rules 2014 effective 14 February 2014
  • Patents (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2014 effective 10 March 2014
  • Patents (Amendment no.2) Rules 2017  effective 30 October 2017
Major international treaties signed
  • Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) effective 23 February 1995
  • Paris Convention effective 23 February 1995
  • Budapest Treaty effective 23 February 1995
  • Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS)
Costs of obtaining a patent Please contact us at singapore@mirandah.com
Average time to obtain a patent 12 – 24 months from PCT national phase entry, 42 – 54 months from priority date for Paris Convention applications
Official language for patent prosecution English
Non-patentable subject matter
  • Methods of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy or of diagnosis
  • Invention that may encourage offensive, immoral or anti-social behaviour
Grace period for prior disclosure or sale 12 months
Major prosecution events Following the filing date – or earliest claimed priority date – whichever is the earlier:

Request for Search: 13 months

National Phase Entry: 30 months

Request for Search and/or Examination: 36 months

Renewals: On the fifth anniversary of filing, and each succeeding anniversary thereafter

Filing and prosecution procedures Stage 1: Filing

Stage 2: Formality Examination

Stage 3: Publication

Stage 4: Substantive Examination

Stage 5: Grant

Stage 6: Renewal/ Annuity

Extension of office action deadlines Non-extendible
Necessary document for filing None, if the application has already been published by WIPO and is in English. Otherwise, verified English translations of the specifications and the translator’s declaration of accuracy is required.
Pharmaceutical Data Exclusivity Laws Available
Search and Examination Local examination of patent applications having a filing date on or after 1 January 2020 is compulsory.
Opposition term Not available
Term of patent protection 20 years
Patent term extension Available
Restoration of lapsed patent Within 18 months from the day it ceased to have effect
Parallel Imports Available
Other forms of patents (e.g. Petty/innovation patents) Not available
Useful links Patent Agents and Attorneys in Singapore www.ipos.gov.sg
Infringement offence Civil and Criminal (in special cases)
Specialised courts for IP No
Outline of the enforcement steps Notice of Cease and Desist Infringement lawsuit
Relief against groundless threats Available
Declaration of non-infringement Available
Preliminary injunctions Available
Time frame for various legal actions Revocation – 1 to 2 years Infringement proceeding – 2 to 3 years
Alternative dispute resolution Mediation Arbitration
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement Injunction Delivery Up Damages Account of profits
Civil remedies As per above
Criminal Sanctions Not Available

The supplementary examination route, which allowed applicants to obtain a patent expeditiously by relying on positive substantive examination results of an international application or a corresponding allowed/granted foreign patent application, has been removed for patent applications having a filing date of 1 January 2020. All patent applications in Singapore with a filing date on or after 1 January 2020 will, therefore, need to undergo local examination. The objective of this change is to ensure the consistent quality of patents granted in Singapore.

Legal Basis Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332, Revised Edition 2005) (Amended as of 10th June 2016)

Trade Marks (Composition of Offences) Regulations (Cap. 332, RG 1)

Trade Marks Rules (Cap. 332, R 1)

Trade Marks (Border Enforcement Measures) Rules (Cap. 332, R 2)

Trade Marks (International Registration) Rules (Cap. 332, R 3)

Application of Section 75 to Foreign States (Cap. 332, N 2)

Trade Marks (Application of Section 75 to Foreign States) Notification (Cap. 332, N 3)

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)
Costs of registering 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 Any sign (including any letter, word, name, signature, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, colour, aspect of packaging or any combination thereof) capable of being represented graphically and which is capable of distinguishing goods or services dealt with or provided in the course of trade by a person from goods or services so dealt with or provided by any other person
Filing and prosecution procedures Stage 1: Filing
Stage 2: Examination
Stage 3: Publication
Stage 4: Opposition (if any)
Stage 5: Registration
Stage 6: Renewal
Number of classes 45 (10th Edition of the Nice Classification)
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
Parallel Imports Available
Minimum period of use to avoid non-use cancellation action 5 years of continuous use from the date of completion of registration formatlities, or from the date of last use.
Useful links Trademark Agents and Attorneys in Singapore
www.ipos.gov.sg
Infringement offence Available
Specialised courts for IP Not available. Be that as it may, the knowledge and competence level of the IP Registry and the specialist IP judges of the Supreme Court are extremely high.
Outline of the enforcement steps Infringement
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 sustained by the threats
Declaration of non-infringement Available
Preliminary injunctions Available
Time frame for various legal actions Approximately 12 months (subject to the factual matrix of the case)
Alternative dispute resolution Mediation
Arbitration
Availability of damages and other relief for infringement As per below
Civil Remedies Injunction
Damages
Account of profits
Criminal Sanctions Trade Description Order
Monetary fines or imprisonment or bothBorder Measure
Prohibition of importation; seizure; detention; forfeiture of counterfeit trademark goods
Want to find out more about
Singapore's IP landscape?
Drop us a line or visit
our office.

mirandah asia (singapore) pte ltd
1 Coleman Street
#07 – 08 The Adelphi
Singapore 179803

Tel: +(65) 6336 9696
Fax: +(65) 6338 3739

Email: singapore@mirandah.com