1g) Singapore Flashcards
Types of patent
Standard patent – 20 year term
Can request patent term extension for:
o Unreasonable delay by the IPOS in granting the patent.
o Unreasonable delay in the granting of a corresponding patent which has led to an extension of term
begin obtained in respect of the corresponding patent and which has been relied upon; or
o A delay in obtaining marketing approval in Singapore for a product that is the subject of a patent
Patentable inventions - nov and inv step
Absolute novelty
Pre-filed post published Singapore patent (or PCT which designates Singapore) is novelty only prior art
Patentable inventions - grace periods
12 month grace period preceding filing/priority.
Broadened as of 30 October 2017 to include applicant disclosures as well as abusive disclosures. Applicants
who wish for disclosure to be graced may inform the Registrar when making:
1) a request for search and examination;
2) a request for examination;
3) a response to written opinion; and
4) a request for a review of an examination report or of a search and examination report.
The request for the disclosure to the graced must be accompanied by written evidence in the form of a
statutory declaration or affidavit that complies with the requirements of the new Rule 8 of the Patents Rules.
Patentable inventions - exclusion to patentability
Computer program / business methods patentable
A material or microorganism already existing in nature represents a discovery and therefore an isolated or
purified material or microorganism from nature is not an invention. However, if a new use of the isolated or
purified material or microorganism is found, then the new use can be claimed. The revised Guidelines will take
effect on 30 October 2017.
Process for Obtaining a Patent / Utility Model - filing and fees
filing and fees
Fees/other: File at the Registry of Patents of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).
a. Note, the novelty search and substantive examination are carried out by the Austrian Patent Office,
Hungarian IP Office and by the Danish Patent and Trademark Office.
Applicants not residing in Singapore must elect an address for service in Singapore
To get a filing date must supply:
b. Indication that a patent is sought
c. Applicant details
d. Either something which appears to be a description or of claiming priority indication that priority is
claimed, date and country of priority filing and statement that specification is wholly contained within
priority document
The filing fee must be paid on filing the application or within one month thereafter
Obligation to file first with national office: Yes, but a foreign filing license can be obtained to file first
overseas
Excess claim fees: Yes. IPOS introduced an excess claim fee with effect for 1 April 2017. Claim sets on file
that exceed 20 claims should pay an excess claim fee of S$40 per claim in excess of 20 claims. The excess
claim fee need to be paid at the time of requesting examination and at the time of grant, if additional claims
are granted as a result of amendments made during prosecution. Although no excess claim fee needs to be
paid if Supplementary Examination is requested in Singapore relying on a corresponding foreign patent, the
excess claim fee will still apply at the time of grant.
Renewal Fees: due 4 years from filing
Process for Obtaining a Patent / Utility Model - language
Can file in any language. Have two months to provide translation into English
Process for Obtaining a Patent / Utility Model - search and exam
Search before grant: See below
Type of examination: See below
Time limit to request exam: See below
Multiply dependent claims allowed: Yes
Prior Art Disclosure requirements: See below
Examination Process: Where the patent application has complied with all the formal requirements, the
applicant may proceed with the search and examination process. The Registry offers three approaches to the
search and examination process:
Local Approach
1. Local Search and Examination
In the all-local approach, the applicant may request either:
i. search within 13 months, followed by examination within 36 months; or
ii. a combined search-and-examination process (cheaper combined fee) within 36 months.
2. Local Examination (relying on overseas search from corresponding application)
In the combination approach, the applicant requests examination within 36 months, relying on the final
results of a search of a patent application in a corresponding application, corresponding international
application, or related national phase application
i. Corresponding application must be from a prescribed Patent Office: (Australia, Canada (English),
Japan, New Zealand, South Korea, UK, USA, EPO (English) or a PCT application linked to the
Singapore application by way of a priority claim)
ii. Must supply any documents referred to in the search report.
From the declared priority date or, where there is no declared priority date, the Date of Filing of the
patent application
A Written Opinion may be issued with a non-extendible deadline of 5 months for response or
amendments. To conclude the examination procedure, IPOS will issue an Examination Report.
If the Report is positive, a Notice of Eligibility to Proceed to Grant will issue and the application will
proceed to grant upon submission of the requisite documents and payment of the requisite fees within 2
months of the date of the Notice of Eligibility to Proceed to Grant.
If the Report is negative, a Notice of Intention to Refuse will issue. There will be a 2 month period from the
date of the Notice of Intention to Refuse to respond.
3. Supplementary Examination (all-foreign approach) - Note: Supplementary Examination will be
abolished from 1 January 2020. After this date, PCT applications entering national phase, divisional
applications and all new applications will undergo substantive (local) examination. If national phase was
not entered in Singapore within the usual deadline, an 18 month extended national phase entry deadline
is available and supplementary examination is available as long as the international filing date is before 1
January 2020.
Deadline for request is 54 months from earliest claimed priority.
Request for Supplementary Examination requires:
o Copy of either an allowed or granted corresponding application or final examination results of a
corresponding application which outlines the claims allowed;
o A copy of the claims allowed; and
o Claim correspondence table.
A Written Opinion may be issued with a non-extendible deadline of 3 months for response or
amendments. To conclude the examination procedure, IPOS will issue a Supplementary Examination
Report.
If the Report is positive, a Notice of Eligibility to Proceed to Grant will issue and the application will
proceed to grant upon submission of the requisite documents and payment of the requisite fees within 2 months of the date of the Notice of Eligibility to Proceed to Grant.
If the Report is negative, a Notice of Intention to Refuse will issue. There will be a 2 month period from the
date of the Notice of Intention to Refuse to respond.
It is possible to switch between routes. Since 30 Oct 2017, applicants can choose to switch examination
route at any time before the examination report or supplementary examination report is issued. This is a
change from the current requirement to switch examination route before responding to a written opinion.
The greater flexibility in switching between search and examination routes will make our patent
application process more applicant-friendly.
From 4 May 2020, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has put into effect a two-year
Patent Fast Track programme for AI-related patents. Patent applications qualifying for this programme
can be granted in any technology field within six months, instead of two years, from filing application. To
qualify, the patent application must not have any priority claims and the number of claims should not be
over 20. The aim is to help AI innovators get protection much faster and launch products in the market
earlier.
Some additional information on the fast track program is below:
The SG IP Fast Track (“SG IP FAST”) is a pilot programme that will end on 29 Apr 2022. Previously
known as the SG Patent Fast Track programme, the programme has been expanded to include the
acceleration of trademark and registered design applications. From 1 Sep 2020, applicants with a
patent application accelerated under SG IP FAST can request acceleration of related trademark and
registered design applications. This will better support innovators and enterprises as they build and
manage their IP portfolio, and commercialise their creations.
Accelerated timelines for the different types of IP are as follows:
Patent applications can be granted in as fast as 6 months.
Straightforward trademark applications can be registered in as fast as 3 months. Other trademark
applications can be registered in as fast as 6 months.
Registered design applications can be registered in as fast as 1 month.
SG IP FAST is available to patent applications filed for all inventions across all technological sectors.
With an expedited patent grant, innovators and enterprises gain certainty about their scope of rights.
The early Singapore Search and Examination report will also give them a competitive advantage, as a
means to springboard into global markets from Singapore.
* There will be a cap of 5 patent applications a month under SG IP FAST, which will be reset on the
first day of every month. Unutilised capacity will be rolled over to the next month, subject to a
maximum cap of 10 applications a month. There will also be a cap of 10 patent applications per year
per entity (individual or corporate). There will not be a cap on the number of trademark and registered
design applications that can be accelerated.
Process for Obtaining a Patent / Utility Model - grant
If all requirements have been complied with and the granting fee paid within 54 months from the priority date,
the patent will be granted
A first extension (maximum 3 months) may be obtained after the 54-month period. Subsequent extensions
may be obtained with provision of grounds for extension
As soon as possible after grant a notice of the grant will be published in the Patents Journal and a certificate
of grant will be issued
On 30 June 2016, IPOS introduced new regulations for post-grant amendments whereby patent owners must
disclose all reasons for the amendments, ensure that there was no unreasonable delay in filing the
amendment and also demonstrate that there was no unfair advantage for the patentee because of delaying
the amendment.
Process for Obtaining a Patent / Utility Model - claiming priority
Priority is to be claimed on filing the application mentioning at least the filing date and country of filing the
application whose priority is claimed. It is possible to extend this deadline up to 2 months from the 12 month deadline. Within 16 months from the priority date the number of the application whose priority is claimed must
be given. There is no need to file a certified copy of a priority document unless requested by the Registrar
National Phase Entry From a PCT Application - time limits and translation
- time limits (and any extensions of time) for national/regional phase entry and filing formal documents
30 months. Can extend for up to 18 months provided prescribed fee is paid. Other time limits can also be
extended at the discretion of the Registrar - translation requirements
Translation required on filing
