Singapore

News

Overview

Patent

① Inventions that have novelty, inventive step, and can be used industrially are recognized as patentable, with the exception of inventions that violate public order and morals, inventions of surgical procedures or treatment/diagnosis methods for humans or animals, etc. (Article 1 of the Patent Law) (2), Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the same Act).

② An exception to the loss of novelty (grace period) is allowed for 4 months from disclosure under specified requirements (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Law).

① Patent application documents must include the following (Article 3(XNUMX) of the Patent Act):

② If the above documents include documents in a language other than English, the applicant will be notified that an English translation is required and must submit the English translation within two months from the date of the notification. (Patent Law Enforcement Regulations 19(10)(11)).

① Under the old law, a "self-assessment" patent system was adopted, and even if there were grounds for refusal related to patentability of an invention, an applicant could obtain a patent if he or she wished. Therefore, the burden was on the applicant to establish whether the claimed invention was patentable before the patent was granted.
Under the revised Patent Law, the above-mentioned "self-assessment" patent system was transitioned to a "positive grant" patent system. In the above-mentioned "positive grant" patent system, a claimed invention can be patented as a result of a positive substantive examination (examining whether it satisfies requirements such as novelty, inventive step, industrial applicability, etc.) A patent will be granted if Otherwise, the patent application will be rejected.

②The applicant will proceed with the procedure using one of the options A to C below (Article 29 of the Patent Law).
(a) Option A (Investigation and/or Examination)
Option A-1: ​​When the applicant files a request for a search report (Article 3(4)(a) of the Patents Act), a search report is prepared and the applicant files a request for an examination report within a specified period. (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Act), an examination report will be created (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Act).
Option A-1: When the applicant files a request for a search and examination report (Article 5(XNUMX)(b) of the Patents Act), a search and examination report is prepared (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patents Act). ).

(b) Option B (examination based on search reports, etc. of corresponding applications, etc.)
　When an applicant files a request for an examination report relying on a final stage, such as a search report, of a corresponding application, a corresponding international application, or a related national phase application (Article 1(4)(c) of the Patents Act); The examination report will be prepared (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Law).

(c) Option C (grant of patent for corresponding application or supplementary examination based on reliance on international preliminary report, etc.)
　When an applicant relying on the final results of the search and substantive examination of a corresponding application, etc. or the search and substantive examination of an application in the international phase files a request for a supplementary examination report (Patent Law Article 1(6)) d)), a written opinion will be issued and the applicant will have three months to respond to the said written opinion. A supplementary examination report will then be prepared within six months from the date of issuance of the above written opinion (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Law). The above written opinion will only be issued once.
　Under the old law, when a Singapore patent is issued based on the substantive examination results of a corresponding foreign application, it is possible to delay the request for examination for up to 60 months from the priority date by moving from fast track to slow track. However, in the case of supplementary examination conducted under the revised law, it is necessary to request supplementary examination within 54 months from the priority date.
　Therefore, the substantive examination of the corresponding foreign application must be completed six months earlier than the 60 months under the old law.

③Patent eligibility procedure
(a) If the said examination report, said search and examination report, or said supplementary examination report does not contain a refusal, a notice of eligibility for grant will be issued to the applicant (section 1A(XNUMX) of the Patents Act).

(b) If the said examination report, said search and examination report, or said supplementary examination report contains a refusal, a notice of intention to refuse the application will be issued to the applicant (section 3A(XNUMX) of the Act).

(c) The applicant may request a review by submitting a document or amendment (Article 3A(1) of the Patent Act, Article 2B(XNUMX)(XNUMX) of the Patent Act).

(d) Once the review is complete, the examiner will prepare an examination review report (Section 3B(XNUMX) of the Patents Act).

(e) If the examination review report confirms that the refusal has been resolved, a notice of eligibility for grant of a patent will be notified to the applicant (Article 5B(XNUMX)(b)(i) of the Patent Act).

(f) If the examination review report indicates that a refusal exists, a notice of refusal of the application will be issued (section 5B(XNUMX)(b)(ii) of the Patents Act). You can appeal to the High Court against the notification of refusal.

① A patent becomes effective on the date of issuance of a certificate of patent, and its term of validity ends 1 years from the filing date (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Patent Law).

② The above term can be extended based on any of the following reasons (Article 36A of the Patent Act).
(a) that there was an unreasonable delay by the Registrar in granting the patent at the Singapore Patent Office;

(b) A patent has been granted based on the decision or grant of a corresponding application, or the search and examination results of a related application for entry into the national phase, and there is an unreasonable delay in issuance of the corresponding patent or the related patent for entry into the national phase. Yes, and the patent term of the corresponding patent or related patent entering the national phase has been extended on the basis of the delay.

(c) The patent subject includes a substance that is an active ingredient of a drug;
・Because it was the first drug to use the substance as an active ingredient, it took time to obtain marketing approval, and the opportunity to utilize the patent was unfairly shortened.
・The patent term has not been extended previously for the above reasons.

design

① New designs can be registered (Article 5 of the Singapore Designs Act (hereinafter referred to as the "Designs Act")).

② The scope of protection for designs has been expanded to include the following:
a) Non-physical products such as virtual keyboards
b) Color as a feature of the design
c)Designs of handmade items such as handmade jewelry

③ Designs, computer programs, layout designs of integrated circuits, etc. that violate public order and morals cannot be registered as designs (Article 6 of the Design Act and Article 7 of the same Act).

商標

商標
(A) Word trademark: A trademark consisting of words, numbers, etc.
(B) Design trademark: one consisting of a photograph, image, or realistic expression
(C) Composite trademark: one that includes both graphic elements and elements such as letters, words, numbers, etc.
(D) New type of trademark
　　・3D trademark
　　- Appearance of packaging (a mark representing the container in which the product is sold or the exterior covering the container)
　　・Trademark consisting of colors
　　・Trademark based on sound ⇒Requires realistic expression using musical score

collective trademark

certification trademark

Things that cannot be expressed realistically

Items that cannot function as identification marks for own or other goods or services

Items that cannot function as source identification indicators

Items that are merely a description of goods or services

Expressions based on established trade practices for goods and services

Items that are confusingly similar to other people's prior trademarks

Something that violates public order and morals

① The registrar will examine the trademark registration application, and if the registration requirements are not met, the applicant will be notified and given an opportunity to state opinions and make amendments (Article 1(2)(XNUMX) of the Trademark Act). .
⇒The deadline for responding is four months from the date of notification of reasons for refusal.

② If the applicant responds within the prescribed period but the registration requirements are not met, the Registrar may refuse the application (Article 4(XNUMX) of the Trademark Act).
⇒There is no system for appeal against a decision of refusal. If you are dissatisfied, you will need to file a lawsuit with the court to cancel the assessment (Article 75 of the Trademark Law).

③ If the Registrar deems that the registration requirements are met, the Registrar will approve the application (Article 5(XNUMX) of the Trademark Act).

④For trademark applications that do not meet the registration requirements, the Registrar may approve the registration of only designated goods and services that meet the registration requirements. If the Registrar approves partial registration, the application for designated goods and services that do not meet the registration requirements will be deemed to have been withdrawn.

① Once the application is approved, the Registrar will publish the application (Article 1(XNUMX) of the Trademark Act).

②Any person may file an opposition with the Registrar within two months from the date of publication of the application (Article 2(29) of the Trademark Act, Trademark Regulation XNUMX).

① Trademark registration is valid for 1 years from the date of registration (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Trademark Law).

② Registration can be renewed for additional 2 years under the specified requirements (Article XNUMX(XNUMX) of the Trademark Law).

Reference document

update information