Once the patent is authorized, no one may use it in Singapore without the permission of the right holder.
The longest protection period of Singapore patents is 20 years from the date of application, and maintenance fees are required from the fifth year.
Singapore patent application process
In Singapore, if two or more people independently complete the same invention and creation, the patent right is granted to the first applicant. If the applicant filed a patent application in the territory of the member countries of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, and filed the same patent application in Singapore within 12 months after the filing date, he can enjoy the priority.
There are two ways to obtain a valid patent in Singapore: one is to file a patent PCT application and designate Singapore, and obtain a Singapore patent after entering the national stage; Second, apply for an IPO directly to obtain a Singapore patent.
Procedures for directly applying for Singapore patents from IPOS
According to the complexity of the invention, it takes about 2-4 years for the applicant to obtain the patent right. Under certain conditions, the patent application may be approved within 12 months.
1. Submit the application
Patent applicants can submit temporary or complete applications to IPO and pay corresponding fees.
When submitting a patent application, the required contents include:
Application form (form1/8);
Description of the Invention: Providing at least one embodiment of the claimed invention; Drawings (black and white or gray), if any;
● Claim, if ready;
Summary of invention;
● Application fee: 160 Singapore dollars.
Applicants can submit patent application materials online through IP2SG, but they need a valid Singapore address and an IP2SG account registered with SingPass or CorpPass.
If the claim is not ready, the applicant can file a provisional application first to determine the application date. The applicant must submit the claim within 12 months after filing the temporary application, otherwise the application will be deemed to be abandoned.
Generally speaking, the filing date of a patent application or provisional application is the earliest date when the application documents submitted by the applicant to the initial public offering company meet the following conditions:
● The document shows that a patent is being applied for;
● Document identification of patent applicants; and
● The document contains some or seems to describe the invention.
If the Patent Registry determines that the documents submitted by the applicant meet the above requirements, it will send a notice to the applicant to confirm the application date. On the contrary, the Patent Registry will send a letter pointing out the defects in the document, and the applicant has two months to make up for them. If the applicant fails to make up the application, it shall be deemed as giving up the application.
Even if it is a temporary application, the applicant should submit the application form and pay the application fee within 1 month after submitting the application, otherwise it will be regarded as giving up the application.
2. First trial
After the patent application is confirmed, if the applicant pays the application fee (1 month) and submits the patent claim (12 months) within the prescribed time limit, IPOS will conduct a preliminary examination of the application.
The purpose of the preliminary review is to ensure that:
● The priority requirements are correct;
● There are no missing drawings or descriptions; and
● The application meets all format requirements.
If the registration office determines that the application documents do not meet the above requirements, it will notify the applicant to make amendments within 2 months. If the applicant fails to make amendments within the time limit, his application will be rejected.
make public
IPOS will publish the patent application in the patent journal 18 months after the date of patent application.
The applicant may request the disclosure of the application content in advance (Form 9). For example, if the applicant wants to obtain a patent within 18 months, it needs to disclose the application documents in advance.
If the applicant wishes to keep the invention confidential, he should not continue to apply. Applicants can withdraw their applications 1 month before the expiration of 18 months (form CM9).
Once the patent application is authorized, the applicant can file a lawsuit against the infringement from the date of publication and demand compensation from the infringer.
4. Retrieval and substantive examination
Patent examiners will search for similar prior inventions in the same technical field as the patent application, that is, search for existing technologies.
After that, the examiner will check the existing technology and compare it with the applicant's patent application to determine whether the invention in the application is still novel. The examiner will also determine whether the invention meets other patentability standards, such as creativity and practicality.
Applicants can choose any of the following four retrieval and substantive examination channels according to the availability, retrieval results and costs of retrieval reports in other countries/regions:
● Route 1: Search (form 10) and review (form 12) are conducted separately.
13 months to complete the search, search fee 1650 s; The review shall be completed within 36 months, and the review fee is 1350 Singapore dollars. The advantage is that the applicant can decide whether to continue the exam according to the search results, but the disadvantage is that the total cost is high.
● Route 2: Search+Review (form 1 1)
The retrieval and substantive examination are completed within 36 months, and the cost is 1950 Singapore dollars, which saves time and cost compared with 1 route.
● Route 3: Review only (form 12)
If the retrieval reports of patent offices in other countries/regions pass IPOS, only substantive examination can be conducted. The review will be completed within 36 months at a cost of 1350 Singapore dollars.
● Route 4: Supplementary Review (Form 12a)
If it is completely based on the retrieval review results of patent offices in other countries/regions, you can choose to conduct supplementary review. The audit is completed within 54 months, and IPOS does not charge any fees. The disadvantage is that if the patent authorization standards of other countries/regions are inconsistent with those of Singapore, the patent authorization using this channel will be more easily revoked.
After the retrieval and substantive examination, the examiner will issue an examination report or supplementary examination report to the applicant, detailing his opinions on whether the invention can be granted a patent.
If the examiner finds no reason for rejection, the applicant will receive a notice that the patent application can be authorized.
If the examiner puts forward 1 or above reasons for rejection, the applicant shall reply to the examiner's written opinions (form 13a) within 5 months (substantive examination) or 3 months (supplementary examination).
The answer can be:
● Written statement on Patent examiners's opinions;
● Modification of patent specification; or
● The above two kinds.
Before solving all problems related to the patent application, both parties may continue to submit subsequent written opinions (except supplementary examination).
If the problem remains unresolved after 8 months after the examiner issues the first written opinion/kloc-0, the applicant will receive a notice of rejection from the Patent Registration Office.
authorize
The applicant shall submit an application for patent certificate issuance (form 14) to IPOS within 2 months after receiving the notification that the patent application can be authorized, otherwise it will be deemed as giving up the application. If the application is abandoned, the registry will inform the applicant by letter.
Where the applicant has revised or supplemented the original patent specification, the revised specification shall be submitted together with the above application.
After receiving the application and meeting other authorization conditions, IPOS will issue a patent certificate to the applicant.
Once the patent application is authorized, it shall be protected for 20 years from the date of application. Starting from the fifth year, the patentee must pay an annual fee to safeguard his rights.
Singapore patent application fee
Amount of Charged Items (Singapore Dollar)
Patent application fee 160
Require early disclosure 50
Request for retrieval report 1650
Search request+substantive examination report (national phase of PCT application) 1650
If the claim exceeds 20 items, add+40 items from item 2 1.
Search request+substantive examination report (other circumstances) 1950
If the claim exceeds 20 items, add+40 items from item 2 1.
Request for substantive review report 1350
If the claim exceeds 20 items, add+40 items from item 2 1.
Please update the review report of revision manual 1350 before authorization.
Request patent authorization 200
If the claim exceeds 20 items, add+40 items from item 2 1.
Patent maintenance fee
5-7 years, every year 140.
8- 10 year, 370 per year
In the year of 1 1- 13, 520 per year.
Every year14-16,670
Every year17-19,820
20 th year 970
Every year after 20 years 1200.
Patent maintenance fee surcharge
Pay 50% within 1 month after the guarantee expires.
Pay+1 month after the guarantee expires, but not more than 6 months.
Singapore patent applicant
Persons who meet the following conditions have the right to file a patent application:
The applicant is an employer, and the invention is completed by its employees within the normal scope of duties;
● The applicant reached an agreement with the inventor before the invention, stipulating that the applicant has the right to obtain the invention;
● The applicant is an inventor.
Conditions of patent authorization in Singapore
1. novelty
Before submitting the application, the invention should not be disclosed anywhere in the world in any way. Patent applicants should be careful to keep secrets. If the invention has been made public, commercially developed, used for advertising or demonstration, the novelty of the invention will be damaged.
Before submitting an application to IPOS, the applicant should search the existing technology to ensure that the invention is still novel or will not infringe the patent rights of others.
Creative
Inventions must be improved on the basis of existing products or technologies. Compared with the prior art, the present invention is not obvious to those skilled in the art..
3. It can be used in industrial production.
An invention must be practical, that is, it can be made or used in the industrial field.
In addition, surgical, therapeutic and diagnostic methods used to treat humans or animals cannot be patented.
Its purpose is to encourage those inventions that are offensive, immoral or anti-social, and will not be disclosed or patented by IPO.
Patent protection period in Singapore
In general, the longest protection period of a patent in Singapore is 20 years, counting from the date of filing.