Trademarks 

Signs which function as badges of trade origin and distinguish one trader’s goods or services from another can be registered as trademarks under the Trade Marks Act 1998. Typical candidates for registration are words, devices and logos. Non-traditional signs such as shapes, colours, sound and motion marks can and have been registered as trademarks in Singapore, provided the signs are graphically represented and are capable of distinguishing. 

Upon registration, the proprietor obtains the exclusive right to use the mark for their specified goods and services classified under the Nice Classification. The proprietor’s monopoly is not limited to the use of an identical sign on identical goods and services and can extend to the use of similar signs on similar goods and services, or in the case of well-known marks, extend even to dissimilar goods and services.

The term of protection secured by trademark registration is 10 years from the date of filing and is indefinitely renewable in further 10-year blocks, subject to revocation for non-use where the mark has not been put to genuine use for a period of five years. 

Unregistered trademarks are also protected under Singapore law, including under the common law tort of passing off, or as well-known trademarks under the provisions of the Trade Marks Act. That said, enforcing such rights may require extensive evidence to establish goodwill or the well-known status of the mark. As such, registration remains the most expedient and reliable method for proprietors to safeguard and enforce their trademarks.

Registration procedure

In Singapore, trademark registration can be pursued through the national system or the international route via the Madrid Protocol. 

National trademark applications may be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), while Madrid Protocol international applications designating Singapore are forwarded by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) to IPOS. In accordance with the Paris Convention, Singapore allows applicants to claim up to six months’ priority, based on the date of first filing in another Paris Convention member country. Discounted official filing fees are available if applicants use the pre-approved list of goods and services for filing.

IPOS conducts a formality check and then examines absolute (e.g., distinctiveness, descriptiveness) and relative grounds (conflicts with earlier marks) for objection. The application is then published for a 2-month opposition period before proceeding to registration. 

In a straightforward case with no objections or opposition, roughly 11 months span filing and registration. Applicants seeking expedited examination may also tap on the SG Trade Marks Fast programme, a fast-track application procedure. If applicants opt for accelerated processing, the first office action or acceptance of the mark (in the absence of objections) may be issued within three to six weeks of filing, which is significantly faster. The accelerated processing however, only applies once. The programme is only open to national applications filed directly with IPOS which are not for certification or collective marks. Alongside patent accelerators like the PPH and SG Patents Fast, the Trade Marks Fast programme furthers Singapore’s IP Strategy 2030 (SIPS 2030) of expedient IP filing and protection.

Assignment and licence

Trademarks can be used and exploited commercially in various ways, including through assignment and licensing. Assignments and licences of registered trademarks are ineffective unless in writing and signed by or on behalf the grantor. A grantee should also ensure to record these transactions with the IPOS Registry, failing which they will not bind third parties without notice. The grantee may also be prevented from recovering damages or an account of profits for any infringement, until the assignment or transaction is registered.

Patents

A patent can be granted in Singapore for an invention that is new, inventive and capable of industrial application. Certain subject matter is not regarded as an invention, including discoveries, scientific theories, mathematical methods, aesthetic creations, methods for performing a mental act, playing a game or doing business and presentation of information. Treatment and surgical methods are not considered to be industrially applicable. There is provision for a 12-month grace period for disclosures in very limited cases. Examples include where the disclosure is made by the inventor or by a person who obtained the matter directly or indirectly from the inventor (e.g. intellectual property (IP) administrator from the IP office), or pursuant to a breach of confidence, or a display at an international exhibition or before a learned society.

A Singapore patent gives the proprietor(s) a right to exclude others from practising the claimed invention in Singapore. 

The standard term of a Singapore patent is 20 years, subject to the payment of annuities. A patent term can be extended by up to five years if certain conditions are met, including where there is unreasonable delay by the patent office in granting the patent, or there is a delay in opportunity to exploit the patent due to the need to obtain marketing approval for a pharmaceutical product. 

An invention made by an employee in the course of employment is generally taken to belong to the employer, and no specific assignment is required. 

Registration procedure

Patent applications can be filed in Singapore via the domestic national route, or through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) system. In accordance with the Paris Convention, Singapore allows applicants to claim up to 12 months’ priority, based on the date of first filing in another Paris Convention member country. 

IPOS conducts examination of each patent application to ensure it meets the patentability requirements. A unique feature of patent examination in Singapore is the possibility of relying on a corresponding international search report, or search report from a corresponding Australia, Canada (filed in English), European Patent Office (EPO) (filed in English), Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, U.S. or UK patent application. 

Examination is requested 36 months from the priority date but can be extended with a fee. It typically takes two to three years for the final examination report to be issued depending on the objections raised. IPOS is part of the Global Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme and has bilateral PPH programmes as well with China, Mexico, EPO, Saudi Arabia, France and Malaysia. PPH requests are generally considered favourably by the IPOS patent examiners. The use of PPH accelerates the examination process as it reduces duplicity of work. To encourage use of the PPH, IPOS is offering a 30 percent discount on the examination fee until December 31, 2027, if PPH is requested. There is also an option to pay a fee to accelerate the examination and receive an office action within four or eight months if the PPH is not available. There are also regional acceleration programmes through ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC), patent cooperation with Cambodia and Laos and collaborative search and examination with Indonesia and Vietnam. The collaborative search and examination allows the patent offices involved to exchange search and examination reports, which helps applicants decide whether to file a corresponding application or request search and examination at the second patent office. It can also prioritise search and examination in the second patent office.

Assignment and licence

Assignments and licenses must be in writing and signed by or behalf of the grantor. Grantees should also ensure to record these transactions with the IPOS Registry, failing which they will not bind third parties without notice. The grantee may also be prevented from recovering damages or an account of profits for any infringement, until the transaction is registered.

A patentee may make the patent available as a licence of right to allow others to use the invention and will reduce the renewal fees by half. A compulsory licence may also be granted to a third party to remedy an anti-competitive practice. These are meant to encourage the use of the invention in Singapore. 

Patent linkage system

Singapore has a patent linkage system where a party applying to register a therapeutic product needs to declare to the Health Sciences Authority whether there is a restraining patent for the product. If such a restraining patent is in force and the party is not the patentee, the party must notify the patentee who can commence infringement proceedings to invoke a 30-month moratorium of the party’s therapeutic product application. 

Copyright 

Creative outputs in authorial works such as literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, as well as non-authorial works such as films, sound recordings and broadcasts, attract copyright protection if subsistence conditions are met. 

There is no registration regime for copyright in Singapore. Protection is automatically conferred by law once the Copyright Act’s requirements of territorial connection, fixation and originality, are met.

Subject to contractual arrangements between the relevant parties, the Copyright Act governs ownership of copyright. By default, the first owner of copyright in a work is its maker. This extends to works that have been commissioned – the maker and not the commissioner is the copyright owner. Employee-created works are the main exception to the rule: copyright in works created in the course of employment vests in the employer without need for assignment. Proprietors enjoy exclusive rights such as reproduction, publication, communication to the public, performance, and adaptation, subject to statutory exceptions such as permitted uses and fair-dealing defences. 

A notable limit on the exclusive rights of proprietors is the Computational Data Analysis (CDA) exception, which aims to facilitate AI training and analytics workflows (such as text and data mining) while preserving legitimate market controls. The exception does not permit circumvention of technological protection measures such as paywalls or digital terms of use. However, once a person has lawfully obtained access to copyrighted works, the CDA exception permits them to reproduce the works for the sole purpose of identifying, extracting and analysing information or data from the works via a computer program. Notably, unlike other foreign contemporaries, Singapore’s CDA exception is not constrained to non-commercial use and can avail commercial actors. The Singapore government implemented the CDA exception in 2021 pursuant to SIPS 2030, in full cognisance that Singapore must accommodate technological trends via policy reform to remain attractive to investors as a global IP hub.

In the context of authorial works, a copyright owner’s exclusive rights pertain only to the expressive elements of the work and do not encompass mere information, such as raw factual data stored in a database. Proprietors seeking to safeguard sensitive information may explore regimes adjacent to copyright law, such as the law of confidence, the Personal Data Protection Act, or contractual arrangements importing confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations.

Copyrightable works have bespoke terms of protection:

Assignment and licence

Assignments and exclusive licences are ineffective unless signed in writing by the grantor. Copyright that will come into existence in the future can be assigned or licensed by its prospective owner, enabling deal-making even at the developmental stage of works. There is no recordal mechanism for copyright assignments and licences.

Industrial designs 

Designs of articles, meaning the features responsible for its physical appearance, can be registered under the Registered Designs Act 2000. These include the article’s shape, configuration, colours, pattern or ornament, but not methods or principles of construction or features dictated by the article’s functionality. Registration is available only if the design is new – that is, it has not been registered or published anywhere in the world before the filing date. The novelty requirement is subject to a 12-month grace period: certain disclosures (e.g. by the designer or through an abuse of confidence) within the 12 months prior to filing do not destroy novelty. Registered designs that lack novelty are vulnerable to revocation. 

Singapore expanded its registered designs regime in 2017 beyond physical articles to accommodate the designs of non-physical products with utilitarian functions such as virtual keyboards, whiteboards and musical instruments. The expansion recognises the virtual world as a hotbed for modern research and development activity and correspondingly, fertile grounds for new designs worthy of protection. The move accords with SIPS 2030: enabling innovators to protect foreground IP yielded by research and development enhances Singapore’s attractiveness as a hub for technology-driven enterprises. 

A Singapore registered design confers the proprietor the exclusive right to prevent others from using the design in Singapore, including to make, import, sell, hire or offer for sale or hire, in Singapore, any article for which the design was registered and to which the design or a substantially similar design had been applied, or any device for projecting the non-physical product for which the design was registered. 

The initial term of protection is five years from the date of filing. Protection can be renewed in 5-year blocks up to a maximum of 15 years. 

Registration procedure

National design applications may be filed via IPOS, with representations identifying the relevant article or non-physical product and its appropriate class under the Locarno Classification. Hague System international applications designating Singapore are filed with WIPO and forwarded to IPOS for processing. IPOS then conducts a formalities examination. If acceptable, registration typically issues in about four months. Applicants who file a registered design application in a Paris Convention country can file the same design in Singapore within six months, claiming the priority date of the first filing. 

IPOS is also exploring regional accelerator programmes to complement the standard examination timeframe for registered designs. An accelerator programme for innovators seeking protection in both Cambodia and Singapore has been established. Acceleration requests are made by submitting a cover letter citing the Cambodia-Singapore cooperation and the Cambodian certificate of design registration. IPOS’ pursuit of acceleration initiatives dovetails with Singapore’s SIPS 2030 goal of facilitating interoperability between regional IP systems. 

Assignment and licence

Assignments and licences must be in writing and signed by or on behalf of the grantor. Grantees should also ensure to record these transactions with the IPOS Registry, failing which they will not bind third parties without notice. Failure to register such transactions may also affect the grantee’s rights to obtain damages or an account of profits for any infringement which occurs before the transaction is registered.

Enforcement 

Singapore is recognised as a leading hub for Intellectual Property dispute resolution. With its specialist judiciary and diverse range of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) options, Singapore provides parties with an efficient forum for resolving both domestic and cross-border IP conflicts.

Remedies under Singapore law

The principal remedies available for infringement of trademarks, patents, copyright and registered designs include injunctions, damages, an account of profits and orders for delivery up or destruction of infringing goods. 

Other notable remedies include:

1. Statutory damages for use of counterfeit trademarks;
2. Statutory and additional damages for copyright infringement; and
3. Dynamic injunctions under the Copyright Act, which allow site-blocking orders against online locations facilitating access to infringing content. Dynamic injunctions may be varied over time to account for circumventive measures taken by infringers.

Civil remedies in Singapore are complemented by strong border enforcement and criminal measures. Serious infringements, such as selling goods with falsely applied trademarks, may be subject to investigation by the Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Singapore Police Force and may result in criminal liability. Rights holders may also work with Singapore Customs to prevent the import and export of infringing goods. 

Litigation in Singapore

IP disputes in Singapore are adjudicated in the High Court by specialist judges assigned to the IP/IT list. These judges have the expertise to address the complex legal and technical issues that often arise in IP matters.

For IP disputes that are smaller in scale or more straightforward, a simplified process is available. It provides streamlined procedures and active case management, ensuring that parties have cost-effective and expeditious access to the courts.

The Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) is designed to handle complex cross-border commercial disputes, including IP disputes arising between private parties, often involving foreign law or parties from multiple jurisdictions. The SICC is supported by a panel of specialist international judges, including judges with significant experience in IP and technology matters, therefore enhancing neutrality and reducing concerns over domestic bias. Cases from the SICC can be appealed to the Singapore Court of Appeal.

Alternative dispute resolution

Singapore complements its court system with a comprehensive range of ADR mechanisms.

IP disputes are arbitrable in Singapore. The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) is a leading arbitral institution and has extensive experience in handling IP and technology disputes. Awards issued in Singapore are enforceable in over 170 jurisdictions under the New York Convention.

Singapore has established itself as a venue of choice for mediation of IP disputes, offering parties a confidential and efficient means for resolving conflicts. The Singapore International Mediation Centre (SIMC) provides mediation services supported by a panel of highly experienced local and international mediators with IP expertise. Further, the World Intellectual Property Organization Arbitration and Mediation Centre (WIPO Centre) has sited its only office outside Geneva in Singapore. Specializing in IP and technology disputes, the WIPO Centre gives parties access to neutrals with extensive international expertise in IP dispute resolution. 

Together, the SIAC, SIMC and WIPO Centre provide complementary local and international platforms for resolving IP disputes confidentially and efficiently.

Conclusion

Singapore offers a comprehensive framework for IP enforcement, combining robust civil and criminal measures with an experienced judiciary and world-class ADR. This provides parties with effective avenues to safeguard their rights and reinforces Singapore as a leading forum for IP dispute resolution.