Guide To Registering A Trademark In Singapore
July 31st, 2008 by Simon Rogove
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The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law handles trademark registration in the city state. An individual desiring to register his trade mark may either apply directly to the Registrar or authorize a trade mark agent to act on his behalf.
Any trade mark in Singapore must be symbolised in graphic form. It must be a sign of some sort, represented by any letter, word, name, signature, number, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, colour and aspect of packaging, either by itself or in any combination using these symbols. Singapore trade mark laws differ from those in countries such as the United States in that you need not provide evidence of use to register a trade mark.
Applicants are encouraged to conduct a research of existing trademarks to ensure that there is no prior similar or identical trade mark in the records of the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks. The search can be conducted at the IPOS office or online at eTradeMarks.
Once you are satisfied that your trade mark does not conflict with anyone else’s, you can submit your application. Manual submissions, which cost S$340, can be made either by hand or sent via registered post to the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks. You can also apply online using the IPOS eTradeMarks system at a cost of S$310.
IPOS will then review your application while paying attention to three requirements -ensuring your application is complete, it adheres to the provisions of the Trade Marks Act and that your fees are fully paid up. You will be issued a number and date of application filing.
In case there are grounds for objection, the Registry will inform the applicant of the corrections that need to be done within a specified timeframe. Failure to comply with these requirements in the allotted time will result in the application being classified as withdrawn.
Afterwards, the Registry Office will conduct their own formal search for conflicting trademarks, geographical names, and conformity to the standards of international classification for goods and services. If pharmaceutical products are being registered, the Registry of Trademarks will also verify whether the mark consists of a protected International Non-Proprietary Name (INN). Furnished by the World Health Organization, INNs are generic names for specific pharmaceutical substances.
After completion of the trademark conflict discovery process, the examiner will check if the mark is registrable in accordance with Singapore Trademark Laws and that it does not fall into areas not allowed by law like a mark that is devoid of any distinctive character. The applicant will again be notified for any objections and the time granted to resolve such objections.
Once your sign fulfills Singapore Trade Mark Laws, you move on to the final stage, which is to publish your mark for public consumption. You will be notified that your mark is accepted for registration before it is published in the Trade Marks Journal. This gives members of the public a chance to object if they believe your design is identical or similar to a mark that is already registered or pending. Any member of the public has the right to object within two months of publication.
The trademark will be registered and a registration certificate will be issued to the applicant if there are no further objections or all objections were resolved in favor of the applicant.
