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Simple Steps To Register A Trademark In Singapore

by: SimonRogove
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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.

For a trademark to be registered in Singapore, it should be possible to represent it as a graphic. Such a sign could take the form of a letter, a word, a name, a signature, a numeral, a device, a brand, a heading, a label, a ticket, a shape, a colour, an element of packaging, or any combination of these. Singapore trademark law does not require evidence of use to be filed as part of the application process before the trademark registration is granted. This is in contrast to practices in other countries like the United States.

Prospective applicants for trademark registration are advised to consult the records of the Singapore Registry of Trademarks and Patents before filing their own applications. Whether conducted at the IPOS office or online at the eTradeMarks section of the Web site, this search allows prospective applicants to be certain that there exist no prior trademarks represented by a symbol identical or similar to what they intend to use. This is an especially crucial consideration if a similar previously-registered trademark is found in same area of business as the applicant.

If his search for identical or similar trademarks proves negative, the applicant may then submit his completed application for trademark registration to the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks. He may file it personally, by registered post, or file it only through IPOS's eTradeMarks system. For manual filing, the filing fee for a trade mark under each class is S$340 and for online filing, 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.

During the review process, the Registry may object to your trade mark sign for whatever reason and ask you to make corrections within a certain period of time. You should fulfill the Registry's request, or respond accordingly, before the deadline otherwise your application is deemed to have been 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.

If the trademark is shown to be in compliance with Singapore law, the applicant will be informed that the application for registration has been accepted. This acceptance will be published in the Singapore Trademarks Journal to allow any parties wishing to oppose the registration process two months to file their claim. Examples of valid grounds for opposition of a trademark application include the situation where the application is similar to a registered or a pending trademark, and other similar cases.

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.

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Simple Steps To Register A Trademark In Singapore

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