Singapore Trademark Registration

The modern Singapore Trademark Act was passed in 1998 to meet the city-state's obligations under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property. Trademark registration in Singapore is handled by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) - a statutory board under the Ministry of Law.  

Singapore is currently a signatory to the following relevant international conventions:

• Paris Convention
• Berne Convention
• Madrid Protocol
• Nice Agreement
• Patent Cooperation Treaty
• Budapest Treaty
• WIPO Copyright Treaty
• WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty
• International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants otherwise known as the "UPOV Convention"
• The Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial Design
• Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks

The purpose of this guide is to provide an introduction to Trademark Act and trademark registration procedure in Singapore. 

Related Topic: How to register a Singapore company

Singapore Trademark Act - Key Features

Although it is not mandatory to register a trademark in order to use it according to Singapore Trademark Laws, a trademark registration adds great value to a business. By filing for trademark registration, the trade mark owner obtains a right to ownership and the right to prevent others from using a similar mark without the owner's permission.

Key features of Singapore Trademark Act include:

• Trademark registration under the Singapore Trademark Act only has effect in Singapore. To obtain trademark rights and protection in other countries it is necessary to register the trademark in those countries or pursue international trade mark registration through Madrid Protocol. As Singapore is a contracting country under the Madrid Protocol, an international application may be filed through IPOS in Singapore after the trademark has been successfully registered in Singapore. For more details, see Worldwide Trademark Registration through Singapore Trademark Office.
• A Singapore registered trade mark has to be capable of being represented graphically. This sign can be any letter, word, name, signature, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, colour, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. Unlike jurisdictions like the United States, the Singapore trademarks regime does not require evidence of use to be filed before a trade mark registration is granted.
• There is no time limit for filing according to Singapore Trademark Act. However it should be noted that a suit for an infringement of a registered trade mark is only possible if the trade mark is registered. A trade mark registration takes effect from the date of filing. The validity period of a registered trade mark in Singapore is 10 years. However, it can be renewed indefinitely at the end of each period thus making the life of a trademark potentially unlimited.
• With the introduction of service mark registration the present classes have been extended from International Classification 35 to 45. As a result of the inclusion of service marks, the search for prior rights will now extend to cover, in relation to trade marks applied on goods, those services which are closely related to the goods for which registration is sought, and with respect to service marks, the examination will include marks for goods which are closely related to those services. 

Trademark registration procedure

The registrar of trademarks in Singapore has the duty of examining each trademark application to see if the trade mark is registerable. The registration process can take anywhere between 6 - 18 months. 

Although, the owner can file a trademark registration application to Singapore trademark office directly, it's highly recommended that you engage the services of a professional firm to register your trademark due to the complexity of paperwork and the procedure involved. Benefits of hirng a professional firm include:

• The likelyhood of your application rejection due to incomplete or incorrect filing will be minimized.
• A professional firm would be able to respond competently to any clarificatins sought by the registrar or objections made during the trademark registration process thus maximizing the chances of a successful registration. 
• You will save a tremendous amount of personal time and effort required.

For guidance purposes, the steps involved in Singapore trademark registration are outlined below. If you have hired a professional firm, most of this work will be coordinated by the firm.  

Step 1: Identify class of goods/services

Before an application can be filed with trademark office, an applicant has to decide on the type of goods for which registration is sought. Different types of goods are covered under different classes. The classes under which goods may be registered are numbered from class 1 to 34 under the International Classification of Goods and Services generally referred to as the "ICGS". The classes under which services may be registered are numbered from class 35 to 42.

Care should be taken to ensure that the application is made under the correct class. It may sometimes be necessary to file applications in more than one class if the applicant deals in a wide range of goods which may fall under different classes. Similarly, an applicant for a service mark has to decide on the type of service for which registration is sought. If your goods or services are wrongly classified, you may have to file a fresh application in the right class.

Step 2: Self-search for possible conflicts

Application fees for trademark are not refundable. Therefore, before filing an application for the registration of a trade mark in Singapore, it is recommended that you first conduct a search of the existing trade marks in the records maintained by the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks. This is to ensure that there is no prior trade mark that is identical or similar to the one you intend to use, particularly in the area of your business. 

Step 3: Application filing

The trademark registration application may be sent to the Registry of Trade Marks by hand, mailed to the Singapore trademark office or filed online. The filing fee for registration of a trademark under each class is S$340 (manual) and S$310 (online). The goods and services listed in the application must conform to the International Classification of Goods and Services.

Step 4: Application checking for completeness and compliance

Once the tradamark application has been received, the trademarks office will review it to ensure that a) it's complete; b) it complies with the provisions of the Trade Marks Act; c) necessary fees have been paid. A trademark application number and date of application filing will be given at this stage.

If there is any ground for objection, the Registry will notify the applicant about corrections required along with a specified period of time granted to overcome the objection. If the applicant fails to respond to objections within the granted period, the application would be considered withdrawn.

Step 5: Examination for conflicts with existing trademarks

Once the above step is complete, the registrar will conduct a formal search for conflicting marks, geographical names and conformance to the international classification of goods and services. In the case of pharmaceutical products, the Registry of Trade Marks will also need to check whether the mark consists of a protected International Non-Proprietary Name (INN). The INNs, furnished by the World Health Organization, are generic names for specific pharmaceutical substances.

If there are any objections found as a result of the above search, the trademark registration application will be rejected. If the applicant wants to pursue it further, the applicatant will have to modify/amend the trademark and submit a new application.

Step 6: Examination for conflicts with law

After the previous step is complete and successful, the application will be examined to determine whether the mark is registrable in accordance with Singapore Trademark Laws. The examiner will check to ensure that the mark does not fall into the areas not allowed by law, for example, marks that are devoid of any distinctive character.

The applicant will be notified of any objections found and a specified period of time will be granted to resolve the objections.

Step 7: Advertisement for public scrutiny

Upon completion of examination for conflicts with law, the trademark applicant will be informed of the acceptance of the application for registration and the acceptance will be published for public information in the Trade Marks Journal. Any interested party may oppose the registration of the mark within two months of the publication. The grounds of opposition may include issues such as the application is similar to a registered or pending mark, etc.

If the trademarks office receives an objection from an opponent, the applicant will be notified and must respond with a counter-statement to resolve the objection. A decision on the application will be made after hearing both parties.

Step 8: Successful registration

If there were no objections from any party or if all the objections were resolved in favor of the applicant, the trademark will be registered and a registration certificate will be issued to the applicant.

Singapore Trademark Registration FAQs