IPOS - Intellectual Property Office of Singapore

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Frequently Used Terms

Patents
Trade marks
Designs

Patents

Abstract	A brief summary of your invention that describes its key important features.
Claims	Written statements defining the boundaries of protection under the patent. It usually includes the essential principles or features of the invention and should relate to the Description.
Description	A clear and complete disclosure and description of the invention to enable any skilled person in that field of the invention to perform or reproduce the invention.
Disclosure	The act of making something known through speech, written language or demonstration.
Examination	The process where the invention is examined if it is new, involves an inventive step and capable of industrial application.
Date of Filing	The date issued by the Registry of Patents upon receipt of the patent request, together with an identification of the applicants and a description of the invention.
First to File	The applicant who is the first to file for a patent will have priority over the others.
Formalities Examination	The check conducted by the Registry of Patents to ensure that the formal requirements have been met. This includes the check that all necessary documents and forms have been submitted in proper and correct order, such as format, presentation, size and suitable for reproduction in general.
Inventive Step	An improvement that is non-obvious to a person who is skilled in the art in the technological field of the invention.
Inventor	The person who is the actual deviser of the invention.
Industrial Application	Having practical application in any industrial field.
New/Novel	Not known to anyone in any form, anywhere in the world.
Patent Agent	A person who provides professional advice on the measures to take in making any pre-application disclosures, advises on searches on existing inventions, on the patentability of an invention, attends to the drafting of the patent application and the prosecution of the patent application before the Registrar of Patents. If he describes himself as such, he must also be registered as a patent agent with us and have a practising certificate issued by us.
Priority Date	The date officially established when the applicant first files for a patent application in a country that is a member of the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organisation.
Search	The process of searching for any relevant information and materials related to the invention.
Specification	The description, claim(s) and drawing(s) (if any) required to support a patent application.

Trade marks

Classes	Goods and Services are divided into different classes according to the Nice Classification system. There are presently 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services.
Descriptive Mark	A mark that contains only of elements that to describe the features of, or elements that provide a description of the goods or services. Such a mark is not registrable.
Distinctive Mark	A mark that is clearly defined and not easily mistaken for other similar marks.
Distinguishing	Differentiating
Examination	The process by which the trade mark examiner decides if a mark is registrable in accordance to the law.
Opposition	The process by which a member of the public, or an interested third party may object to the registration of a trade mark.
Priority Claim	The date officially established when the applicant first files for a trade mark application in a country that is a member of the Paris Convention or the World Trade Organization.
Representation	This refers to the drawing, image or photograph depicting the trade mark.
Search	The process by which the examiner searches for any existing and conflicting trade marks, as well as for geographical names, and names of pharmaceutical substances.

Designs

Article	An object to which the design has been applied.
Class and subclass	Based on the Locarno Classification, the articles to which the designs are applied are divided into different classes and subclasses. There are 32 classes of articles.
Formalities Examination	The check conducted by the Registry of Designs to ensure that the formal requirements have been met, such as details of the applicant, class(es) and subclass(es) of articles, and representations of designs.
Industrial Process	A design must also be capable of industrial reproduction whereby more than 50 copies of the articles are produced.
Novelty	New and not known to anyone in the world.
Priority Date Claim	An earlier date which the applicant in Singapore may claim if there is a corresponding filing from a Paris Convention or World Trade Organization country; provided that the Singapore application is filed within six months from date of the earlier filing.
Representation of the Design	This refers to the drawing or photograph of the design.
Set of articles	Two or more articles of the same general character that are ordinarily on sale together or intended to be used together.
Statement of Novelty	A statement describing the features of the design which are new.

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Last Updated on 22 May 2013

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