Intellectual Property (IP) refers to the product of your mind or intellect. IP can be an invention or innovation, special names and images used in trade, original designs or an expression of an idea. In Singapore, laws exist to protect such IP. This may be through a registration process such as patent grants for inventions, trade mark registration for signs used in trade, industrial design registration for designs applied to articles and grants of protection for plant varieties. Other forms of IP, that need not be registered, but may be protected nonetheless, include copyright works, geographical indications, layout designs of integrated circuits, confidential information and trade secrets.
A Patent is a monopoly right given by the Government to the owner of an invention to enable him to prevent others from using, copying or making the invention without his consent in the country in which he has obtained patent protection.
Whilst it is not mandatory to apply for patent protection in Singapore first before seeking patent protection overseas, any person resident in Singapore is required to obtain written authorisation from the Registrar of Patents for an invention, before he files or causes to be filed outside Singapore an application for a patent for that invention.
As an alternative to seeking written authorization, a person resident in Singapore may file a patent application for an invention first in Singapore. If no Direction prohibiting or restricting the publication or communication of information contained in the patent application has been issued by the Registrar of Patents within 2 months from that filing, he may then proceed to file or cause to file overseas a patent application for that invention.
>> More information on "Seeking Written Authority from the Registrar"
can be found in paragraph 4.3 .
Deciding which country to file your patent applications in depends very much on where you wish to seek patent protection in. It is ultimately a commercial decision that has to be taken. Further, patent requirements differ from country to country and costs including translation and professional fees have to be taken into account.
To obtain a patent in Singapore, one must submit a patent application to the Registry of Patents. The patent application should contain particulars including a full written explanation or disclosure of the invention and the mechanics by which the invention works.
A patentable invention can be a product or a process that gives a new technical solution to a problem. It can be a new method of doing things, the composition of a new product, or a technical improvement on how certain objects work.
A patent once granted, may be challenged by any one, on the ground that the invention is not patentable.
For a patent granted in Singapore, the rights conferred by a patent extend throughout Singapore. It confers on the owner the right to prevent others from exploiting the invention without his consent during the term of the patent, which is 20 years from the Date of Filing the patent application, subject to the payment of annual renewal fees.
A patent is a form of property and it can be assigned, licensed or mortgaged.
The Patents Act came into force on 23 Feb 1995 and provided Singapore with its own patent system. The Patents Act (Cap. 221) and its subsidiary legislation, which consists of the Patents Rules, the Patents (Patent Agents) Rules, and the Patents (Composition of Offences) Regulations, form the legislation governing patent law in Singapore.
>> View the Patents Legislation online at IPOS website http://www.ipos.gov.sg (Legislation).
>> Copies of the legislation may be purchased at http://www.snpcorp.com/webshop or SNP Corporation Ltd at 1 Kim Seng Promenade, Great World City East Tower, #18-01 Singapore 237994, Tel (65) 68269691.
Apart from using the patent to prevent others from exploiting the invention, the patent owner can exploit his patent in many ways. He can use his patent to raise funds for his business, license it to third parties for commercial returns or sell the patented invention for a sum of money.
The patent system in Singapore operates on a first-to-file basis. In other words, the first person to file an application will, in general, have priority over others for the same invention. One looks at the Date of Filing accorded to the patent application when deciding as to who the first to file the patent application was.
>> More information on "Date of Filing" can be found in paragraph 3.6.1 .
For an invention to be patentable, it must, in general, satisfy three key criteria.
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New |
The invention should not have been made known to the public in any way, anywhere in the world. Owners of inventions should be careful to keep the invention secret, until a patent application has been successfully made.
An invention could be considered as not new if it has already been made available to the public by word of mouth, or it has been commercially exploited, or it has been featured in an article or advertised in the press, or it has been demonstrated. Such disclosure may be novelty destroying and forms one of the grounds for the revocation of a patent.
In certain cases, it may be necessary to disclose the invention before the application for a patent is made, e.g. disclosure to a marketing consultant. Care must be taken to ensure that the disclosure is made in confidence so that such disclosure will not be fatal to the subsequent patenting of the invention.
Once a Date of Filing has been obtained for the patent application, the invention can claim a "Patent Pending" status and the applicant can proceed to disclose the invention as indicated in the patent application to interested parties. As part of the application process, the patent application will be published soon after 18 months and if the statutory requirements are met. Once published, details of the invention will be made available for public inspection.
The Patents Journal is published monthly and they contain information of published patent applications. Recent publications of the Patents Journal are available for free at http://www.epatents.gov.sg/Journal/.
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Inventive Step |
The invention must be something that represents an improvement over any existing product or process that is already available. The improvement must be non-obvious to a person who is skilled in the art in that technological field of the invention. If an invention is new yet obvious to a person skilled in the art, the invention would not fulfill the inventive step requirement. |
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Industrial Application |
The invention must be useful and have some form of practical application.
It should be capable of being made or used, or achieving a concrete end result in any industry. |
An invention of a method of treatment of the human or animal body by surgery or therapy or of diagnosis practised on the human or animal body shall not be taken to be capable of industrial application, and hence, is not patentable.
Also, an invention that is generally expected to encourage offensive, immoral or anti-social behaviour will not be published or patentable even if it satisfies the three key criteria.
It is important to know the state-of-the-art before filing for a patent. With such knowledge, an inventor would not have to re-invent the wheel and would also avoid infringing other patents filed or granted. There are resources available to help search for existing patents and published patent applications.
IPOS provides the following basic search tools but as any disclosure made known to the public in any way, anywhere in the world could destroy the novelty of an invention, more in-depth searches should be conducted with the assistance of patent professionals using commercial search tools.
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ePatents (www.epatents.gov.sg) |
This is a one-stop solution designed to facilitate online patent related searches and transactions in Singapore. ePatents services include:
· search, view basic bibliographic information for any patent application or patent filed in Singapore;
· download of register for any patent application or patent that has been published in Singapore;
· download of specification for any patent application or patent that has been published (where available) in Singapore;
· view and download recent copies of the Patents eJournal;
· file a patent application;
· file a statement of inventorship and of right to the grant of a patent;
· request for a search report or supplementary search report;
· request for a search and examination report;
· request for an examination report;
· amend a patent application before grant;
· request for the issuance of certificate of grant;
· annual renewal of the patent;
· request for the furnishing of or access to miscellaneous information relating to any patent application or patent that has been published in Singapore; and
· alter the name or address of applicants/inventors, address for service, address of agent or correct an error.
For a complete list of services offered by ePatents, please visit the ePatents website
www.epatents.gov.sg. |
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The ePatents Search Terminals |
These are available at IPOS’ Public Search Area and allow the public to access ePatents services. |
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SurfIP (www.surfip.gov.sg) |
This is a One-stop First-stop IP portal which performs simultaneous worldwide searches on patents, trade marks and industrial designs databases. It introduces the Mine, Manage and Maximise approach to help businesses realise the full potential of their intellectual assets.
These tools and resources provide non-exhaustive searches. |