(Circular No. 1/2010, dated 12 February 2010)Pursuant to Rule 20bis(6)(b) of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Protocol, Singapore has notified the Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organisation on 21 March 2002 that Singapore law would not give effect to the recording of trade mark licenses in the International Register. Accordingly, any recording of a license made under Rule 20bis(3) of the Common Regulations will have no effect on any International Registration designating Singapore. However, the holder of such an International Registration may still record the relevant license with IPOS by lodging Form TM37, and the fee of S$60.00 per trade mark number. Similarly, the holder of such an International Registration may request for the amendment or cancellation of the recording of the license via Forms TM 38 and TM 39 respectively.
With effect from 1 January 2008, there will be some amendments to the Administrative Instructions for the Application of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks and the Protocol Relating Thereto ("AI"). The amendments are necessary for the implementation of a more broad-based electronic communications platform for the benefit of users of the Madrid system.
The AI can be found here and the International Bureau's ("IB") notification of the amendments can be found here.
Please note that under the new Section 19 of the AI, fees payable to the IB must be made
- by debit to a current account with the IB,
- by payment into the Swiss postal account or to any of the specified bank accounts of the IB, or
- by credit card, where, in the context of an electronic communication envisaged in Section 11, an electronic interface for online payment has been made available by the IB.
The previous modes of payment by cash at the IB and by a banker's cheque would no longer be available.
Please note that while Section 19 now provides that in the context of electronic communications, fees due to the IB may be paid by credit card only in relation to specific types of transaction or request in respect of which a dedicated electronic interface has been provided, the IB has advised that this mode of payment by credit card would not be applicable to the filing of international applications.
If you are filing an international application through IPOS on and after 2 January 2008, please note that our previous primary mode of payment to the IB via a banker's cheque is no longer available in light of the changes in the AI. Instead, your payment in Swiss Francs to the IB can be made by either options (i) or (ii) as stated above.
Current AccountIf you conduct regular monetary transactions with the IB, you may opt to open a current account with them. Please
see for details.
Bank TransferWe envisage that the majority of applicants and agents are likely to use bank transfers under (ii) as the preferred mode of payment. Details of WIPO's postal account and bank account are as follows:
WIPO bank account
IBAN No. CH51 0483 5048 7080 8100 0
Credit Suisse, CH-1211 Geneva 70
Swift/BIC: CRESCHZZ80A
WIPO postal account
IBAN No. CH03 0900 0000 1200 5000 8
Swift/BIC: POFICHBE
The above account details are found on page 6 of the Form MM2(E).
To confirm that the payment has been made, the applicant must indicate the payment details of the bank's transfer transaction in the appropriate space provided in IB's Form MM2(E) Application for International Registration Governed Exclusively by the Madrid Protocol at the time of filing. You must also provide us with a photocopy of the bank's transaction advice.
If you have any queries regarding the above, please do not hesitate to call our Customer Service Officer at
6339 8616 or email us at
ipos_enquiry@ipos.gov.sg.
(Circular No. 5/2008, dated 22 February 2008)
For an international registration where Singapore is the Office of Origin, a request for the recording of a renewal may be made by the holder or his agent upon payment of the relevant fees in Swiss Francs to WIPO via any of the following ways:-
- lodgement of WIPO’s Form MM11(E) or an official letter from the holder indicating the necessary information (number(s) of the international registration(s) concerned and the purpose of the payment); http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/forms/
- lodgement done online at WIPO Marks E-Renewal System portal http://www.wipo.int/madrid/en/services; or
- lodgement of Form MM11(E) or the official letter mentioned under (i) through IPOS, together with a separate fee of S$85 for handling the renewal request.
Kindly note that the above renewal is only effective for the international registration. Holders should lodge IPOS Form TM 19 in order to renew the Singapore basic registration, if necessary.
With regard to the renewal of an international registration where Singapore is not the Office of Origin, even if Singapore had been designated, such a request must be effected via (i) or (ii). It is also possible to do so via the Office of Origin of that international registration provided that that Office of Origin has agreed to collect the renewal fees and forward them to WIPO.
We wish to emphasise that IPOS Form TM 19 must not be lodged for the renewal of any international registrations designating Singapore. Only WIPO would be able to process the renewal of that international registration.
(Circular No. 19/2008, dated 26 December 2008)
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has introduced an E-Payment Service, which allows payment of fees notified in their irregularity letters or other WIPO communications, with regard to international applications or registrations.
Payments can be made through the WIPO Current Account or by credit card.
To make payment through the WIPO Current Account, you will be required to provide the userID and the password generated by them for the current account holders. If you do not have a current account, please click Current Account at WIPO for details, on how to open, use or close a current account with WIPO, if you intend to open one. If you already have a WIPO current account, but do not have a password, please send an email to WIPO at income.accounts@wipo.int, mentioning E-Payment as the subject matter.
To make payment by credit card, please follow the steps in the E-Payment Service. American Express, Mastercard and Visa are acceptable to WIPO
Unfortunately at this stage, WIPO is still unable to accept payment via credit card for the filing of international applications. For such applications, the only payment modes are via the WIPO Current Account, or the Swiss postal account or any of the specified bank accounts of WIPO.
(Circular No. 13/2004, dated 18 June 2004)
The Registrar has received queries as to whether IPOS issues registration certificates for protected international trade marks (Singapore). Please note that IPOS does NOT issue such certificates.
Under the Madrid Protocol, an Office which has examined an international registration in which it is designated and found no grounds for refusal may issue a statement of grant of protection. However, it is not obliged to do so and no legal consequences follow from the fact that no such statement is given. Further, such statements will only be issued if it is still within the 18-month time limit from the date of notification of the international registration. Where no such statements are issued, by the end of the 18-month time limit, the international registration will be regarded as protected in Singapore. In the Singapore context, IPOS does issue such statements, as a matter of customer service, if at the time of issuance, it is still within the said period.
In cases where a provisional refusal or a provisional refusal based on opposition has been issued, a confirmation or withdrawal of such a provisional refusal in the form of a letter of final decision in accordance with Rule 17(5) of the Common Regulations under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol relating to the Madrid Agreement concerning the International Registration of marks will be sent to the International Bureau, who will in turn transmit a copy to the holder of the international registration.
(Circular No. 21/2004, dated 19 November 2004)
For international registrations designating Singapore, in accordance with Rule 25 of the Common Regulations, such requests must be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) directly by the holder on WIPO’s official Form MM5(E). Form MM5(E) is available for downloading
here.
Form TM 22 should not be lodged for such recordation of change in ownership.
Where Singapore is the Office of Origin, requests for recording of changes in the ownership must also be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) directly by the holder. However, Form TM 22 may be lodged (if appropriate) to record the change in ownership of the basic application or basic registration.
(Circular No. 21/2004, dated 19 November 2004)For international registrations designating Singapore, in accordance with Rule 25 of the Common Regulations, such requests must be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) directly by the holder on WIPO’s official Form MM9(E). Form MM9(E) is available for downloading
here.
Form TM 26 should not be lodged for such recordation of change in name and/or address.
Where Singapore is the Office of Origin, requests for recording of changes in the name and/or address of the holder must also be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) directly by the holder. In such a case, TM 26 should be lodged to amend the change in name and/or address of the basic application or basic registration.
(Circular No. 21/2004, dated 19 November 2004)
In accordance with Rule 24 of the Common Regulations, such requests must be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) directly by the holder on WIPO’s official Form MM4(E). Form MM4(E) is available for downloading
here.
Singapore acceded to the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (Madrid Protocol) on 31 July 2000. The Madrid Protocol came into operation in Singapore on 31 October 2000.
International registrations designating Singapore under the Madrid Protocol are treated in the same manner as Singapore national applications, and are therefore published in the Trade Marks Journal for opposition purposes before protection is granted. They are published in a separate section of the Trade Marks Journal titled "International Registrations filed under the Madrid Protocol Published for Opposition Purposes under the Trade Marks Act (Cap. 332, 1999 Ed.)". Unlike Singapore national applications, they are not published according to the class of goods or services, but are published according to the international registration number.
Such requests must be presented to the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) using WIPO's prescribed Form MM9(E). Form TM 26 is not the relevant form to be used.
Form MM9(E) is available for downloading here.