Circular: New Patents and Trade Marks Acceleration Programmes

1. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) will be launching Patents and Trade Marks Acceleration programmes on 20 May 2025 to help filers receive faster office actions.

2. The SG Patents Fast and SG Trade Marks Fast programmes supersede the SG IP FAST pilot programme which concluded on 31 December 2024, and feature simplified eligibility criteria, amongst other things, to benefit enterprises and innovators.

3. The new streamlined programmes were developed with feedback from the industry who found SG IP FAST useful but could be enhanced.

SG Patents Fast

4. SG Patents Fast enables filers to receive faster office actions. Two options are available. Applicants can choose the pace of acceleration:

   • SG Patents Fast 4: Receive first office action within four months of successful application.

   • SG Patents Fast 8: Receive first office action within eight months of successful application.

5. Subsequent office action will be issued within four months of successful application.

6. Qualifying criteria and application process:

   • The patent application is not a divisional application in Singapore;

   • Acceleration requests must contain 20 or fewer claims;

   • Acceleration request must be made on Patents Form 11 (Request for a Search and Examination Report) or Patents Form 12 (Request for an Examination Report), with the payment of the acceleration fee;

   • Successful SG Patents Fast applications qualify for acceleration of subsequent office actions on Patents Form 13A (Response to Written Opinion);

   • There is a monthly cap of five requests per entity (individual or corporate). This cap does not apply to requests for acceleration of subsequent office actions.

7. In response to feedback on the overall monthly cap on applications which made it difficult for filers to plan which applications to accelerate, we will be removing the overall cap while maintaining a monthly cap for each entity (individual or corporate). We will also be introducing fees to better cover IPOS’ costs incurred in prioritising these applications. The fees are as follows:

(Note: Acceleration fees are in addition to the request fees for Patents Form 11 and 12.)

8. The acceleration fees are subject to review and changes. The public will be notified of any changes before they are implemented.

SG Trade Marks Fast

9.         SG Trade Marks Fast makes it simpler for enterprises to fast-track their trade mark applications and receive the first examination report (or notice that the application has been published for opposition purposes, as applicable) within three to six weeks from the date of the application. To make the programme more accessible, applicants will not require (i) a related patent application or (ii) full adoption of pre-approved descriptions of goods and services from IPOS’ Classification Database.

10.       Qualifying criteria and application process:

a.     The application is:

• a national trade mark application (i.e., filed directly with IPOS via Form TM4 – Application to register a trade mark); and

• not for a certification or collective mark;

b.     The acceleration request must be made at the point of filing Form TM4 with the payment of the acceleration fee.

11.       For trade mark applications with multiple classes, the acceleration request will automatically apply to all classes in the application.

12.       We will be introducing fees to better cover IPOS’ costs incurred in prioritising these applications. The fees are as follows:

(Note: Acceleration fees are in addition to the application fees payable for Form TM4.)

13.       The acceleration fees are subject to review and changes. The public will be notified of any changes before they are implemented.

Government schemes to support IP registration costs

14.       Like IP application fees, IP acceleration fees qualify for tax deduction. Under the Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS), businesses conducting trade or business activities can claim enhanced tax deduction on qualifying IP registration costs. Alternatively, eligible businesses may convert qualifying expenditures into a cash payout to offset their innovation costs. For more information on tax deduction and EIS, please refer to the IRAS website on IRAS | Tax Treatment of Business Expenses (M-R) and IRAS | Enterprise Innovation Scheme (EIS).

15.       The Enterprise Development Grant (EDG) helps Singapore companies grow and transform. EDG funds qualifying project costs including third-party consultancy fees, software and equipment, internal manpower cost, and other critical costs such as IP registration and acceleration fees. For more information, please refer to Enterprise Singapore’s website on Enterprise Development Grant (EDG).

16.       If you have any enquiries relating to the respective acceleration programmes, please contact us at ipos_enquiry@ipos.gov.sg.