Singapore Trademark Registration Made Easy
Author: SimonRogove Total views: 35 Word Count: 631
To register a trade mark in Singapore, you need to approach the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), which is a statutory body under the umbrella of the Ministry of Law. You can either go straight to the Registrar or appoint a trade mark agent, possibly a lawyer, to apply for you.
Any trade mark in Singapore must be symbolised in graphic form. It must be a sign of some sort, represented by any letter, word, name, signature, number, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, colour and aspect of packaging, either by itself or in any combination using these symbols. Singapore trade mark laws differ from those in countries such as the United States in that you need not provide evidence of use to register a trade mark.
Prospective applicants for trademark registration are advised to consult the records of the Singapore Registry of Trademarks and Patents before filing their own applications. Whether conducted at the IPOS office or online at the eTradeMarks section of the Web site, this search allows prospective applicants to be certain that there exist no prior trademarks represented by a symbol identical or similar to what they intend to use. This is an especially crucial consideration if a similar previously-registered trademark is found in same area of business as the applicant.
Once you are satisfied that your trade mark does not conflict with anyone else's, you can submit your application. Manual submissions, which cost S$340, can be made either by hand or sent via registered post to the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks. You can also apply online using the IPOS eTradeMarks system at a cost of S$310.
The IPOS will then conduct an administrative review of the trademark application to ensure that it is complete, that it complies with the provisions of the Trade Marks Act, and that the necessary fees have been paid. Afterwards it will issue a trademark application number and date of filing to the applicant.
The applicant will be notified by the Registry if there is any ground for objection, including the corrections required and the specified period of time granted given him to overcome the objection. The application is considered withdrawn if the applicant fails to respond to the notice within the period granted.
A formal search for conflicting marks, geographical names and conformance to the international classification of goods and services will be conducted by the Registry Office. For pharmaceutical products, the Registry of Trade Marks will also check whether the marks consists of a protected International Non-Proprietary Name (INN), which are generic names for specific pharmaceutical substances furnished by the World Health Organization.
If your trade mark passes the conflict test, you must still clear a couple more obstacles before you are home free. Your sign will again by studied to judge whether or not it can be registered under Singapore Trade Mark Laws, which has categories whereby certain marks are disallowed. For instances, marks that lack any distinguishing characteristics may not be entertained. If the examiner finds any objections, you will be asked to make corrections within a certain period of time.
Once it is verified that the trademark complies with Singapore Trademark Laws, the applicant will be notified of the acceptance of the application for registration which will be published in the Trade Marks Journal for public information. This will also allow any interested party to oppose the registration within two months for various grounds including issues such as the application is similar to a pending mark.
If no objections were made against the application in the allotted two months, or if all objections that are raised end up resolved in the applicant's favor, the trademark will finally be declared as registered. The applicant will be given a registration certificate attesting to the successful process of registering a trademark in Singapore.
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Before doing business in Singapore, make sure you check out Singapore business guide and Singapore trade mark registration procedures.
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