INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN SINGAPORE

The Trademark Act of 1998 is the primary law governing the mechanism of trademark registration and protection in Singapore.
For getting a trademark registered in Singapore, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which administers the entire trademark registration process.
It follows a 'first-to-file’ system, which means that trademark registration is mandatory for protection.
Singapore follows the 11th edition of Nice Classification. Multi-class trademark applications are possible.
The opposition period is two (02) months from the publication date of the trademark application.
In Singapore, registered trademarks have a validity of ten (10) years from the date of application, which can be further renewed indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
The term for cancellation of a registered trademark based on non-use is five (05) years from the date of registration.

Singapore is a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
The Patents Act, 1994 - deals with the mechanism of patent protection in Singapore.
For seeking patent protection in Singapore, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which administers the entire process of patent grant.
In Singapore, an invention that satisfies the conditions of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Process patent and product patent are the two types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
In Singapore, pre-grant opposition cannot be filed against a patent application.
Patents last for twenty (20) years in Singapore. Patent applications are subject to the payment of the grant fee in Singapore. The first annual fee is due on the 4th anniversary of the Singaporean filing date (for the 5th year).

The Registered Designs Act, 2000 - governs and deals with the mechanism of registration of industrial designs in Singapore.
For getting an industrial design registered in Singapore, an application has to be filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which administers the entire process of registration.
The types of industrial design applications that can be filed in Singapore include Non-Convention Application and Convention Application.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Singapore at the pre-grant stage.
The industrial design registration in Singapore is valid for twenty-five (25) years, renewable every five (05) years.
The renewal application must be filed before the end of the registration period, failing which the design will be removed from the register.
The registration can still be restored by filing Form D8 and making an additional payment.

Singapore is a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Copyright Act (Chapter 63) (Revised Edition 2006, as amended up to the Intellectual Property (Border Enforcement) Act 2018), is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Singapore.
In Singapore, copyright comes into existence as soon as the work is created. There is no formal procedure for copyright registration.
The standard term of protection is after the end of the calendar year in which the authors of the works have died.
An anonymous or pseudonymous literary, dramatic, and musical work fall in the public domain if seventy (70) years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the work was first published.
Television broadcasts, sound broadcasts, and cable programme fall in the public domain if fifty (50) years have passed since the end of the calendar year in which the broadcast was first made or the cable programme was first included in a cable programme service.