A Comprehensive Singapore Trademark Registration Guide - 2024 Update

Trademark registration is important for the majority of businesses, and here in Singapore, it's as important as getting your company incorporated.

If you're planning on building a brand here in Singapore, then you'll need to know about the trademark registration process. This article will serve as your Singapore trademark registration guide, and we'll go over how a trademark can protect your business here in Singapore.

The Singapore Trade Marks Act

The Singapore Trade Marks Act was passed in 1998 to meet the obligations set by the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property. Trademark registration or trademark application is handled by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law.

Singapore is currently a signatory to the following relevant international conventions:

• Paris Convention

• Berne Convention

• Madrid Protocol

• Nice Agreement

• Patent Cooperation Treaty

• Budapest Treaty

• WIPO Copyright Treaty

• WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty

• International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants otherwise known as the “UPOV Convention”

• The Geneva Act (1999) of the Hague Agreement concerning the International Registration of Industrial DesignSingapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks

What are the Key Features of the Singapore Trademark Act?

It's not mandatory for businesses in Singapore to register a trademark. But the value provided by a trademark to a business is immense. Filing for trademark registration means that the owner has a right to ownership and the right to prevent others from using a similar or identical mark without the owner's permission.

The Singapore Trade Marks Act includes several important features:

• Trademark registration in Singapore under the Trade Marks Act is only effective in Singapore. Trademark protection is territorial, so if you want to obtain trademark rights from other countries, you need to register for a trademark in those countries. Or you can apply for International Trademark Registration under the Madrid Protocol.

• Singapore is a contracting country under the Madrid Protocol, so you can file for an international application via IPOS in Singapore once your application has been filed in Singapore. You can read more about Worldwide Trademark Registration through Singapore Trademark Office.

• Trademarks must be capable of being represented graphically, so the sign can be any letter, word, name, numeral, brand, device, label, ticket, shape, or a combination of these. Unlike the United States and other similar jurisdictions, Singapore trademarks regime does not require evidence of use to be filed before trademark registration is granted.

What are the Steps to Registering a Trademark in Singapore?

Step 1 - Check the Registration Criteria for Trademark

Before you apply for your trademark, you'll need to make sure that your trademark meets the registration criteria. Here are some guide questions to help you determine if your trademark is going to be registered in Singapore:

Does your trademark meet the criteria?

Your trademark needs to follow certain criteria before it can be registered. At the very least, your trademark needs to:

• Be able to be graphically represented

• Be distinct enough that it separates your goods and services from other providers

• Avoid using common signs associated with established practices (like an elevator or escalator sign, for example)

• Avoid copying or being identical to existing or well-known trademarks

An important resource for this criterion: Trade Marks Work Manual.

Have you checked if there are similar or existing trademarks?

Before you apply for trademark registration, you need to do a Similar Mark Search on IPOS Digital Hub (their e-services portal) to make sure that there are no existing marks on their Register that are identical or similar to yours.

In the event that there are similar marks found and that these marks protect similar goods or services specified in your application, then your application might face an objection. This can be easily resolved if you provide a letter of consent from the other party.

Is Your Trademark Classified Properly?

Trademark protection will be determined by the goods or services listed in the application, and you're required to state the exact class number and descriptions of the goods/services according to the Nice Classification. There are 45 classes of goods and services under the Nice Classification.

The table below will give you a quick overview of the goods and services as classified based on the International Classification of Goods and Services (ICGS):

You can also use IPOS’ Classification Database to do a quick search for appropriate descriptions if you want to avoid objections against your trademark application.

IPOS recommends the following resources for goods and services:

• Guide on Classification of Goods and Services

• Trade Marks Work Manual chapter on Classification of Goods and Services

• Circulars on Classification of Goods and Services

Do You Intend to Hire Professional Service Providers to Help you With Trademark Application?

This is 100% optional and does not affect your application in any way. If you feel like you need help with trademark registration in Singapore, then you might want to work with relevant service providers to guide you through the process.

Step 2 - Apply For a Trademark

For this section, we'll cover two processes: registering a trademark in Singapore, and registering a trademark outside of Singapore.

Here's a pre-filing checklist to make sure that your trademark is registerable in Singapore:

• Ensure that your trademark fulfills trade mark registration criteria in Singapore. 

• Ensure that you've prepared all the requirements for the submission of the application form.

• Get all the required form and fees for filing to register a trade mark in Singapore

It will take you up to 12 months to register a trademark in Singapore, assuming that the application is complete and does not face any objection.

Here's a short flowchart of the application process in registering a trademark:

1st Stage - Examination / Processing of Application

• Your application is examined and checked if it fulfills are the requirements for registration. A filing date is accorded if the requirements are met.

• If the trademark is registerable, it moves on to the next stage, which is Publication.

• If the requirements are not met, you'll receive their examination report. This report contains all the grounds for objection, including the goods/services being objected to. Your response is required within 4 months of receiving this report.

Publication

• Once your application is accepted, it's published in the Trade Marks Journal for public inspection for 2 months. This gives any interested parties a chance to oppose or object the registration of the trademark.

• If there are no objections, your application proceeds to the next stage, which is Registration.

• In the event that your application is being objected to, you'll receive a copy of the Notice of Opposition from the opposing party. The application process will be suspended pending the outcome of the opposition proceeding.

• Only one of two outcomes is expected.

• If the outcome of the opposition proceeding favors you, then your application proceeds to the next step.

• If the outcome of the opposition proceeding is in favor of your opponent, then your application is refused.

Registration

Congratulations. Your trademark is officially registered and you'll receive a Certificate of Registration from IPOS. Trademark protection is granted for 10 years.

Renewal

You can renew your trademark registration 6 months before the expiration date. This will allow you to extend trademark protection for another 10 years.

Registering a Trade Mark Outside of Singapore

If you want to register a trademark in other countries outside of Singapore, you can file for separate applications with the countries' respective offices, or you can file a single International Application via the Madrid Protocol. 

The Madrid Protocol is a treaty administered by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and governs the international registration process of trademarks. This allows applicants to obtain trademark protection in several countries with just one application from a single office and in one language. This international application also covers one set of fees and currency.

Pre-filing Checklist

The checklist for international trademark application is a bit different from the checklist used for trademark registration in Singapore.

• You need to make sure that you have a Singapore application for the same trademark

• Check the countries in which you wish to protect your trademark are contracting parties to the Madrid Protocol. You can refer to the Madrid Members Profile for more information about their contracting parties and other details.

• You'll need to meet at least one of the following entitlement criteria to file an International Application from Singapore:

• The applicant resides in Singapore

• The applicant is a national of Singapore (applicable to individuals and companies)

• The applicant has a real and effective commercial or industrial business in Singapore

You can review the form and fees for international application filing via the Madrid Protocol.

Examination Process for an International Application

This flowchart illustrates the different stages in the filing of your application through IPOS.

Formalities Examination

• IPOS will examine your international application to make sure that all requirements are met.

• If all requirements are met, IPOS certifies your application and forwards it to World Intellectual Property Organiztion (WIPO) within 2 months from the application filing date. This also secures your application's filing date as the date of your international registration. You'll receive a notification from IPOS once it's forwarded.

• If your application doesn't meet certain requirement s, you'll be asked to remedy the situation within a specific deadline. If you don't fix your application, IPOS may not forward your application to IPOS within 2 months from your application filing date.

Formal Examination by the International Bureau

• At this point, your application is examined by the International Bureau (IB) of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

• If everything is in order, your application is recorded into the International Register and published in the WIPO Gazette. WIPO will then issue a Certificate of International Registration to the applicant and notifies designated contracting parties (DCP).

• The certificate issued by WIPO confirms that your trademark application is in compliance with requirements listed under Article 3 of the Madrid Protocol. But it is not a confirmation that the trademark is registered in the DCPs.

• On the other hand, if your application has irregularities, you'll receive a notification from IB and you'll need to address them within a set deadline. Failing to do so will result in your application updated to "Abandoned" status.

Examination by the Designated Contracting Parties

The third stage is another examination process, this time by the Designated Contracting Parties (DCP). The third examination will be more substantiating than the first two examinations.

Your application will be reviewed to determine if it meets requirements according to their domestic law. This is done within 12 or 18 months from receipt of your application from IB.

If your international application meets the requirements of the DCPs and does not face any objection/opposition, then your trademark is granted protection within the DCP.

If there are issues with your application, you'll receive a Provisional Refusal of Protection from the IP Office of the DCP. This provisional refusal will contain all the grounds for the application's refusal.

You'll need to address the issues found in the provisional refusal within a set deadline.

How Long is a Trademark Registration Valid?

The validity of trademark registration is 10 years from the date of application. After ten years, you can renew your trademark registration indefinitely by just paying the renewal price.

How Much Will It Cost You To Register a Trademark in Singapore?

Expenses associated with trademark registration will cover official filing fees and professional fees to service providers (if you choose to hire professionals to help you).

The official fee will depend on the class of goods or services you're registering for the trademark. You'll need to pay for each class if you're registering more than one.

The fees are for online filing:

• S$280 per class if you choose goods and services from their pre-approved database

• S$380 per class if you don't use the pre-approved database and use your own specifications for goods and services.

All fees and forms can be found on IPOS | Forms & Fees.

For international trademark application, you'll need to pay the following fees to IPOS and WIPO

• S$250 is charged by IPOS for international application

• WIPO charges (in Swiss Francs) based on whether the trademark is produced in black in white, or colored, the countries designated for application, and the number of classes of good and services applied. You can compute for payable fees via WIPO Madrid Fee Calculator.

What Are The Grounds For Denying Your Trademark Registration in Singapore?

Your trademark registration might be denied on the following grounds:

• If the trademark is non-distinct or common within the industry or trade.

• If the trademark is only composed of a shape, or shapes, which give consumers the idea of the product, or if it's important to get a specialized outcome (descriptive marks). For example, if you're opening a coffee shop in Singapore and the trademark is an illustration of a coffee cup or a coffee bean.

• If the trademark is deceptive or could potentially misrepresent the goods or services provided.

• If the trademark is contrary to public morality or policy

• If the trademark conflicts with a well-known or existing trademark

How Do You Renew a Trademark in Singapore?

A registered trademark in Singapore is protected for 10 years after date of filing and is only renewed once every 10 years. It can only be renewed starting from 6 months before its expiry date of the registered trademark. 

You'll need to submit Form TM19 if you want to renew or restore your trademark registration and pay the corresponding fees.

Renewal will cost S$440 per class so long as it's done six months before expiration.

What If The Renewal is Late?

If a trademark is not renewed on time, or if it's past its expiry date, the trademark status is updated as "Expired (Late Renewal Possible). Late renewal is possible for 6 months starting from the expiry date through Form TM19 and paying the associated fees. There are also additional costs for late renewals.

Late renewal will cost you S$645 per class.

What If No Renewal Was Made After 6 Months?

If a trademark wasn't renewed within 6 months after the expiration date, the trademark status is updated to "Removed (Restoration Possible).

Restoration is done for a final period of 6 months through Form TM 19.

Restoration of trademark will cost you S$705.

You can find out more about Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)'s forms and fees here.