Trademark Registration Singapore

In Singapore the trademark registration is applied on the ‘First to use’ principle. Simply means that the owner of the trademark has a right to restrict the likely infringement action over their trademark in case the trademark is practice in Singapore for long period and have reputation in the market. If you are new to trademark it’s suggest that you should file an application for trademark registration.

How do you recognize a Trademark?

Commonly-used symbols to recognize a trademark are ® and TM. The 2 symbols are different:

• ® States to a registered and protected trademark according to trademark laws.
• ™ Simply recognizes that the mark is being used as a trademark by the owner, but the mark is not certainly registered or protected under trademark laws.

Prove of the trademark registration is required to overcome or defence your trademark upon the non-use claim of any other parties. It means that the protected trademark may be cancelled upon the ground that within the time of 5 years following the date of completion of the registration procedure, the trademark has not been put to actual use of the course in Singapore by the owner or with the permission of the owner for goods or service which are protected without the right reasons for such non-use.

Registering a trademark in Singapore is direct and you can find a lot of valuable material and get advice from the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Singapore follows the Nice Classification system, which is practiced in over 150 countries. In total, you have 45 classes to pick among, where 34 are applied to products or goods and 11 are used for services.

You can find all application forms online, on our website Trademarkcart by email or phone, for personal consultations. Our expert team will guide about the whole processing of the trademark registration.

What Can Be Trademarked?

• Name

  A name including personal or surname of the applicant or predecessor in business or the signature of the person e.g, the name Dhirubai Ambani can be trademarked.

• Word

  A word which is not being directly descriptive of the character or quality of the goods / service. For example Google is a word which has been trademarked.

• Numbers

  Alphanumeric or Letters or numerals or any combination thereof. For example 555 brand.

• Images

  Image, symbol, monograms, 3-dimensional shapes, letters etc. For example the tick in Nike logo.

• Sound

  Sound marks in audio format. For ex the sound in the ad jingle.

Who Can Apply For Trademarked ?

Any person or business claiming to be owner can apply for a trademark including :

• Individual

• Corporation

• Limited Liability Company

• Partnership

• Limited Partnership

• Joint Venture

• Sole Proprietorship

• Trust

It is preferable that you apply for the trademark as an individual. In a case of a proprietor or company, if you close or change the name of the business, your trademark will become invalid. However, in a case of an individual, this problem won’t arise.

Singapore Trademark Law

A trademark is a symbol, such as a brand name or logo that business uses to differentiate its goods and services. In Singapore, you can register a trademark so that it is preserved under the Trade Marks Act. Alternatively, you can ask protection without registering it under the general law right of “passing off.” In 1998, Singapore’s government passed the Singapore Trade Marks Act, to join the Paris Convention. It’s a member of various other international conventions, such as:

• Madrid Protocol

• Nice Agreement

• Patent Cooperation Treaty

• WIPO Copyright Treaty

Businesses must register their trademark in Singapore. By doing so, you protect your company’s brand by stopping others who give the same or similar goods or services from using your trademark. A trademark lasts generally so long as you register it all 10 years, and it can be licensed or traded to others. It will only be revoked if the owner does not practice it within 5 years of registering it. Singapore distributes products and services following the Nice Classification, sometimes associated with the International Classification of Goods and Services.

More than 150 countries, even China, are members of the Nice Classification. This is a big benefit as countries can cooperate cross border, and help each other in case of any IP disputes.

The Singapore Trademark Act

Singapore has improved its intellectual property legislation in 1998 when the new Trademark Act was approved. The new law meets all the terms of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property. Singapore has approved as the city-state wants to give the best conditions for companies wanting to register trademarks here.

The Singapore Trademark Act provides both local and foreign companies working here to register trademarks. However, the terms of the Trademark Law only suits in Singapore. Companies requiring to use their rights in other countries are needed to apply for trademark registration in those respective countries. The petition can be offered remotely by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).

When you open a company in Singapore, it is very necessary to protect your business and register your trademark.

To register a trademark, it must meet the following criteria (Section 5):

• It must be unique. To be unique, it cannot be descriptive. Soap is not a licensed trademark for a soap producer as it represents good it’s not a name that can be trademarked. Even more ambiguous words, like as “Royal” or “Breathable”, are considered too descriptive to be trademarked.

• It cannot be similar to a trademark already in use in Singapore, such that it will confuse the public. An identical mark will be considered to confuse the public if it is being used by a company selling the same goods or services. Furthermore, some marks are so well-known that they are protected against every copying, even where the other business does not trade the same goods or services.

• It cannot be opposed to public policy or morality.

• It must be registered in genuine faith. For example, an employee cannot register his employer’s mark in his or her name. And, a local distributor of goods is not permitted to register the trademark of a foreign manufacturer.

The following information and/or documents are needed to apply for a trademark Singapore:-

• Application form (TM 4).

• Power of Attorney (TM 1).

• 1 clear print for a black-and-white mark and 1 clear picture under JPEG format.

• A list of goods or services that exactly follow the Nice International Classification.

• The full name, address, and country of the applicant, company, country or state of incorporation.

• For marks that include non-English words, a certified transliteration, and translation.

Procedure For Trademark Registration

• Complete our trademark Form

  You need to fill our simple online trademark application form & submit documents.

• Conduct your trademark search

  To make sure that unique logo name filed is available or not, Trademark Search is executed by experts.

• Select Appropriate Class

  Depending on nature of your products, we shall suggest the appropriate class of the 45 classes.

• Trademark Application filed

  We create your Trademark application in 3 days and get your TM number.

• Trademark registration completed

  Your trademark is registered in 1.5 2 years if no competitor objects to your trademark application.

Steps to Register Trademark in Singapore

• Step 1: Recognize the class of goods/services

  Before applying with the trademark office, an applicant has to decide on the kinds of goods or services for which trademark registration is sought, an applicant has to choose. Under the International Classification of Goods and Services generally referred to as the “ICGS” Goods and services are described under 45 classes.

• Step 2: Self-search for likely conflicts

  Application fees for trademark registration are not refundable. Hence, the first search for the existing trademarks in the records kept by the Singapore Registry of Trade Marks, before applying. Individually in the area of your business, this is to ensure that there is no preceding trademark that is similar to the one you intend to use.

• Step 3: Application filing

  The official filing fee for the registration of a trademark on a per mark per class basis. The goods and services listed in the application must adapt to the International Classification of Goods and Services.

• Step 4: Application checking for completeness and compliance

  Once the application for a trademark has been received, the trademarks office will review it to ensure that
  
  (a) The application is complete.
  
  (b) It satisfies the provisions of the Trade Marks Act.
  
  (c) The necessary fees have been paid. A trademark application number is issued and will be provided once the application is filed.
  
  If there is any ground for objection, the applicant will be notified by the registry about the corrections required along with a specified period granted to overcome the objection. If the applicant fails to respond to objections within the granted period, the application would be considered withdrawn.

• Step 5: Examination for conflicts with existing trademarks

  If any objections are found there as a result of the above search, the trademark registration application will be rejected. Further, if the applicant wants to pursue it, the applicant will have to modify/amend the trademark and submit a new application.

• Step 6: Examination for conflicts with the law

  After the successful completion of the previous step, the application will be examined to determine whether the mark is registrable following Singapore Trademark Laws. The Examiner will check to assure that the mark does not fall into the areas not allowed by law. For example, marks that are lack of any distinctive character. If any objections found the applicant will be notified and a specified period will be granted to resolve the objections.

• Step 7: Advertisement for public scrutiny

  After completion of the examination, the applicant will be informed of the acceptance of the application for registration and the for opposition purposes in the Trade Marks Journal application will be published. Any interested party may oppose the registration mark within two months of the publication. The grounds of opposition may include affairs such as the application is corresponding to a registered or pending mark, etc. If an objection is received by the trademark office from an opponent, the applicant will be notified and must respond with a counter-statement to resolve the objection. A conclusion on the application will be made after hearing both parties.

• Step 8: Successful registration

  If there were no objections raised from any party or if all the objections were resolved in favour of the applicant, the trademark will be registered and a registration certificate will be issued to the applicant.

Classification of Goods and Services

The scope of trademark registration is determined by the goods or services concerning which the trademark is registered. For trademark registration, Singapore uses the International Classification of Goods and Services according to the Nice Agreement to classify trademark registrations.

The Nice Agreement is an international agreement on the classification of goods and services of which Singapore is a party. This classification places out a list of goods and services. There are a total of 45 classes out of which of 34 classes of goods and 11 classes of services.

The Nice Classification is used in more than 140 countries worldwide and international applications for the registration of marks under the Madrid Agreement and Protocol.

Benefits of Trademark registration in Singapore

• Quality Assurance

  A registered trademark is a kind of quality assurance to your customers and clients, giving a message to them that you take satisfaction in your business and all the work you have invested in it.

• Add the value of your Business

  A registered trademark is a commercial asset that is capable of being traded. It notes 3rd parties and potential investors that you are severe about your branding rights and that you have taken steps to completely protect them.

• Legal Rights

  A registered trademark is the most reliable way to show that you have full possession of your brand. It enables you to use the ® logo beside your trademark.

• Stop counterfeits

  Counterfeiters will practice your brand’s logo or name on their inferior products. You require a registered trademark to take effective and disciplinary action against counterfeiters.

Documents Required

• Declaration Form

• Id proof

• Address Proof & Logo Copy

• List of the goods and services

• Declaration on how the trademark usage

• Evidence paid registration fees

What Is Included In Our Package?

• Consultation

• Application Preparation

• Name search & approval

• Application Filing

• Same day Filing

Service	Cost
Trademark Search	Free
Trademark Consultancy on Class and Availability	Free
TM Application Filing + Drafting (Our Fees)	$ 699
Total Cost	$ 699 + Govt. Fees

Power of Attorney & Validity of Trademark in Singapore

• A power of attorney is directed by the Registry Office during prosecution.

• Recommendation of experienced trademark attorneys.

• From the date of filing the Trademark registration in Singapore takes to process. The validity period of Trademark registration in Singapore is 10 years. At the end of every 10 years can be renewed frequently.

And upon the agreement for the protection of IPOS, the trademark will be protected within the term of 10 years computed from the registration date of the trademark and may be renewed consecutive many times.

A grace period of 6 months counted from the expiration date of the trademark will be provided to the owner of the trademark for late renewal. But, in case the owner of the trademark does not renew the trademark within the grace period, the validity of the trademark will be discontinued after such a period.

Trademark Search

Before investing in a name, brand, logo, slogan, or symbol, it’s recommended to carry a precise search to avoid possible trademark infringement. A comprehensive trademark search benefits save costly disputes and the chance of losing your rights in the future.

Protect your registered marks by actively controlling trademark infringement. You can reject applications that may infringe upon your marks. In-country like Singapore trademark search is very important to avoid and misconducts and misleading.

Our trademark experts will generate search procedures and conduct a precise search on similar or possible trademarks. We prepare a complete report together with our professional opinions on the availability of registrability. The report will be sent to you electronically.

Search you trademark in 3 simple steps:

• Step 1

  Complete our trademark form.

• Step 2

  We will generate your Trademark application

• Step 3

  Final Wrap-Up of your Trademark Order.

Trademark Protection in Singapore

A registered trademark protects your company’s products and services from infringement, copying, and duplication through assuring that your business has the exclusive right to practice the mark while preventing counterfeiters and opponents from misleading your products and services. Additionally, violation of a registered trademark is supposed a criminal offense under the Trade Marks Act.

Protection for enrolled trademarks has statutory protection in Singapore under the Singapore Trade Marks Act by which the registered owner has exclusive treatments available to him/her if his trademark or brand is infringed. Violating the rules of the trademark involves counterfeiting of products or services, importing and selling counterfeit goods, copying, duplicating, and infringing the unique trademarks. Such sort of trademark infringements can be reported to police, by making a complaint the police, courts, and law can protect your trademark in Singapore.

To apply for international trademark protection in Singapore, the applicant needs to register an application in the countries involved either individually or by the Madrid Protocol. The Madrid Protocol provides a trademark owner to take protection for his trademark in various countries together by filing 1 application with a single office. Under the Madrid Protocol, a trademark must 1st be registered or applied for in the country of origin before filing for an international application.

If you are interested in applying for a trademark or want to understand more about the procedures involved with registering a trademark in Singapore, contact us. Our team in Singapore can help you with all the data about the process, documentation, and registration of your trademark in Singapore.

Risks of Non-Compliance

If you see that your trademark has been used without your authorization, you may apply your rights under the Trade Marks Act. In an action for infringement of a registered trademark by the owner of the trademark, the court may permit the following kinds:

• Injunction

• Monetary damages

• Account of profits

• In a case where subsection 5 applies counterfeit trademark, the imposition of statutory damages.

In certain circumstances, the court can also order the cancellation, disposal, or delivery up of the infringing goods.

FAQs on Trademark Registration