Singapore Trademark Registration – How to Register and it Benefits

Step 1. Comprehensive Study of Trademark:

The first step before you file your trademark registration in Singapore is to consider probable obstacles and challenges that could appear during the process of registration. The Trademark Comprehensive Study helps in listing all the trademarks that have any similarity graphically and phonetically, which might conflict with one chosen by you. The study also helps in providing an attorney’s professional advice about various possibilities of registration.

Step 2. Request of Trademark Registration:

 
An attorney then files the application for trademark registration in Singapore and performs all required steps in the Trademark Office to get approval for registration. After the trademark is filed, we send you a detailed filing report including the application number, date, and a scanned copy of the same.

Will getting a registered trademark in Singapore give me any right? 

Registration is not just needed for securing rights for a specific trademark. As per the law, prior use is an evidence of trademark ownership. The principle that is effective in Singapore is known as “first to use”.

Is it possible to oppose a Trademark Application? 

Yes, it can be opposed on the following grounds:

• proprietary rights
• breach of any copyright
• the mark is not unique
• the mark is explanatory
• the mark is very generic
• notorious or popular mark
• protection of armorial bearings, country flags and other State emblems
• the mark is against some public policy or any principles of morality
• the mark includes some geographical indication
• represents the proprietor of the mark
• the mark is of a nature that can deceive the public

Does one get any rights by getting their trademark registration in Singapore done? 

Yes, one can get the following rights after trademark registration in Singapore:

• the exclusive right for using the registered trademark
• the right to oppose any conflicting applications later
• the right for requesting the cancellation of a conflicting registration later
• the right to sue any third parties for infringement or for use of a surprisingly similar trademark
• the right to license another third parties for using the trademark
• the right for requesting for the seizure of counterfeit goods by authorities of customs department
• the right to get compensation for any infringement

Is there a fixed timeline for the approval of trademark registration in Singapore?

The average timeline for the registration approval of trademark is 8 months, in case no objections or oppositions come up.

After trademark registration in Singapore, will I enjoy protection in other territories too?

No, the territorial limit of this registration is only in Singapore.

What are the types of trademark that can be registered in Singapore?

• words
• colours
• names
• smells
• some three-dimensional shapes
• slogans
• devices
• sounds
• trade dress or get-up
• motion
• holograms
• certification marks
• collective marks
• service marks

What type of trademark is not allowed to be registered?

• any generic terms
• marks that are opposing any moral standards or some specific public order
• non-distinctive trademarks
• names of nations, flags of regions or countries, symbols of states, or of some particular international organizations

marks that function majorly as geographic place names

When is the renewal of a trademark needed?

Succeeding renewals typically last for a time period of 10 years starting from the renewal date of the registration.

How would I know the renewal date of my trademark? 

The first renewal date of a trademark’s registration is 10 years from the date of filing the application.

If my trademark gets expired, will I get some grace period?

Yes, there is a grace period of six months that is available. However, once the owner fails in renewing the trademark in this time period, then the registration is omitted from the Registry. There is also a penalty fee that is levied for the trademarks that get expired.