Singapore inks patent pact with China

It's a 2-year pilot programme.

According to a release, the Chief Executive of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Mr Tan Yih San, and the State Intellectual Property Office of the People’s Republic of China (SIPO) Commissioner, Mr Tian Lipu, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the piloting of a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) programme between Singapore and the People’s Republic of China last week.

The two-year pilot programme is targeted for commencement on 1 September 2013 and is part of IPOS' efforts to build a comprehensive suite of international agreements to provide Singapore-based businesses with faster and more cost effective ways to protect their inventions in major markets across the world.

Mr Tian Lipu, SIPO’s Commissioner, said, “With globalisation of the world economy and the rapid growth in patent filings in the Asian market, China and Singapore appreciate the importance of expeditious and comprehensive patent protection in fostering technological innovation.

The agreement builds on the cooperative relationship between the two nations for the benefit of applicants filing their patent applications in China and Singapore.”

IPOS has thus far established PPH agreements with US, Japan, and South Korea. IPOS is also part of a similar acceleration arrangement in ASEAN known as the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) programme.

It is common practice for businesses that intend to manufacture or sell their innovative products in another country to file for patent protection. The process normally takes between 4-5 years for a patent to be granted.

To enhance Singapore’s suite of IP services, the newly formed patent examination office in Singapore was inaugurated in a ceremony on 28 May 2013.

With the newly formed patent examination office and the suite of international patent agreements that IPOS is building, companies can look forward to filing a patent application with IPOS and have it accelerated to major markets in less than 50% of the time taken previously. This works out to a saving of between 2-3 years.

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