• Publications
  • How Long Until Patent Grant? Singapore Lets Applicants Decide
Back to Publications

How Long Until Patent Grant? Singapore Lets Applicants Decide

09 Oct 2024


(Chart data is from Patents Journals and IP Statistics available on the IPOS website as of mid-July 2024).
 
A common question from patent applicants is: "How long does it take to get a patent in Singapore?"
 
The above chart illustrates that most patent applications filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) are granted in their fourth year or fifth year of pendency, as measured from their filing date to their grant date (hereafter “the Pendency Period”). Between January 2014 and June 2024, the Pendency Period had a median of 4.0 years and an average of 4.3 years. Note that, for Singapore national phase entry applications, the “filing date” is the international filing date.
 
Singapore patent provisions provide patent term extension (PTE) in the event that the time between the request for local examination and the grant date (excluding time attributable to the applicant) exceeds two years. Between January 2014 and June 2024, PTE requests have been only allowed in Singapore 36 times (see www.drewnapier.com/Publications/Potential-underutilisation-of-PTE-in-Singapore). The infrequency of PTE allowances in Singapore is a strong indication that the cumulative application processing time attributable to IPOS examiners is usually less than two years.
 
Much of the typical Singapore patent application’s Pendency Period is therefore the result of delay attributable to the applicant. Cumulative delay in an application’s prosecution attributable to the applicant are primarily a result of one or more of the following:

  • National Phase Entry. National phase entry in Singapore can be requested within 30 months of the filing date (or priority date if earlier). This period is extendable up to 18 additional months with extension fees. Local examination in Singapore can only be requested on or after the request for national phase entry. Applicants can reduce the Pendency Period up to 30 months by: (a) pursuing early national phase entry in Singapore shortly after the international application’s filing date; or (b) bypassing the international phase by filing the application first in Singapore or as a Paris Convention filing.

  • Local Examination Request. Local examination need not be requested upon initial filing or on national phase entry in Singapore. Local examination can be requested and paid for any time within 36 months of the filing date (or priority date if earlier) without extension. This 36-month period is extendable up to an additional 18 months (a recent IPOS pilot initiative enables applicants to pursue this extension of time free of charge for eligible applications). Applicants can reduce the Pendency Period up to three years by requesting local search and examination on or soon after the filing date.

  • Applicant Response Submission. Responses for most office actions from IPOS may be submitted any time within a non-extendable five-month period. The payment of grant fee may be submitted any time within two months from the notice of eligibility to proceed to grant (this two-month period is extendable up to an additional 18 months). As many applications involve two office actions, applicants can potentially reduce the Pendency Period by up to one year by diligently responding to office actions and quickly paying the grant fee.

As most Singapore patent applications have a Pendency Period of four or five years, it is apparent that typically Singapore applicants prefer to delay their Singapore application’s prosecution. Much of this delay is attributable to the international phase of PCT applications. Roughly 75% of all Singapore patent applications are national phase entries of PCT applications. Most often, PCT applications enter their national phase in Singapore within the last few months of the 30-month deadline for national phase entry. Additionally, it is commonplace for applicants to not request local examination immediately upon national phase entry, instead waiting until the last couple months before the 36-month deadline for local examination request.
 
Delay in requesting national phase entry and/or local examination enables applicants to adjust their worldwide patent development plan based on: (a) feedback from examination reports issued in other jurisdictions; and/or (b) the market performance of products covered by specific patent applications. Applicants can, for instance, use the delay to better prioritize which subset of available pending patent applications they seek to examine in Singapore. Applicants can also wait until amended claims are deemed patentable during prosecution of the international application or a foreign counterpart application, then file these amended claims before or concurrently with the local examination request in Singapore (thereby simplifying the Singapore prosecution and aligning the Singapore claims with the claims of counterpart applications).
 
For some applicants, such as start-ups, a faster patent grant in Singapore may be preferable. Investors, for instance, typically view a granted patent to be a more credible asset than a mere patent application. Fast patent grants therefore can be advantageous in an applicant’s efforts to raise capital investment during a start-up's early years. Granted Singapore patents can also enable accelerated patent prosecution in other countries via GPPH and ASPEC (see www.drewnapier.com/Publications/Navigating-ASEAN-Patents-Tips-for-Fast-Tracking-Yo).
 
The simplest strategy toward obtaining a fast grant in Singapore is to minimize any delays attributable to the applicant. For instance, the applicant can reduce the Pendency Period with an early national phase entry, a first filing of the application in Singapore, an early request for local examination, and/or quick responses to each of the IPOS communications.
 
The shortest Pendency Period in Singapore is currently available via the SG IP Fast Track programme. This programme requires a first patent application filing in Singapore (e.g., without priority claim), a local search and examination request made concurrent with the Singapore filing, no more than 20 claims, and a statement of the reasons for the request for acceleration. This programme is free of charge and has been extended until the end of 2024. Straight forward applications can be granted in as fast as six months employing this programme.
 
Given the wide selection of available prosecution routes, applicants have a large degree of control over the Pendency Period of their patent applications in Singapore. Each applicant can select the prosecution route best suited to their business model, financial forecast, and patent portfolio development strategy. Patent prosecution can be delayed to leverage the prosecution of foreign counterparts and delay prosecution expenses in Singapore. Alternatively, a Singapore application can be fast tracked for a quick grant that helps secure early stage financing.
 
As such, the applicant’s question of "How long does it take to get a patent in Singapore?" is perhaps best answered with another question ... “How long do you want it to take?”
  
- Written by Patrick W. Duncan, Senior Patent Associate at Drew & Napier LLC

Disclaimer: This posting is not intended to constitute or to be relied upon as legal advice. You should consult Singapore legal counsel if you require legal advice regarding Singapore patent practice.