IPOS Delivers on Its Pledge to Revise the Expired Domestic Accelerated Patent Application Examination Programme 09 Jul 2025 Chart of Official Fees for the SG Patents Fast Programme as Published in IPOS Circular No. 1/2025 Back in February 2025, we reported on the pledge by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to revise the domestic accelerated patent application examination programme that expired at the end of 2024. See www.drewnapier.com/Publications/IPOS-Pledges-to-Review-and-Revise-Expired-Domestic. In that article we anticipated that the future revised domestic acceleration programme might no longer be limited to applications first filed in Singapore and that IPOS might also commence the collection of additional patent office fees from those applicants requesting acceleration. In accordance with the IPOS Circular No. 1/2025 published on 7 May 2025, both of these predictions have been realized with the launch of the “SG Patents Fast” domestic accelerated patent application programme. Effective with the 20 May 2025 launch of the SG Patents Fast programme, qualifying patent applications need only meet two conditions: (i) contain 20 or fewer claims; and (ii) not be a divisional application. It is no longer required that qualifying patent applications be filed first in Singapore. National phase entry applications and Singapore applications claiming priority to earlier Singapore or foreign patent applications are also eligible for the SG Patents Fast programme. As of mid-May 2025, IPOS has not indicated any preference that applications eligible for the SG Patents Fast programme relate to specific technology areas. Under the SG Patents Fast programme, additional patent office fees are collected by IPOS with the submission of: (i) a search and examination request or an examination request; and (ii) an applicant’s response to each office action, if any. There are two acceleration timetables, each with a different fee schedule. Upon payment of fees for an “SG Patents Fast 4” option, applicants receive a first office action within four months of the search and examination request or the examination request. Alternatively, upon payment of fees for an “SG Patents Fast 8” option, applicants receive a first office action within eight months of the search and examination request or the examination request. The fees to initiate accelerated examination under these two options are as follows: SG Patents Fast 4 SG Patents Fast 8 Search and Examination Request S$1,800 S$900 Examination Request S$1,200 S$600 The fee to initiate accelerated examination under the SG Patents Fast 8 option is half the fee required under the SG Patents Fast 4 option. The initial fees for both of these options are one-third lower in price if the applicant already has a prior search report that can be utilized for examination (e.g., where the application relies on a prior search report). Beyond the applicable fees required to initiate the accelerated examination, there is an additional S$150 fee to be paid by the applicant concurrent with the submission of each office action response. With this concurrent payment, IPOS will issue a subsequent office action within four months of the submission of the response (regardless of how the accelerated examination was initiated). The SG Patents Fast programme also includes a simplified rule for the monthly cap. Unlike the expired Singapore domestic acceleration programme, the SG Patents Fast programme has no overall monthly cap on the total number of requests submitted by all applicants. Instead, the SG Patents Fast programme only applies a monthly cap of five acceleration requests per entity (individual or corporate). This change makes it simpler for individual applicants to plan which applications to accelerate, as they need only track their own acceleration requests. All prior domestic accelerated examination programmes in Singapore required that examination be requested on the date of filing in Singapore. The SG Patents Fast programme is initiated by the examination request. In Singapore, examination can be requested at any time up to 36 months from the first priority date. By tying the initiation of acceleration to the examination request, applicants have the flexibility to commence the accelerated examination in Singapore at any point over a 36-month period. Intentionally delaying examination of a patent application in Singapore enables applicants to first receive feedback from examination reports issued in other jurisdictions. As discussed in our prior article from October 2024 (www.drewnapier.com/Publications/How-long-until-patent-grant-Singapore-lets-applicants-decide), with such feedback, applicants can strategically amend their Singapore patent claims prior to requesting examination. Over 70% of the patent applications in Singapore are national phase entries. Over 85% of the patent applications in Singapore are filed by foreign applicants. Applicants for these applications are unlikely to file first in Singapore under their standard portfolio management practices. The simplicity and flexibility of the SG Patents Fast programme will be particularly helpful for these applicants in managing their global patent portfolios. Accordingly, the use of domestic accelerated examination—especially by foreign applicants—is likely to grow in popularity under the SG Patents Fast programme. - Written by Patrick W. Duncan, Patent Agent, Drew & Napier