How to file a patent in Singapore I

Recently, the news about the legal patent lawsuit between Apple and Creative have renewed my interest in patent law again. So, I decide to create a simple guide for those who want to file a patent in Singapore. In the first part of this series, I will explain what is patentable and what is not and the patent system Singapore follows as compared to the rest of the world.

What is a patent?

In Wikipedia, a patent is defined as:“A patent is a set of exclusive rights granted by a state to a person for a fixed period of time in exchange for the regulated, public disclosure of certain details of a device, method, process or composition of matter (substance) (known as an invention) which is new, inventive, and useful or industrially applicable.”

In Singaporean context, a patent is defined as “a monopoly right given by the Government to the owner of an innovation to enable him to prevent others from using, copying or making the invention without his consent in the country in which he has obtained patent protection. A patentable invention can be a product or a process that gives a new technical solution to a problem” [1]. An inventor or a company acquires the ownership of the invention by exchanging the full disclosure of invention to the government. Usually, the patent is granted for 20 years subject to an annual renewable fee payable from the end of the 4th year from the date of filing.

What can be patented and what cannot

If you want to file a patent, the invention must satisfy the following criteria:

• Novel: The invention has not been made known to public in any way or anywhere in the world. It is important that the owners need to keep the innovation secret until the patent has been successful made. In experience, you usually can declare after you file the patent and it is in progrress. To safeguard yourself when speaking to investors, you usually request them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. However do note that not all business angels or venture capitalists will agree to that.
• Innovation to existing product The invention is an improved version of an existing product or process that is made available. Suppose you come up a way to speed up the synthesis of DNA by adding a new step to the existing protocol, that is a patentable invention. However, if you discover a gene that can cure cancer, you cannot patent it, because it is not an invention but a discovery.
• Industrial application: Of course, being Singaporeans, we are pragmatic people and so the invention must be useful and have some form of practical application in the industry.

If we use the example of the Creative patent mentioned in the previous post “My view on the Apple-Creative fiasco” (published on ST 30 May 2006 in Digital Life), Creative filed a patent on a method in the software which improves an existing method in organizing information between the mp3 player. That’s the best layman way to explain this patent to you.

So, the question is when to file a patent in Singapore. Unlike the US, the application system in Singapore operates on a first-to-file basis. In a first to file system, the right to the grant of a patent for a given invention lies with the first person to file a patent application for protection of that invention, regardless of the date of actual invention. For example, suppose we have two inventors A and B. A invents a product X on June 4 2006 and files a patent on 10 June 2006. B invents the same product independently without knowledge on 6 June 2006 and subsequently files a patent on 8 June 2006. The patent will be granted to B because he files it first. In the US, it is the first to invent that matters, and hence log books and witnesses are very important when contesting a claim.

Priority Claim

Singapore allows priority claims to be made in a patent application. If an applicant has an application filed earlier in a Paris Convention or World Trade Organization country, he or she can claim this earlier filed application as priority in a subsequent Singapore patent applications. However, it is provided that the application is made in Singapore within 12 months from the date of filing of the earlier filed application.

Next page: Basic Patent Information Search…

Patent Information Search

It is important to find out whether your invention is really the state of the art, by comparing what people have previously done in the past. That will ensure that the inventor do not have to reinvent the wheel and the owner will have lesser chances of infringing other patents belong to other inventors. For most research institutes, they will outsource their patent applications to a patent lawyer or they have an in-house legal advisor and also a business development director to help oversee this process. Be warned that searching patents can take up a lot of time, and hence unless you have a good reason to patent something, otherwise, be prepared for a lot of data coming up in your searches.

Here are some search sites in Singapore for you to go to:

• SurfIP: a portal provided by IPOS that provides a suite of services. At SurfIP, a user can conduct research on IP information, search for prior art, gather business intelligence including access to other databases in the US, Europe, Japan, Korea and China
• ePatents: a electronic patent search provided by the Singapore government. Upon registration, the user gains free access to basic bibiliographical details on all patent applications filed with IPOS. He can access and download the patent register and published patent specifications for a fee.
• US Patent and Trademark Office: This is the site which most lawyers or scientists in the west go to. They have an extensive database of patents and trademarks which you can do your search on.
• esp@cenet: a free online service for searching patents and patent applications. Developed by the European Patent Office (EPO) together with the member states of the European Patent Organisation, every member state has an esp@cenet service in its national language, and access to the EPO’s worldwide database, most of which is in English.

So, if you are an inventor, you can start brainstorming and see how many of those have not yet been discovered by others from the rest of the world.

References:
[1] IPOS Patents Infosheet, dated 14 March 2005. You should go to their website for more information. They have set up clinics for those who wish to seek advice on intellectual property issues.
[2] Wikipedia: Patent, First to File & First to Invent, Priority Claim

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