IP Protection

IP Protection – How Singapore Gives Importance To The Creations Of The Mind

As Singapore is lauded as a top place for commercialization of ideas and innovations, it is no wonder that this tiny Southeast Asian country has a strong intellectual property or IP protection. It continues to be a hub for international intellectual property protection, being a signatory to numerous IP conventions, like Paris Convention, Madrid Protocol, and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

As being intangible, an IP object only lasts for as long as the law allows it so. Singapore aims to strike a balance between the owners’ protection of rights and public access to the intellectual property by harmonizing its IP and copyright laws with the underlying principles in global laws on IP rights. It gives IP protection in accordance to the standards of protection prescribed by international agreements.

How IP Protection Works In The Country

An individual or a business entity can register IP rights (IPRs) with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) for patent grants for inventions, trademarks for business signs, designs for designs applied to articles, and grants for the protection of plant varieties.

As for copyright protection for works by authors and designers, protection for a company’s trade secrets and confidential information, geographical indications (GI), and layouts-designs of integrated circuits, there is no need to file for protection application anymore. In Singapore, these types are automatically given protection as soon as they are created.

There are different requirements for each type of intellectual property protection. If granted, the creator or creators are recognized as owners of the IP unless there are legislative provisions or contractual agreements that oppose it.

You would need to get protection in other countries if you need to do so as IPRs in Singapore are not automatically recognized in foreign markets. You would have to file for registration directly in the country of your choice for protection. However, unless the protection in other countries is critical to your business, worldwide IP protection may be unnecessary.