Singapore trade mark registration: what it costs, how it works and how long it takes

Registering a trade mark in Singapore is simpler than most business owners expect. Three questions decide whether it goes smoothly: what you are paying for, what happens between filing and the certificate, and how long each stage takes. This guide answers all three, using the way we handle applications at JK Marcam.

First, what are you registering?

A trade mark is registered for particular goods or services, and those are grouped into 45 classes. You pay per class, so the first job is to work out which classes your business actually needs.

Take a cafe that also sells its own coffee beans in bags. The cafe itself is a service in Class 43; the packaged coffee is a product in Class 30. That is two classes. If the owners have no plans to sell beans, one class is enough. Covering more than you need costs money; covering too little leaves a gap a competitor can use. We settle this with you before anything is filed.

What it costs

A Singapore registration with us is S$600 per class, all-inclusive, with no hidden fees. That one figure covers:

• the IPOS official fee and our professional fee;
• drafting and harmonisation of your goods and services, so the wording fits IPOS's classification practice;
• a full clearance search and registrability report with our written opinion;
• filing with IPOS;
• monitoring of the application until completion; and
• agent-on-record services.

The cafe in our example would pay S$1,200 for two classes. Before you engage us, the consultation (online, by phone or by video call) and a basic clearance search are free.

Some things fall outside the all-inclusive fee because they depend on what IPOS or a third party does. If IPOS raises a formality, such as a query on the wording of the goods, we deal with it at no charge for our work on marks we filed; if the response needs an official form with an IPOS fee, that fee is payable by you. If IPOS objects to the mark itself, or someone opposes it, that is substantive work, which we handle at preferred rates and quote before it starts. Accelerated examination, if you want it, carries an additional official fee.

The steps, from first call to certificate

1. Consultation. You tell us about the mark and what you sell or provide. We work out the class or classes and draft the specification of goods and services. We check the mark for obvious barriers and run the free basic search.
2. Appointment. If the basic search and our first view on registrability are favourable and you wish to proceed, we issue our invoice for settlement.
3. Search and assessment. Once payment is received, we finalise the drafting and harmonisation of your goods and services and prepare the full search and registrability report, with our written opinion. You review it and give us your filing instructions.
4. Filing. With your filing instructions, we file with IPOS within the same business day.
5. Examination. An IPOS examiner checks that the mark is distinctive and does not conflict with earlier marks. If the examiner has a query or objection, we tell you what it means and what we recommend.
6. Publication and registration. Once accepted, the mark is published in the Trade Marks Journal. If no one opposes it, it proceeds to registration and IPOS issues the certificate.

You can see the same process, with what we need from you at each step, on our pricing and process page.

How long it takes

The parts we control are quick. The full search and assessment report follows soon after payment, and we file within the same business day of your filing instructions.

The part IPOS controls is longer. For a straightforward application, IPOS currently takes up to 9 months from filing to registration. That includes the two months in which the published mark is open to opposition. Anyone who wants to oppose must file within those two months, and may ask IPOS for more time within the same period, so a mark is not safe from opposition until that window, and any extension, has closed.

If you need a decision sooner, for example before a product launch or an investor's due diligence, IPOS offers accelerated examination under its SG Trade Marks Fast programme. It must be requested at filing, not later, and IPOS then aims to issue its first examination report or publication notice within three to six weeks. The official acceleration fee is currently S$200 per class where the goods and services use IPOS's pre-approved wording, and S$250 per class where they do not. It speeds up the first look only; any objection after that follows the usual pace.

What can slow things down

Most delays come from two places: an objection by the examiner, or an opposition after publication. A careful search before filing and well-drafted goods and services avoid many of both, which is why they are part of the fixed fee rather than optional extras. If an objection does arrive, our guide to IPOS office actions explains what happens next.

After registration

A Singapore registration lasts 10 years, counted from the filing date, and can be renewed for further 10-year periods. You can use the ™ symbol from the day you file. Use ® only once the mark is registered: in Singapore it is an offence to represent a mark as registered when it is not.

Keep using the mark: a registration left unused for five years can be removed for non-use.

Registration also does not stop others from filing similar marks, and IPOS will not tell you when they do. Our Singapore Trademark Watch, from S$150 per mark per year, reports similar filings in your classes while there is still time to oppose them.

Talk to us first

If you have a name or logo in mind, send it to us with a line on what you sell. We will run the basic clearance search, tell you which classes you need and how we would file, at no cost and with no obligation. Book a free consultation, or read more about Singapore trade mark registration.

Written by the JK Marcam team. General information, not legal advice; IPOS practice and fees change, so check the date above.