Services

Singapore Trademark Watch

Registration protects your mark, but IPOS does not tell you when someone files a similar one. We read every Trade Marks Journal against your marks and tell you, with the opposition deadline already worked out.

Why watch

Every accepted application is published in the IPOS Trade Marks Journal, and you have only two months from publication to oppose it; miss that window and the cheap route closes. Our watch service, built into the JK Marcam work platform, checks each journal issue against your marks and sends you a plain-English report with the applicant, classes, goods and the exact opposition deadline.

Three tiers, per mark per year

All tiers watch the Singapore register for word marks and the distinctive or prominent word element of logos, in your mark’s own classes plus IPOS’s coordinated classes, unless stated otherwise.

Essential Watch

S$150 per mark per year

Matches
Exact and phonetically similar terms
Classes
Coordinated classes
Reports
Twice a month
Review
None (report only)
Ask about Essential Watch

Full Watch

S$350 per mark per year

Matches
Similar and phonetically similar terms
Classes
All 45 classes
Reports
Twice a month
Review
Our consultant’s note on each hit
Ask about Full Watch

Prices are per mark per year, in Singapore dollars, for the Singapore register. Law firms and agents instructing us for their clients are offered our watch fee schedule on request.

What is matched

  • Exact term: the same word or words as your mark.
  • Phonetically similar: marks that sound like yours when spoken, even when spelt differently.
  • Similar: marks that look or read like yours: shared prefixes, small spelling changes, added or dropped words.

All tiers watch word marks and the distinctive or prominent word element of composite marks (logos with words). Purely figurative marks, logos without words, are outside the service.

Coordinated classes

A filing in a class next to yours can conflict just as much as one in the same class. “Coordinated classes” means your mark’s own classes plus the classes IPOS treats as related to them, so a watch on a class 30 food mark also covers, for example, related cafe and restaurant services. Full Watch covers all 45 classes.

What you receive

A report for each check, listing every hit with the applicant, the mark, the classes and goods, the journal date and the opposition deadline. On Guardian and Full Watch, a short note from our consultant on each hit: how close it is and what we suggest. When a report is clear, it says so; there is no note to read.

A written opinion, a letter to the applicant or an opposition is quoted separately before any work starts.

Watch service FAQs

How quickly will I hear about a conflicting application?

We check each Trade Marks Journal as it is published and report to you twice a month, so you keep most of the two-month opposition window.

Does the fee include advice on what to do about a hit?

Essential Watch lists the hit and the deadline. Guardian and Full Watch include a short note from our consultant on each hit: how close it is and the options. A full written opinion, a letter to the applicant or an opposition is quoted separately before any work starts.

Does the watch renew automatically?

No. We remind you before the year ends, and the watch continues only if you confirm. Nothing is charged without your written go-ahead.

My mark is a logo. Can it be watched?

Yes, if the logo has a word element: we watch the distinctive or prominent word in it. A logo with no words at all is outside the service, as there is no reliable way to match images in the journal.

Can you watch other countries?

The tiers above cover the Singapore register. For marks registered elsewhere, ask us: we arrange a watch in the countries you need and quote for them.