22 April 2024

Excluded days from 1 to 13 May 2024, due to migration of IPOS online filing platform

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The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (“IPOS”) will be migrating the IPOS Digital Hub platform to the Government on Commercial Cloud platform. As such, the IPOS Digital Hub and IPOS Go mobile app for online transactions will not be available from 1 to 13 May 2024. These will be treated as excluded days for deadlines (including priority deadlines), which will be automatically extended to 14 May 2024.

Please note that we will not be able to conduct any IP searches from 1 to 13 May 2024. 

IPOS has provided alternative means to file applications to register IP and to record registrable transactions.  Patent foreign filing licenses / written authority under Section 34 will still be available. Case management conferences, pre-hearing reviews and hearings will still continue during this period, including submission of certain related documents.

For further details, you may wish to refer to Registries Practice Direction No. 1 of 2024 (the “PD”), where the Registrar has specified that the period of 1 to 13 May 2024 are excluded days for all business under the IP Acts and Rules, except for the following classes of business:

1. Applications to register a trade mark, collective mark or certification mark;
    

2. Application for international registration governed exclusively by the Madrid Protocol; 
    

3. Request for the grant of a patent;
    

4. Application for registration of a design under section 11 of the Registered Designs Act 2000;
    

5. Application for grant of protection under section 13 of the Plant Varieties Protection Act 2004;
    

6. Application to register a geographical indication;
    

7. Application to register, amend or terminate licence;
    

8. Application to register, amend or terminate security interest;
    

9. Application to register transfer of ownership;
    

10. Assent by personal representatives;
     

11. Filing of order of court;
     

12. Written authority sought under section 34 of the Patents Act 1994;
     

13. Conduct of case management conferences, pre-hearing reviews and hearings; and the submission of related documents, which relates to:  
    (i)   correspondence to inform or update on the person(s) attending case management conferences or pre-hearing reviews or request a vacation of the proceedings;  
    (ii)  additional or supplementary written submissions and bundle(s) of authorities; and  
    (iii)  rebuttal or reply written submissions and bundle(s) of authorities 
     

You may also wish to refer to the respective IP Circulars below for further details:

1. Patents Circular No. 1 of 2024 

2. Trade Marks Circular No. 2 of 2024 

3. Designs Circular No. 1 of 2024 

4. Plant Varieties Circular No. 1 of 2024

5. Geographical Indications Circular No. 1 of 2024

If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact us or your regular contact in Amica Law.