SINGAPORE (Apr 27): The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) will offer a pilot programme – the SG Patent Fast Track – to accelerate grants of patent applications in all technology fields to just six months, instead of a typical period of two years or more.
This will make Singapore the fastest country in the world to grant such applications. The programme will begin on May 4, and is planned to end on April 29, 2022.
In a statement released by the IPOS on Monday, the programme will benefit technologies such as those related to climate change, sustainable food production, digital health solutions, diagnostics kits, FinTech, as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI), amongst others.
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Innovators looking to apply for patents under the programme need to fulfil a series of criteria, including being the first to file for such claims in Singapore.
Sharmaine Wu, Director of Patents, Designs & Plant Varieties of IPOS, says that the IP Offices “need to step up [their] efforts to support solutions that deal with the global challenges” in these unprecedented times”.
“Through this, IPOS is staying ahead of the curve, and is committed to supporting innovators and enterprises across technology sectors to bring their products and services faster to investors and global markets. The move also strongly complements Singapore’s drive towards becoming a global research and development hub,” she adds.
The SG Patent Fast Track programme comes as global IP filing activities continue to grow at a rapid pace with patent filings around the world alone, exceeding 3.3 million, representing a 5.2% growth between 2017 and 2018.
According to WIPO’s latest report, Asia is the hub for global patent filings, receiving some 66.8% of all applications filed worldwide in 2018. Singapore’s robust IP ecosystem has also seen a growth in patent applications filed through Singapore, with a 46% increase, from 9,685 to 14,136 between 2012 and 2019.
