Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS)

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) is the national institution in Singapore that registers and administers intellectual property rights. IPOS is dedicated to transforming Singapore into an international IA/IP centre by assisting businesses in leveraging intangible assets (IA) and intellectual property (IP). The Ministry of Law has established IPOS as a statutory board.

The World Intellectual Property Organization has appointed the Singapore Intellectual Property Office as an International Searching Authority and an International Preliminary Examining Authority. The IPOS Act of 2001 was used to establish the city-Intellectual state’s Property Office.

Website: https://www.ipos.gov.sg/

The Singapore Intellectual Property Office’s Duties

The Singapore Intellectual Property Office is organised into numerous divisions, each of which is in charge of a particular sector. IPOS is divided into four sections:

• One for individuals
• One for companies
• One for students
• The last one is for the general public.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Intellectual Property Office is to keep the laws governing intellectual property rights up to date. The following are the key intellectual property laws in Singapore:

• Patents Act;
• Trade Marks Act;
• Registered Design Act;
  Copyright Act;
• Plant Varieties Protection Act;
• Geographical Indications Act;
• Designs of Integrated Circuits Act.

Singapore has one of the strictest IP laws globally. As a result, one of IPOS’s key responsibilities was negotiating specific intellectual property free trade agreements with several nations, including India, the United States, and the European Free Trade Association. In addition, Singapore has established specific tax rates for income earned from intellectual property rights in most of its double taxation treaties.

Singapore IP Registration

Every year, the Singapore Intellectual Property Office gets a high number of applications for IP registration. The most prevalent applications are for copyright, trademark, and patent registration since the city-research state and development and innovation sectors have flourished, and many businesses seek to protect their discoveries.