IPOS to lower patent, trademark protection application fees from April 1

THE Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) will be lowering application fees for patent and trademark protection and adjusting some other fees, starting April 1 this year.

The office said fees will be cut for any requests for patent search and examination reports, and brand owners applying for trademarks using a pre-approved list of goods and services will get a 30 per cent discount.

But to discourage IP hoarding, fees for renewing patents and trademarks will be raised for the first time in "about a decade" for trademarks, IPOS added. However, patent owners who are willing to offer their patents for licensing will continue to get a 50 per cent discount in patent renewal fees, it said.