Chipmaker TSMC fails in bid to trademark ‘Unleash Innovation’ slogan in Singapore

[SINGAPORE] The world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), has failed in its bid to register the slogan “Unleash Innovation” as a trademark in Singapore.

It had argued that the use of the two words in combination is unique and unusual, and that the slogan has been registered in other countries.

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (Ipos) rejected the application, saying the slogan was more of a promotional message and that it found other instances of other companies using the phrase.

If it had succeeded, TSMC would have the exclusive rights to use the slogan in the Republic with regard to semiconductors and computer chips, and can take legal action against others who use it.

TSMC’s application was filed with Ipos on July 13, 2021.

The chipmaker declined to submit evidence that the slogan had been used in Singapore for at least five years before the application date.

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It argued that the slogan was inherently distinctive and should be registered even in the absence of any evidence of use.

The application went through several rounds of rejection and review by two examiners from Ipos, who both ultimately maintained their objections.

On June 3, 2025, TSMC pursued its case by asking for a tribunal hearing, which is a rare move in trademark applications.

During the hearing on July 21, the tech titan argued that the combination of “unleash” and “innovation” was unique and unusual.

It contended that the verb “unleash” is typically paired with nouns associated with the uncontrollable, the irrational, or the unpredictable.

In contrast, “innovation” is typically measured and controlled.

In a written decision dated Oct 29, Principal Assistant Registrar Mark Lim said he was unable to accept this premise.

As an example that innovation can be spontaneous, he cited the story of how the exclamation “Eureka” became associated with a sudden triumphant discovery.

Lim upheld the decisions of the examiners and refused the registration.

He said the slogan was not inherently distinctive and thus did not meet the condition to be registered as a trademark.

Under Singapore law, trademarks which are “devoid of any distinctive character” cannot be registered.

Lim said “unleash innovation” would be perceived as a promotional message, and not as a badge of origin.

A badge of origin refers to how a trademark allows consumers to identity the source of a product or a service.

The examiners had found 13 articles where the exact slogan had been used by other corporations, including Amazon Web Services and Intel.

“It is clearly not a slogan which should be monopolised by a single trader such as the applicant,” said Lim.

The average consumers, which in this case comprise professionals and specialists within the semiconductor and IT industries, would not view the slogan as an indication of trade origin, he added.

He was also not persuaded by TSMC’s argument that the slogan has been registered in Hong Kong, Europe, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan and China.

Trademark law is territorial, and the relevant laws and practices in different jurisdictions may differ, he said.

TSMC’s bid is the third time in recent years that Ipos has been asked to adjudicate on the registrability of a slogan as a trademark, Lim noted.

In 2022, an externally appointed IP adjudicator rejected a trademark application for the slogan “Party like Gatsby”, made by German company Arangur.

In 2023, a different IP adjudicator allowed the registration of the slogan “Strong by Choice” in relation to T-shirts and shorts.

The application was made by Martin Rainer Gabriel Schweiger, whose name is listed online as a member of the Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys.

It is very rare for an applicant whose trademark application is rejected to ask for a hearing to reverse an examiner’s decision.

There were three such hearings in 2022, and one each in 2023 and 2024.

Figures from Ipos showed that between 40,635 and 67,529 trademark registrations were made each year during this period. THE STRAITS TIMES