Region: Singapore

The Singapore registry has issued new practice directions regarding trademarks that (i) consist of colours only, and (ii) include colours as a component. While in the first case colours must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services to which they apply, it is the capacity to distinguish of the mark as a whole that prevails in the second case.

25 September 2003

The Singapore government has signed a free trade agreement with the United States that will have far-reaching effects on the protection of trademark rights when it comes into force early next year. It will strengthen existing protection levels as well as create new obligations in relation to trademark treaties, trademark registrability and domain names.

01 July 2003

Trademark owners have a new tool to protect marks derived from their trade names. Under two amended laws, the registrar of companies and businesses has discretion to order a change of name if, within 12 months of registration, he/she is satisfied that the name is confusingly similar to another company's name.

28 April 2003

The Singapore Network Information Centre, the registry for the '.sg' domain space, has decided to abandon its application to register '.sg' as a trademark. This decision is welcomed by critics of the registration who feared that the government was seeking to strengthen its control over the country-code top-level domain.

24 March 2003

The Singapore Supreme Court has announced that a special Intellectual Property Court will be set up. This is a major step in the right direction as IP disputes increasingly require a sophisticated level of legal and technical understanding of the subject matter.

21 February 2003

In <i>Yunnan Baiyao Group Co Ltd v Tong Jum Chew pte Ltd and Tong Jum Chew Medical Store</i>, the Singapore High Court has dismissed a claim by Yunnan Baiyao, a China-based company, against two Singaporean companies for passing off in respect of a well-known Chinese herbal medicine called 'Yunnan Paiyao'.

17 February 2003

The Intellectual Property Rights Branch of the Criminal Investigations Department has carried out the biggest raid yet in 2002. The crackdown came at a trade fair in Jurong West where counterfeit telecommunication equipment and accessories, CD-ROMs and VCDs worth a street value of S$200,000 were seized.

18 September 2002

The Singapore Network Information Centre, Singapore's government-owned '.sg' domain name space manager, has introduced a scheme to accredit a number of registrars that will compete for business. Applications are being taken until the end of May, with organizations to be notified of their accreditation before the end of July.

17 April 2002

Trademark applications may now be filed electronically with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore. Although not mandatory, the new system encourages e-filing by setting a premium on fees for applications filed by post.

25 February 2002

Singapore companies now have an alternative to the courts for the resolution of disputes over internet addresses. The new national domain name dispute resolution policy consists of a framework for sorting out '.sg' domain disputes and is largely based on the policy rules developed by ICANN.

23 November 2001