South-East Asia IPR blog series: Patents in Singapore

The South-East Asia IPR series continues with a look at patent protection and enforcement in Singapore.

Patents are essential, especially to those operating in the mechanical or electrical engineering sector, or manufacturing goods anywhere in the world.

A solid patent portfolio can prevent the copying and manufacturing of products by competitors and allows small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to exploit their inventions free from competition.

In addition, monitoring competitors' patent portfolios and applications can provide useful information on their business strategy and product direction, enabling SMEs to react in advance of product releases to better handle threats to their market position presented by products utilising these new features or processes.

Singapore has recently been named ASEANs first International Patent Search and Examination Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), and has the most developed legislation and procedures in the region.