Unlike other April Fool’s Day jokes, this one is real. It has been determined that starting on April 1, 2017, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) would cut the fees for persons who want to register a trade mark in Singapore. The Straits Times reported that trademark owners who use a pre-approved list of items and services when filing for trademarks would be entitled for a discount of 30%. However, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has informed owners that the price change will result in a net cost drop when the various stages in the life cycle of protecting a trade mark are taken into account.
How long does a trademark have to be registered before it may be used?
Having a trademark registered with the Singapore Intellectual Property Office (IPOS) allows its registered owner to continue to benefit from trademark protection in Singapore for an additional 10 years.
However, Trademark Registration does not ensure that the mark’s protection will not be revoked in the future. As long as the mark was used in good faith during the previous five years, or if it wasn’t for an unbroken five years commencing with the registration procedure and there wasn’t a legitimate explanation, the trademark may be cancelled.
Those who are known as “trademark trolls” try to hinder other legitimate owners from registering or using their trademarks by accumulating them. Trademark trolls are those who register trademarks but never intend to use them. Threatening legal action against anybody found using or registering the trademarks in issue, these people then go on the offensive.
How to File a Trademark Application Abroad
You have two options when it comes to international trademark registration:
- On a country-by-country basis, contact the trade mark offices in each of the countries where you want to register your brand.
- In line with the Madrid Protocol, submit an application for a trademark utilising your current Singapore trademark registration.
- The Madrid Protocol streamlines the process of trademark registration by allowing you to submit a single application to register your trademark in all of the participating nations outside of your home country. To learn more about the process of registering trademarks internationally using the Madrid Protocol, check out our page on the topic.
What is the procedure for allowing others to make use of my trademark?
Trademark licencing may be useful when you need to advertise your trademark but don’t have the funds or resources for it. When parties sign distributorship agreements, it may be beneficial to require the use of each other’s trademarks as well.
As with any contract, the licencing agreement is utilised to provide a licence to the licensee
The only way to accomplish this is lawfully. The owner has the option to provide an exclusive licence to the licensee, limiting the use of the trademark to a select group of business associates specified by the owner (except from the proprietor). In the vast majority of situations, the exclusive licence covers just one country.
Non-exclusive licences are also available to the owner, allowing him to give away as many licences as he wishes, if he so chooses. The owner of the property will receive royalties from the use of the licence. Partnership agreements often include licences to utilise each other’s trademarks without paying fees. As an additional option, the licensee might be restricted as to how it can be used by the licensee. Additionally, the licensee may be issued a non-transferable licence that precludes any additional contracts that would sub-license the licence to a third party from being issued by the owner.
Conclusion
It is strongly recommended that you obtain the guidance of an experienced intellectual property lawyer while drafting a licencing agreement, since there are a plethora of specialised legal terms to be aware of.