May 13, 2022

Amendments to the intellectual property fee schedules of Singapore & Malaysia

Singapore

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore has announced a revised schedule of official fees, effective for payments made on or after May 26, 2022.

The alterations affect costs in relation to patents, trademarks, designs, as well as geographical indications and other IP types.

The fee for filing a patent application is set to grow by approx. 6% from the previous cost of 160 SGD to 170 SGD. Additionally, increasing by approx. 5% from 1,650 SGD, the cost of requesting a search report or supplementary search report for patents will constitute 1,735 SGD.

Also rising by the same percentage of 5%, requesting an examination report will require payment of 1,420 SGD, as opposed to the current fee of 1,350 SGD. The cost for the grant of a patent will also inflate by 5% to 210 SGD, from 200 SGD.

The annuity fees for the years five through seven will rise to 165 SGD from 140 SGD, constituting an approx. 18% increase, whilst years eight to ten are due to inflate by approx. 16% from 370 SGD to 430 SGD. The respective fees for years eleven to thirteen will comprise 600 SGD, increasing by approx. 15% from 520 SGD.

Once the changes are in force, it will cost 775 SGD for annuities for years fourteen to sixteen, inflating from 670 SGD by approx 16%, and 945 SGD for years seventeen to nineteen, rising by approx. 15% from 820 SGD. The annuity fee for the twentieth year is set to balloon by the same percentage to 1,120 SGD from 970 SGD. Each year thereafter will incur an annuity fee of 1,380 SGD, inflating by 15% from the previous fee of 1,200 SGD.

In relation to PCT fees, the cost of national phase entry will increase from 200 SGD to 210 SGD, comprising a rise of 5%, whilst the previous fee of 70 SGD is to be removed in respect of the publication of the translation of an international application and/or any amendment to an international application.

Trademark fees will also see an increase in a similar manner, with the cost in relation to an application to register a trademark, collective mark, or certification mark, rising by approx. 11% from 341 SGD to 380 SGD for classes whose specifications are not fully adopted from the pre-approved database. For trademarks referencing classes whose specifications are fully adopted from a pre-approved database, the fee will increase from 240 SGD to 280 SGD per class, an approximate 17% rise.

Applications for the renewal of a trademark registration on or before the expiry of a mark will cost 440 SGD, increasing by approx. 16%, as opposed to the current cost of 380 SGD per class. The fee for the late renewal of registration is due to rise by approx. 15% from 560 SGD to 645 SGD per class of goods or services.

Inflating by approx. 16%, the payment for the restoration of registration will constitute 705 SGD, as opposed to 610 SGD per class of goods or services. Additionally, an application to amend a trademark application or registration (excluding change of name or address) is due to rise by approx. 14% to 40 SGD from 35 SGD.

Fees in respect of trademark applications filed through the Madrid Protocol designating Singapore will also be impacted by the amendments, with an international application/subsequent designation of a mark set to cost 380 SGD per class, an approximate 11% inflation from the present 341 SGD. The fee for a request to transform an international registration into a national application will rise by the same figures. Further, the renewal of an international mark designating Singapore is due to increase by approx. 16%, from 380 SGD to 440 SGD.

However, it is worth noting that despite the above-mentioned inflation, the fee for filing an application for a design registration is to decrease to 200 SGD from previous SGD 250.

Malaysia

The intellectual property fees in Malaysia have also experienced cost increases in respect of patent fees, which were implemented as of March 17, 2022. Whilst various fees have remained unchanged, certain payments have risen, including those in relation to examination and annuities.

The cost for the expedited examination of a patent application, for example, has inflated by approx. 27% from 2,200 MYR to 2,800 MYR, whilst a new fee for the deferment of filing of a request for modified substantive examination has been introduced at the price of 150 MYR.

The annuity fees for patents have risen respectively for the majority of years ranging from the fourth to the twentieth to varying degrees, whilst the fee for the second and third year have remained the same.

The cost for a patent annuity from the fourth year, for example, has increased by approx. 5% from 420 MYR to 440 MYR, with the percentage increase peaking in the middle of the patent life cycle. As such, the eighth year has seen a cost rise of approx. 20% from 690 MYR to 830 MYR, and the tenth year has experienced a slightly larger percentage increase of approx. 21%, from 820 MYR to 990 MYR.

The annuity fees for years thirteen and fourteen rose by approx. 16% respectively, with the cost for the thirteenth year increasing to 1280 MYR and the fourteenth year increasing to 1450 MYR. A lower inflation of approx. 9% can be seen in respect of the eighteenth year, with the fee having risen to 2400 MYR from 2200 MYR. The final twentieth year will henceforth constitute a payment of 2900 MYR, inflating by approx. 16% from 2500 MYR.

The rise in intellectual property fees in both Singapore and Malaysia may reflect a global trend of recent inflation, with the alterations in Singapore signifying the first IP fee amendments in the jurisdiction since 2017.

Author: Danielle Carvey
Share: