The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA)

ASPA Annual General Meeting 2026

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:22:41 +0800

The Annual General Meeting of the Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys will be held on 29 June 2026.

Date: 29 June 2026
Time: 5:30 pm to 9:00 pm (including dinner)
Venue: Rooms Clover 1 (Level 1), Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay, 6 Raffles Boulevard, Singapore 039594

Formal notice of the AGM has been sent to members.

It would help if you could please complete the RSVP for the Annual General Meeting by 15 June 2026 so that we can confirm attendance numbers for the buffet arrangements.

The programme for the evening is as follow:

5:30 pm to 6:30 pm: AGM, including the President’s and Treasurer’s reports
6:30 pm to 7:00 pm: Guest speaker
7:00 pm to 7:15 pm: Q&A
7:15 pm to 9:00 pm: Dinner

We are pleased to announce that Professor Stephen Phua, BBM, PBM will be speaking on “Taxation of Intangible Assets: Creation to Exploitation”.

The session will cover financial support for intangibles, the evolving role of intangible assets, cross-border movement of intangibles, tax optimisation in creation and ownership, income from exploitation and tax avoidance considerations.

We look forward to meeting members at the AGM.

IP Week 2026

Tue, 09 Jun 2026 16:08:41 +0800

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) is pleased to be a supporting organisation of Singapore IP Week 2026 .

As a Supporting Organisation, ASPA has committed to promoting the event and encouraging our members to participate. We believe that Singapore IP Week 2026 will provide valuable insights and opportunities for professional development, and we encourage you to register for the event.

Please refer to the following for the dates and venue of the event and the registration details.

Join the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) at Singapore IP Week 2026, the premier Intellectual Property event.

Date: 26 to 27 August 2026

Location: Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre (MBS), Singapore

Now in its fifteenth edition, Singapore IP Week has established itself as a premier global IP event. It convenes policymakers, business leaders, and legal experts from around the world to exchange insights, foster connections, and discuss emerging issues shaping the IP landscape.

ASPA Files Response to IPOS Consultation on Emotional Perception

Thu, 28 May 2026 22:06:48 +0800

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) has filed its response to IPOS’s feedback exercise on the UK Supreme Court decision in Emotional Perception AI Limited v Comptroller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks [2026] UKSC 3.

The consultation concerns the relevance of the decision to Singapore patent practice, particularly in relation to computer-implemented inventions, artificial neural networks and claims involving software, data processing and mathematical methods.

ASPA’s response emphasises that the UK Supreme Court’s decision is not binding in Singapore. UK Supreme Court decisions may be persuasive before the Singapore Courts, but the reasoning must be considered in light of Singapore’s own statutory framework. This is especially important because, unlike the UK Patents Act 1977 and the EPC, the Singapore Patents Act 1994 no longer contains a statutory list of subject matter excluded from patentability as such.

ASPA nevertheless considers that Emotional Perception raises issues of practical significance for Singapore patent practice. The decision rejects the Aerotel-derived “actual contribution” approach in UK law. IPOS’s current Examination Guidelines for Patent Applications at IPOS and Supplemental Guidance for the Examination of AI-related Patent Applications continue to use an Aerotel-derived analysis when considering whether a claim defines an “invention”.

In its response, ASPA invites IPOS to review whether that framework remains appropriate for Singapore practice. ASPA suggests that the threshold inquiry into whether a claim defines a technical invention should be kept separate from novelty and inventive step. ASPA also suggests that the technical character of an invention should be assessed by considering the claim as a whole and the interaction between its features.

ASPA’s response also addresses the treatment of artificial neural networks. It cautions against treating ANN inventions as inherently suspect merely because they involve software, mathematics, learned parameters, weights or biases. Instead, ASPA suggests that the more appropriate question is whether the claim, considered as a whole, is directed to a technical invention and whether the relevant features contribute to the technical character of that invention.

ASPA welcomes IPOS’s consultation and the opportunity to provide feedback on an issue that is likely to be significant for AI-related and computer-implemented inventions in Singapore.

Feedback to IPOS on 18 December 2025 Regarding the Use of Invitations to Amend for PPH Requests

Thu, 18 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0800

ASPA sent an email to the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) on 18 December 2025 enclosing a letter titled “Letter from ASPA to IPOS - Use of Invitations to Amend for Patent Prosecution Highway Requests Made After a Request for Examination Has Been Made”.

The letter concerned the use of Invitations to Amend for Patent Prosecution Highway requests made after a request for examination has already been made.

IPOS responded on 3 March 2026 to acknowledge ASPA’s views. IPOS also indicated that it would propose amendments to the Examination Guidelines for more clarity.

Feedback to Proposed Changes to the Intellectual Property Regime in Singapore

Tue, 25 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0800

ASPA responded on 25 November 2025 to the public consultation on proposed changes to the intellectual property regime issued by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore on 15 October 2025.

The consultation was published on the IPOS website and accompanied by the consultation paper titled “Public Consultation on Proposed Changes to the Intellectual Property Regime (2025)”.

The IPOS circular is available here.

The consultation paper is available here.

ASPA Afternoon Tea with Patent Examiners from IPOS International

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 17:30:00 +0800

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) welcomed patent examiners from IPOS International for an afternoon tea on 7 October 2025.

The informal gathering provided a valuable opportunity for ASPA members and the IPOS International patent examination team to engage in open, collegial discussions in a relaxed setting. The exchange of ideas and experiences helped deepen mutual understanding of each group’s perspectives and professional roles.

ASPA looks forward to continuing this dialogue and strengthening collaboration with IPOS International to support the development of Singapore’s innovation and intellectual property ecosystem.

IP Week 2025

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 20:06:57 +0800

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) is pleased to be a supporting organisation of IP Week @ SG 2025 .

As a Supporting Organization, ASPA has committed to promoting the event and encouraging our members to participate. We believe that IP Week @ SG 2025 will provide valuable insights and opportunities for professional development, and we encourage you to register for the event.

Please refer to the following for the dates and venue of the event and the registration details.

Join the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) at IP Week @ SG 2025, the premier Intellectual Property event.

Date: 26 to 27 August 2025

Location: Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre (MBS), Singapore

Into its fourteenth edition, IP Week @ SG 2025 is the world’s premier Intellectual Property (IP) event which brings together IP thought leaders, legal experts, and innovative enterprises.

ASPA CNCPI IPTA Joint Webinar 2025

Fri, 28 Mar 2025 19:36:45 +0800

Out with the Old, in with the New – 2025 IP trends in Singapore, Australia and France

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA), CNCPI - Compagnie Nationale des Conseils en Propriété Industrielle (France) and the Institute of Patent and Trade Mark Attorneys of Australia (IPTA) are pleased to present a joint webinar on 9 April 2025.

Speakers from the three professional organisations will talk on patent and trade mark prosecution and litigation in their respective jurisdictions (Singapore, France and Australia).

Programme

Introductions

ASPA - Singapore: Low Pei Lin
IPTA - Australia: John Landells (incoming President)
CNCPI - France: Emmanuel Potdevin

Presentations and Speaker Profiles

Fast Track or Slow Lane? Strategies for Accelerating and Delaying Patent Prosecution in Singapore - Chong-Yee Khoo (ASPA)
Lessons in Honesty - an Update on Recent Australian Court Decisions on Honesty of Adoption and Use of Trademarks and the Importance of Clearance Searching - Lauren Eade (IPTA)
Redesigning the Future: The EU’s New Legislative Package - Frédéric Glaize (CNCPI)

Speaker Profiles

Dr Chong-Yee Khoo (Cantab IP Pte Ltd)

Dr Chong-Yee Khoo is a life sciences patent attorney with over 29 years of experience in private practice and industry. He is a Chartered Patent Attorney (UK) and Fellow of CIPA, European Patent Attorney, Registered Singapore Patent Agent, European Patent Litigator and ISTMA Registered Trade Mark Agent. His practice involves drafting, prosecuting and defending patents worldwide in a broad range of biotech, pharma, life sciences and related subject matter. Dr Khoo has postgraduate research experience with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he also obtained a double first class honours degree in Natural Sciences. He is an author on two Nature papers and one in Current Biology.

Chong-Yee is a qualified orchid judge accredited to the British Orchid Council. In his spare time, he is a keen road cyclist, photographer and computer programmer. He enjoys cricket as a spectator and listening to the music of Stephen Sondheim.

Lauren Eade (Davies Collison Cave)

Lauren has more than 15 years’ experience in trademark practice and intellectual property commercialisation. Lauren also undertook a sabbatical in the UK completing a Masters of Law studies at the Centre for Commercial Law Studies of the Queen Mary & Westfield College of the University of London in the field of international and comparative intellectual property law, focusing on European, American and Australian trademark law. She has written extensively in this and related areas of law.

Frédéric Glaize (Plasseraud IP)

Frédéric Glaize is the chair of the Design and Copyright committee at CNCPI and co-chair of the Design committee of the French Group of AIPPI. Frédéric leads the Design department at Plasseraud IP, where he has been a partner since 2020. He is a former member of the jury for the Professional Qualification Examination of the French trademark and design attorneys. He is also a regular contributor to legal publications for which he writes on design law.

Webinar Details

9 April 2025 at

France: 8:30 am
Singapore: 2:30 pm
Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane: 4:30 pm (AEST)
Adelaide: 4:00 pm
Perth: 2:30 pm (AWST)
New Zealand: 6:30 pm

ASPA End of Year Lunch 2024

Sat, 16 Nov 2024 22:09:29 +0800

ASPA’s annual end-of-year festive lunch will be held this year on Friday, 6 December 2024.

Date: 1 December 2024
Time: 12 noon to 2 pm
Venue: OSO Ristorante, 100 Peck Seah Street, #27th Floor, Oasia Hotel Downtown, Singapore 079333 (Tanjong Pagar MRT Station)

An email invite has been to all members. If you wish to attend, please RSVP as soon as possible, as places are limited.

ASPA CIPSA Joint Webinar 2024

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 12:09:08 +0800

The Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) and the Capital Intellectual Services Association (CIPSA) are pleased to present a joint webinar on 22 July 2024.

Speakers from the professional organisations will talk on patent prosecution and patent litigation in their respective jurisdictions (Singapore and China).

Webinar Details

22 July 2024 from 2 pm to 3:15 pm Singapore Time

Programme

13:45 hrs to 14:00 hrs: Sign In
14:00 hrs: Opening Remarks
14:10 Start
14:10 hrs to 14:30 hrs: Latest Developments in the Chinese Patent System and Strategies for Patent Procurement and Enforcement (Peter Zhang, CIPSA)
14:30 hrs to 14:35 hrs: Question and Answer Session
14:35 hrs to 14:55 hrs: Features of Patent Litigation in Singapore; The New Simplified Track for IP - Cases in the Singapore Courts (Oh Pin-Ping, ASPA)
14:55 hrs to 15:00 hrs: Question and Answer Session
15:00 hrs to 15:20 hrs: Patent Enablement and Sufficiency in Singapore: the Court of Appeal Decision in Ila Technologies v Element Six (Dr. Khoo Chong-Yee, ASPA)
15:20 hrs to 15:25 hrs: Question and Answer Session
15:25 hrs: End

Speaker Profiles

Oh Pin-Ping

Pin-Ping is an IP partner in the international law firm, Bird & Bird. She is an attorney at law as well as a Registered Singapore Patent Attorney. Pin-Ping’s practice straddles both contentious and non-contentious IP, including acting for clients in patent infringement lawsuits before the Singapore courts, and advising clients on patent freedom to operate, infringement and validity issues. She also co-heads the patent prosecution practice in Bird & Bird’s Singapore office.

Dr Chong-Yee Khoo

Dr Chong-Yee Khoo is a life sciences patent attorney with over 28 years experience in private practice and industry. He is a Chartered Patent Attorney and Fellow of CIPA, a European Patent Attorney and a Registered Singapore Patent Agent. He also holds an Intellectual Property Litigation Certificate and is a Unified Patent Court (UPC) Representative.

Chong-Yee has extensive experience in drafting, prosecuting and defending patents worldwide in a broad range of biotech, pharma, life sciences and related subject matter. His clients include academia, SMEs and MNCs in Asia, Europe, and the US. He has experience in industry, having been seconded as an in-house patent attorney to a large Danish diagnostics company.

Before founding Cantab IP, he was a partner at one of the leading firms of patent and trade mark attorneys in the United Kingdom. Dr Khoo has postgraduate research experience with a Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where he also obtained a double first class honours degree in Natural Sciences. He is an author on two Nature papers and one in Current Biology.

Chong-Yee is a qualified orchid judge accredited to the British Orchid Council. In his spare time, he is a keen road cyclist, photographer, and computer programmer. He enjoys cricket as a spectator and listening to the music of Stephen Sondheim.