The Ministry of Law and the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore held a public consultation on proposed changes to the patents system in Singapore.

After seeking members’ views, ASPA filed a response to the consultation in November 2016.

The proposals seek to broaden the scope of Section 14(4) of the Patents Act to introduce a grace period. Under the proposed changes, a disclosure of the invention by the inventor or by a person who obtained the matter disclosed directly or indirectly from the inventor will not form part of the state of the art. This will only apply for disclosures made within 12 months before the date of filing of the patent application in Singapore.

Another signficant proposal is to amend Section 29 of the Patents Act to remove the possibility for supplementary examination, in order to “increase the quality of patents granted in Singapore”.

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