Patents Form 8 is the “Statement of Inventorship and of Right to Grant of Patent (PF8)”.

The current version of the form requires the following information on each inventor to be provided to IPOS:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Citizenship
  • Country of Permanent Residence

Country of Permanent Residence

The use of the term “Country of Permanent Residence” is somewhat strange. Many inventors, particularly in the academic field move from time to time, to take up post-docs, research positions and teaching posts in other countries.

For some inventors, therefore, it may be unclear which - if any - country the inventor is “permanently” resident in.

It is of course also possible that the country of permanent residence might change from time to time for a particular inventor in this globalised economy. It is unclear whether in this situation there is an obligation on the applicant to advise IPOS or update the form.

Residence in Singapore

The form also has a checkbox for each inventor, which requires the applicant to declare whether “The above inventor was resident of Singapore at any time during the period of invention.”

Very often it may not be possible to establish with any degree of uncertainty if the inventor was resident in Singapore during the period of invention. The applicant himself may very well not know if the inventor was ever resident in Singapore, or the inventor may have moved on so that the information may not be available.

The inclusion of this checkbox in Patents Form 8 is somewhat controversial, and it is unclear to us what legal basis IPOS has for requiring this information from the applicant. The penalties for getting this declaration incorrect are also unclear (we can see no reference in the Patents Act or Rules to what will happen if the applicant gets this wrong).

Derivation of Rights

Part 6 of the form is entitled “The Applicant Derived the Right from the Inventor to be Granted the Said Application”. It requires the applicant to declare if he or she derived the right by contract of employment, by assignment of invention, or “others”.

The field has a size of 1024 characters and it is not possible to enter anything longer than this.

For some complex situations, for example, involving multiple inventors with different circumstances, or where the invention has been assigned through a number of parties, it will not be possible to describe the chain of title in the 1024 characters allowed in this field.

Questions?

If you have any questions or want to know more about inventorship or the filing of Patents Form 8, please get in touch with us.

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