We’re excited to announce that Magdelene Ong has joined Cantab IP! 🎉
With over 20 years of experience in patent and registered design law and a proven track record of success, Magdelene brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our team. She has represented clients across the mechanical, high tech and chemical engineering industries and is well-versed in patent and design prosecution, litigation, and strategic IP management.
At Cantab IP, we’re committed to delivering exceptional intellectual property services, and Magdelene will be a key part of that mission. We’re thrilled to have her on board and look forward to the valuable contributions she will make to our clients and our firm.
Please join us in welcoming Magdelene Ong to the team!
#PatentLaw #DesignLaw #IntellectualProperty #LegalExpertise #WelcomeToTheTeam
I was invited to give a talk recently on patent enablement and sufficiency in Singapore.
The talk was presented at a webinar on 22 July 2024, jointly hosted by the Association of Singapore Patent Attorneys (ASPA) and the Capital Intellectual Property Services Association (Beijing, China).
In my talk, I discussed the judgement of the Singapore Court of Appeal in IIa Technologies Pte Ltd v Element Six Technologies Ltd.
This blog post sets out a transcript of the talk presented to the audience of Singapore and Chinese patent and trade mark attorneys.
I was recently invited to give a webinar to the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys on the topic of “Understanding SPCs in Different Countries”.
The plan was to undertake a survey of the patent laws in various South East Asian Countries, including ASEAN, focussing on whether it is possible to obtain extensions of the term of a patent covering a pharmaceutical or biologic, where there had been a delay in obtaining regulatory approval.
The question the webinar would answer is: are Supplementary Protection Certificates (SPCs) and Patent Term Extensions (PTEs) available in Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand or Vietnam?
What is a Patent Term Extension or a Supplementary Protection Certificate?
A patent term extension (PTE) or a supplementary protection certificate (SPC) extends the term of protection of a patent beyond its original expiry.
This extension of the patent term compensates the patentee for time lost during the regulatory approval process, particularly in industries like pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, where lengthy testing and approval periods can significantly reduce the effective patent life. PTE aims to restore part of the exclusivity period, allowing patent holders to maximise their commercial returns on their innovations. The specific provisions and eligibility criteria for obtaining a patent term extension vary by jurisdiction.
Singapore
The Singapore Patents Act contains provisions for extension of the term of protection of a patent to take into account delays in obtaining marketing approval for pharmaceutical products in Singapore.
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam
Supplementary Protection Certificates and Patent Term Extensions are not available in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand or Vietnam.
Interestingly, in Vietnam, there is a mechanism for compensating patent owners for regulatory delays in that any maintenance fees payable for keeping the patent alive during the term of delay are waived. The term of the patent is unchanged, however.
East Timor
There is no patent system in place at the moment in East Timor.
Brunei
The Bruneian Patents Act contains provisions for patent term extensions for delays in regulatory approval, similar to those available in Singapore.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to our ASEAN and South East Asian friends at CCW Partnership (Brunei), Abacus IP (Cambodia), Tilleke & Gibbins (Indonesia), Raja, Darryl & Loh (Malaysia), Cruz Marcelo & Tenefrancia (Philippines), Tilleke & Gibbins (Thailand) and Kenfox IP (Vietnam and Laos) for their assistance in compiling this information.
As you may recall from this blog, IPOS issued a number of announcements of days that are to be treated as “excluded days” under the various intellectual property Acts.
IPOS initially declared a period of excluded days at the end of April and begining of May 2022 in conjunction with the launch of a new electronic filing system. This was to take into account any possible disruption during the transition between the retirement of the old IP2SG electronic filing system and the launch of “IPOS Digital Hub”, the next generation electronic online system.
Unfortunately, the disruption has been more extensive than anticipated. IPOS has acknowledged that “some users are facing issues with certain transactions”.
Given this, IPOS has declared a number of further periods of excluded days for business before the office.
This post attempts to summarise the current situation with regard to excluded days before IPOS in the first half of 2022.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced today that it is delaying the launch of IPOS Digital Hub and the implementation of the previously announced official fee increases.
Summary
IP2SG will be switched off on 25 May 2022 at 2359 hours Singapore time. The new electronic filing platform IPOS Digital Hub will start operating on 2 June 2022 at 1200 hrs Singapore time.
We expect that the period between 26 May 2022 and 5 June 2022 will be excluded days and any deadlines falling within this period may be met by Monday 6 June 2022.
The increases in official fees charged by IPOS for its services will take effect only on 26 May 2022.