A trademark is a letter, word, name, signature, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape, color, aspect of packaging or a combination of these, which is used in the course of a business or trade to distinguish a person’s goods or services from those of others.

1. TRADEMARK, COPYRIGHT AND
PATENT REGISTRATION GUIDE
The Singapore PIC Grant covers
a minimum of 60%
of the cost of
Trademark Registration

2. Copyright © 2014 Rikvin Pte LtdLast Updated on February 21, 2014
WHAT IS A TRADEMARK?
A trademark is a letter, word, name, signature, numeral, device, brand, heading, label, ticket, shape,
color, aspect of packaging or a combination of these, which is used in the course of a business or trade
to distinguish a person’s goods or services from those of others. Over a period of time trademarks also
gain a strong recall value.
See how many brands can you recall just by looking at the trademark.
IDENTIFYING TRADEMARKS
Commonly-usedsymbolstoidentifyatrademarkare®andTM
.Thetwosymbolshavedifferentindications.
• ® refers to a registered and therefore protected trademark pursuant to trademark laws.
•
TM
is merely a symbol used to identify that the mark is being used as a trademark by the owner. It
however does not denote that the mark is registered and protected under trademark laws.

3. Copyright © 2014 Rikvin Pte LtdLast Updated on February 21, 2014
Although it is not compulsory to register a
trademark for your goods and services, a
trademark gives you, the owner, the rights that
enable you to
• control the use of the sign and prevent
any potential misuse
• add value to the goods or services
provided
• create a strong brand recognition and
brand recall by continuous usage
However, if a mark is not registered, you can
only rely on the common law remedies against
imitation and infringement.
Availing and enforcing such remedies are not only
time consuming, but also very expensive and can
affect the smooth operations of your business.
Therefore it is highly recommended that you
register your trademark to avoid future problems.
A trademark grants the owner of the mark
statutory right to use and exploit the mark in the
jurisdiction of its registration and certain priorities
and advantages in registering the trademark in
other jurisdictions.
Some of the key benefits include:
• Right to exclusive usage of the mark
• Barring others from copying it
• Benefiting from the increasing market
value of the mark
• Quality assurance for your customers
• Branding through mark recognition
• License for commercial use to third
parties thus creating a source of revenue
• Tax advantages in a jurisdiction like
Singapore, like PIC credit
BENEFITS OF TRADEMARK REGISTRATION

4. Copyright © 2014 Rikvin Pte LtdLast Updated on February 21, 2014
WHEN TO APPLY FOR PATENT
The patent system in Singapore operates on a
first-to-file basis.
In other words, the first person to file an
application will, in general, have priority over
others for the same invention. Singapore, like
many countries, allows priority claims to be made
in a patent application.
If you have an application filed earlier in a Paris
Convention country or a World Trade Organization
member country, you may claim this earlier
filed application as priority in your subsequent
Singapore patent application, provided that the
Singapore application is made within 12 months
from the Date of Filing of the earlier application.
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
A complete patent application in Singapore shall
contain the following:
• Patents Form 1 (2004).
• A description of your invention. The
description should describe at least one
way of carrying out the invention claimed,
with examples, where appropriate, and
with reference to the drawings, if any.
• One or more claim(s). The claims
define the scope of protection you are
seeking for your invention and should be
supported by the description.
• Any drawing(s) referred to in the
description or any claim(s).
• An abstract of your invention. This is a
summary of the invention and is used in
the publication of the patent application.
APPLYING FOR A PATENT IN SINGAPORE

5. Copyright © 2014 Rikvin Pte LtdLast Updated on February 21, 2014
BENEFITS OF USING SINGAPORE
FOR TRADEMARK REGISTRATION
• Fasterprocesscomparedto otherjurisdictions
• The registration is valid for 10 years
• As Singapore is a country under the Madrid
Protocol, after the trademark has been
successfully registered in Singapore, an
application to file for TM registration in any of
the 90 countries registered under the Madrid
system
• Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks
has 30 contracting parties, including Austria,
Australia, Denmark, Italy, UK, and USA, among
others, and establishes common standards for
procedural aspects of trademark registration
and licensing
• Under the Productivity and Innovation Credit
Scheme, you can get a 400% tax deduction
or up to S$60,000 in cash payouts when you
refister a Trademark in Singapore.
HOW TO REGISTER A TRADEMARK
A trademark must be distinctive and distinguishes
the goods or services of the owner from similar
goods or services from other traders.
A trademark application is generally rejected if
the mark does not have a distinctive character,
i.e. descriptive marks, which describe a quality,
quantity, value, intended purpose or geographical
origin, or marks that are common to the trade,
contrary to public policy or morality, deceptive,
identical or similar to an already registered mark
or well-known marks.
The process of a trademark registration includes:
• Submission of trademark application
• Examination of formalities
• Trademark search
• Examination of trademark
• Publication
• Opposition proceedings
• Registration
REGISTERING A TRADEMARK IN SINGAPORE
Register your Trademark with Rikvin
and we will help you apply for PIC

6. Copyright © 2015 Rikvin Pte Ltd
RIKVIN PTE LTD
30 Cecil Street, #19-08 Prudential Tower,
Singapore 049712
Main Line : (+65) 6320 1888
Fax : (+65) 6438 2436
Email : info@rikvin.com
Website : www.rikvin.com
Reg No 200100602K
EA License No 11C3030
The information contained herein is intended for general
information purposes only and shall not be regarded as
professional advice. Readers are therefore advised that
before acting on any matter arising from these notes, they
should discuss their particular situation with the Firm. No
liability can be accepted for any action taken as result of
reading the notes without prior consultation with regard
to all relevant factors.
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