Singapore begins Operations as the 19th International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority

September 3, 2015

On September 1, 2015, Singapore commenced operations as the 19th International Searching and Preliminary Examining Authority under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). Singapore’s appointment was approved by WIPO’s member states in the Assembly of the PCT Union during the 54th WIPO Assemblies last year.

As an International Searching Authority (ISA), Singapore will play an important role in conducting the international search, preparing the international search report and establishing a written opinion for international patent applicants who select Singapore as the competent ISA.

Around 95% of patent examiners at the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) are PhD holders while approximately 25% have the ability to conduct searches in Chinese due to their language skills. Singapore joins China, India, Japan and the Republic of Korea as the other Asian countries who are already operating as International Patent Search and Examination Authorities.

IPOS is a statutory board under the Singaporean Ministry of Law. IPOS advises and administers the IP regime in Singapore, promotes its usage and builds expertise to facilitate the development of Singapore’s IP eco-system.  WIPO's Office in Singapore works closely with IPOS, jointly organizing a number of regional and sub-regional workshops and seminars every year under an MoU.