New SG Patent Fast Track Programme to Shorten the Timeframe to Obtain a Patent Grant in Singapore
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From 4 May 2020, a patent applicant can apply under the SG Patent Fast Track Programme ("the Programme") to shorten the time it takes to obtain a patent grant from the filing of its patent application in Singapore. The timeframe from application filing to grant can be as short as six months. This appears to be the first time any Patent Office has offered such a scheme for fast track grant of patents.
The SG Patent Fast Track Programme is a pilot scheme initiated by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore ("IPOS") and is scheduled to end on 29 April 2022. The Programme is not limited to any field of technology and will replace the earlier FinTech Fast Track ("FTFT") and the Accelerated Initiative for Artificial Intelligence ("AI2") programmes.
In particular, applicants for inventions directed to technologies with social and/or healthcare impacts and/or to emerging technologies with a short product lifecycle are encouraged to apply. Examples of such technologies are those relating to sustainable food production, climate change, ventilators, diagnostic kits and other digital health solutions. Patent applications which were previously eligible for the FTFT and the AI2 programmes may also come under the SG Patent Fast Track.
A number of criteria must be met before an application may be accepted into the Programme:
- The application must be the first patent application that is filed for an invention (i.e. without any priority claim);
- The application must contain no more than 20 claims; and
- There is a limit to the number of applications which can…
