Singapore has a unique patent system in which a patent will be granted even if the invention to be protected is demonstrably or arguably lacking in the novelty or inventiveness required for the patent to be valid. In Singapore, the patentee assumes the responsibility for ensuring the validity of the patent.
Every Singapore patent application, whether filed nationally or under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), is subject to an overall time limit of 42 months within which the application must be brought into order for grant. Within this period, apart from meeting certain formal, the invention must be examined for patentability under Singapore law or evidence submitted of the result of an examination of the same invention in a recognized foreign country. This is, however, not necessary if the invention has already been examined under the PCT.
Requesting examination by an examiner engaged by Singapore's registry of Patents is helpful in ensuring the validity of the patent. The examiner will present his or her professional opinion on the validity of the claims of the application. If that opinion is negative, the applicant is given an opportunity to respond by arguing that the objection is wrong or by amending the claims so as to exclude old (and therefore unpatentable) technology. In cases where such examination has been requested, the examiner's final report must be a available to the Registrar by the end of the abovementioned 42-month period.
The number of requests for examination filed in Singapore in 1996 far exceeded expectations. As a result, many examination requests have not been processed within the anticipated timeframe. the affected patent applications have been literally running out of time. This is a serious problem because the legal consequence of a failure to meet all the requirements in time is that the patent application is treated as a abandoned.
Fortunately, the Registry of Patents has found a way around this problem by invoking one of the Patents Rules which allows certain time limits to be extended where an irregularity has occurred due to an error, default or omission on the part of the Registry. By applying this rule, the Registry is able, in most cases, to give applicants for patents more time to complete the legal process.
There are good reasons in favour of restricting the period over which a patent application can be kept pending. Prolonged uncertainty as to the final scope of a patent can be troublesome to industry. However, as demonstrated by the Singapore experience, legal complications can arise when the patenting process cannot be completed in the permitted time. Singapore's relatively new patent law has proven to be sufficiently flexible to cope with the unexpected.
By Dave A Wyatt, Henry Goh & Co. SDN. BHD.
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