Legislation has been introduced into the Singapore parliament and is expected to be enacted later this year that will provide for an independent patent system in Singapore. This will replace the present system of registration of British and European patents. The new Singapore legislation is modeled on the British Patents Act of 1977 which is itself largely modeled on the European Patent Convention. For a period of 24 months after the new law comes into effect it will be possible to register British patents and European patents that were completed in the United Kingdom provided that they were granted in a period not later than 12 months after the date on which the new law comes into effect. For applications pending in the British or European Patent Offices on the date of introduction of the new law, applicants will have 12 months from the new law coming into effect to file an application in Singapore, claiming as its effective filing date the date of the British or European application in question. Further details of the new law will follow once enactment has occurred.

June 1994 Index