CN 
EN 
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced in August this year (2021) the extension of two pilot patent acceleration programmes, The ASPEC Acceleration for Industry 4.0 Infrastructure and Manufacturing Pilot Programme and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreement with the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), to allow for patent application in the ASEAN region and China to continue to benefit from expedited examination process.
The ASPEC Acceleration for Industry 4.0 Infrastructure and Manufacturing Pilot (ASPECT AIM) Programme
The ASPEC AIM Programme has been extended for two years until the 26th of August 2023 which will allow applicants in the ASEAN region to enjoy the benefits of ASPEC AIM in order to fast track their industry 4.0 inventions. This however, is still subject to 50 applications per year.
The ASPEC Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) was launched on the 15th of June 2009. It is the first regional patent work-sharing programme among 9 participating ASEAN Member States Intellectual Property Offices of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Patent applicants may use the search and examination reports of participating IP Offices to accelerate the patenting process in any one of the other participating IP Offices. As such, this reduces the search and examination process which in turn saves time and effort, further expediting the patent prosecution whilst enhancing the quality of the search and examination due to the accessibility of the database between the participating member states.
The Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH)
The PPH Programme between IPOS and CNIPA will be extended to the 31st of August 2026. The PPH agreement of which commenced on the 1st of September 2013, is said to be extended until the 31st of August 2026.
The PPH Agreement is a work-sharing programme whereby patent applicants can rely on the results of patent examination which were issued from one patent office to accelerate the prosecution of patent applications filed in another office of which is a party to the PPH agreement.
The extension allows patent applicants to continue to enjoy accelerated patent prosecution in China or Singapore by relying on a relevant examination result issued by an IP Office in either of the two countries.
The extension of the two mentioned programmes will be a great benefit for patent applicants that wish to fast-track their application process as both programmes help speed up the examination process for applications not only in the ASEAN region but also globally through the PPH Programme. Find out more on how you can benefit from these programmes by contacting us today.
References:
https://www.ipos.gov.sg/about-ip/patents/how-to-register/acceleration-programmes
https://www.aseanip.org/News-Events/Latest-News-Events/ctl/Details/mid/1956/aid/87