Thanks to the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (“EUSFTA”) which was inked by Singapore and the EU in Brussels on October 19, 2018, the way has been paved for a high level of protection for GIs in Singapore. Following the GI Act 2014 which will come in to force with the ratification of the EUSFTA – Singapore will soon have a Registry of GIs. Applications for GI registration from the EU will be received once the EUSFTA has been ratified by the European Parliament in 2019. The draft GI Rules 2018 provide, inter alia, for the filing of applications for the registration of GIs. They also sets out in detail the opposition procedure. Opposition to a published application can be filed within 6 weeks; the notice of opposition has to be accompanied by a Statutory Declaration setting out the evidence in support of the opposition. The procedures will be managed by the IPOS (the IP Office of Singapore).
The EU is Singapore’s largest investor and third-largest trading partner. Negotiations started in 2010 and, in a season of rising protectionism, the signing of the EUSFTA is a beacon of light and an important milestone towards boosting confidence for investors and entrepreneurs.
This summary has been extracted from an “oriGIn Alert”, which is a service reserved exclusively to oriGIn members. Click here to join oriGIn
For more information about bilateral and plurilateral agreements covering GIs see the concerning category in the section Policy and Advocacy
