The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has
recently clarified how articles should be classified for design
applications. Amendments to the Registered Designs (International
Registration) Rules (RD (IR) Rules) would also be of interest to
applicants designating Singapore. The main points are summarised
below.
Classification of Articles
An applicant seeking design registration must classify the
articles or non-physical products to which their design is applied.
To facilitate the identification of appropriate classes and
sub-classes, IPOS has issued a practice direction on classification.
This classification comes into effect from 1 October 2019,
replacing an earlier version from 30 October 2017, which had been
released in connection with significant changes to the Registered
Designs Act at the time.
