Singapore currently stands as the only country in the Southeast Asian region where Patent Term Extensions (PTE) are possible, at least in theory. In practice, however, the stringent conditions which need to be met in order to extend the term of a granted patent makes PTEs highly improbable.
A Singapore patent may be eligible for PTE if there is an “unreasonable delay” by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) in granting the patent or if there is a delay in receiving marketing approval when the patent relates to a pharmaceutical product.
An unreasonable delay in granting the patent occurs when the interval between filing the patent application and the eventual grant of the patent exceeds four years. It is crucial for applicants to note that this four-year period is calculated in such a way which exclude delays resulting from an applicant's actions. For instance, during prosecution, applicants may typically receive at least one written opinion, which sets a
