Pitfalls in Patent Assignments in Singapore

When assigning a Singaporean patent filing, care should be taken to ensure that the assignment not only complies with the provisions of the Singapore Patents Act but also that the assignment is recorded in a timely manner at the Registry.

The Singapore Patents Act provides that assignments shall be void unless they are in writing and are signed by or on behalf of the parties to the transaction, or in the case of a body corporate is so signed or is under the seal of that body. In other words, for assignments to be valid they must be executed by both the assignor and the assignee. If not, it is possible that the assignment may have some limited effect in equity but this has yet to be confirmed by the Singapore Courts.