You may encounter a dispute in the course of protecting your geographical indication. This could be in the form of a geographical indication opposition.
If you are facing the prospect of (or are currently involved in) a dispute and do not have legal representation, we strongly recommend that you seek legal assistance.
In Singapore, it is possible to stop the registration of a geographical indication. This is known as opposition to registration of a geographical indication. Some grounds of opposition could be that the geographical indication sought to be registered is contrary to public policy or morality, the geographical indication is not or has ceased to be protected in its country or territory of origin or the geographical indication is the common name for the goods in Singapore.
The grounds of opposition, procedure and timelines are prescribed by law under the Geographical Indications Act and Rules.
The flowchart below outlines the procedures and timelines for opposing a geographical indication application.
