Collaborative Search and Examination with Indonesia and Viet Nam

A first in ASEAN, the Collaborative Search and Examination (CS&E) is a programme between the IP offices of Singapore and Viet Nam, and the IP offices of Singapore and Indonesia to speed up the patent search and examination process for innovators who wish to file patents in these countries.

An overview of how it works

Before you apply

Check that you meet the following criteria:

1. Local representative/address: Applicant must fulfil the local representative/address for service requirements, as applicable in accordance with the respective national law ^[1].
   

2. Claims criteria: Application should contain 20 or fewer claims including three or fewer independent claims.
   

3. CS&E volume limit: The request for CS&E is made within the cap limits. A notification will be published on IPOS Digital Hub Banner once the monthly cap is reached ^[2]. The monthly cap resets every first day of the month.

For IPOS and IP Viet Nam:

• Cap per year: 20 (combined cap shared by IPOS and IP Viet Nam)

• Cap per month: 2*

• Cap per applicant: 2 per individual/entity per month

*Unutilised number will be rolled over to the following month, subject to a maximum cap of 4 per month.

For IPOS and Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) Indonesia:

• Cap per year: 10 (combined cap shared by IPOS and DGIP)

• Cap per month: 1*

• Cap per applicant: 1 per individual/entity per month

*Unutilised number will be rolled over to the following month, subject to a maximum cap of 2 per month.

^[1] In the case of IPOS as Office A, for the purposes of any proceeding before the Registrar, an address for service in Singapore shall be furnished. The applicant may also appoint an advocate and solicitor or any other person to act on his/her behalf and provide an address for service in Singapore (Singapore Patents Rules 31 and 91).

^[2] In the case of IPOS as Office A, application should not have proceeded under other acceleration programmes (i.e., SG IP FAST, ASPEC, PPH).

How to apply

If you meet the above criteria, you can proceed to apply for the CS&E programme:

1. To apply to IPOS as Office A, submit these documents concurrently to IPOS^[3]
   

   1. CS&E Request Form (for IPOS – IP Viet Nam) [PDF, 126 KB] or CS&E Request Form (or IPOS – DGIP) [PDF, 129 KB] and

   2. Request for Search and Examination Report (Patents Form 11) [In Patents Form 11, please select “CS&E (Collaborative Search & Examination)” under Request for Acceleration drop down list].

   3. Email PT_acceleration@ipos.gov.sg to inform IPOS of the intention to make a CS&E request and provide us with your IPOS application number.
      
      *Documents must be submitted in English ^[4].

2. Respond to deficiencies (if applicable): If a deficiencies notification is issued, applicant must respond within two weeks from the receipt of deficiencies notification to remain in the CS&E programme.
   

3. Click the links below to start the filing process with:

   • IPOS as Office A

   • DCIP as Office A

   • IP Viet Nam as Office A

^[3] Patent protection is territorial. Patent rights can only be obtained by filing a patent application in the country you wish to obtain a protection.

^[4] English will be the operational language for the duration of the pilot programme. For the duration of the pilot, exchanges of all documents between Offices will be in English or translated in English. English translations will be provided by the relevant Office for the duration of the pilot.

*Fees as at August 2024.

More information on CS&E - Contact us

• IPOS’ Applicant Guide for the IPOS-IPVN programme [PDF, 472 KB]

• IPOS’ Applicant Guide for the IPOS-DGIP programme [PDF, 724 KB]

• IP Viet Nam's CS&E Applicant's Guide [PDF, 724 KB]