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Extension of Time Pilot for Search and/or Examination Report Requests Extended by One Year (Circular No. 4/2026) is Singapore COMMENTARY, cited as COMMENTARY 2026-09-01-extension-of-time-pilot-for-search-and-or-examination-report-requests-extended-by-one-year-circular-no-4-2026 2026 and first recorded in 2026.
DISCLAIMER: This update is intended for your general information only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be, regarded as or relied upon as legal advice. Court decisions referred to herein may be subject to further appeal at the time of publication, and subsequent developments in the law, including new legislation, amendments, court decisions or practice directions, may affect the accuracy or relevance of the matters discussed. We are under no duty to update this publication to reflect any such changes in the law. You should consult a qualified legal professional before taking any action or omitting to take action in relation to matters discussed herein.
WongPartnership LLP (UEN: T08LL0003B) is a limited liability law partnership registered in Singapore under the Limited Liability
Partnerships Act 2005.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY,
TECHNOLOGY & DATA
AUGUST 2026
Extension of Time Pilot for Search and/or
Examination Report Requests Extended by One Year
(Circular No. 4/2026)
On 12 August 2026, the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) issued Circular No. 4/2026
announcing that it will be extending, by one year, its pilot initiative allowing eligible applicants to extend the period prescribed for filing requests for search and/or examination reports (S&E requests) by 18
months, at no cost. This pilot initiative was announced in IPOS’ Circular No. 4/2024 dated 19 August 2024 and first launched in August 2024.
With the extension, applicants whose period prescribed for filing S&E requests expires between 1
September 2024 and 31 August 2027, both dates inclusive, are eligible for this pilot initiative.
All other aspects of the pilot initiative published under Circular No. 4/2024 remain the same.
Key Features of the Pilot Initiative
As set out in IPOS’ Circular No. 4/2024, the key features of the pilot initiative include the following:
(a)
Scope of the initiative: The initiative is for applicants who intend to file requests for search and examination reports under section 29(1)(b), and requests for examination reports under section 29(1)(c) or section 29(3), of the Patents Act 1994. Under the Patents Rules, the period prescribed for filing a request is 36 months under rule 43(1), but this duration will be extended by up to 18 months by the filing of Patents Form 45 within 18 months after the end of the period prescribed under rule 108(4).
(b)
Requirements to benefit from the initiative: Applicants must ensure that the period prescribed for the application expires within the eligible window, select the new option in Patents Form 45 to extend the period prescribed by 18 months, and ensure compliance with all relevant provisions.
(c)
Effect of approval: On approval, the period prescribed will be extended by 18 months, at no cost. Where an applicant had already obtained a previous extension of less than 18 months, a request under this pilot initiative will allow the period prescribed to be extended at no cost, up to the maximum extension of 18 months.
(d)
Continued flexibility to leverage patent acceleration programmes: Applicants who prefer to receive earlier search and/or examination reports from IPOS and use the reports to advance their corresponding patent applications overseas may continue to tap IPOS’ suite of acceleration programmes with SG Patents Fast and SG Trade Marks Fast (which have superseded SG IP
FAST), the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC), Collaborative Search and
Examination (CS&E) with Vietnam and the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH).
Patents
© WongPartnership LLP
DISCLAIMER: This update is intended for your general information only. It is not intended to be, nor should it be, regarded as or relied upon as legal advice. Court decisions referred to herein may be subject to further appeal at the time of publication, and subsequent developments in the law, including new legislation, amendments, court decisions or practice directions, may affect the accuracy or relevance of the matters discussed. We are under no duty to update this publication to reflect any such changes in the law. You should consult a qualified legal professional before taking any action or omitting to take action in relation to matters discussed herein.
WongPartnership LLP (UEN: T08LL0003B) is a limited liability law partnership registered in Singapore under the Limited Liability
Partnerships Act 2005.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY,
TECHNOLOGY & DATA
AUGUST 2026
Circular No. 4/2024 also states that applicants may obtain positive outcomes from corresponding applications during the extended period, which can be used to leverage PPH programmes for acceleration at IPOS. For applicants relying on PPH, IPOS endeavours to produce a first written opinion within 10 months of the PPH request.
Enquiries may be directed to IPOS.
If you would like information and/or assistance on the above or any other area of law, you may wish to contact the Partner at WongPartnership whom you normally work with or any of the following Partners:
LAM Chung Nian
Head – Intellectual Property,
Technology & Data
Kylie PEH
Partner – Intellectual Property,
Technology & Data
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