Changes to Patents Rules

There was a gathering of IP lawyers and patent attorneys at IPOS yesterday. An email had been sent some days before, announcing a briefing by IPOS on changes to the Patents Rules. Thinking this must surely refer to the recent substantive proposed changes to the patent system, yours truly mentally prepared herself for an afternoon of heated discussion between "them" and "us". It was therefore somewhat of a let-down when we were told that the briefing was for something else, and that it would indeed be brief.

So here they are, the 2 most recent changes to the Patents Rules, which will take effect later this month :

1. The Hungarian Patent Office joins the Austrian, Australian and Danish Patent Offices on the panel of search and examination authorities appointed by IPOS.

2. The fees for post-grant search and examination will be revised to range from between S$2,600 and S$3,800, up from the current S$2,340 to S$2,515. The revised fees for the Austrian Patent Office will only take effect some time next year.