New Collaborative Search and Examination Programme between Singapore and Indonesia commences on 2 January 2025

23 January 2025

The new Collaborative Search and Examination (“CS&E”) Programme between the intellectual property (“IP”) offices of Singapore and Indonesia commenced on 2 January 2025. The Programme, which aims to speed up the patent search and examination process for innovators interested to obtain patent protection in both countries, will be complimentary (official patent filing fees and search and examination fees still apply) during the two-year pilot duration, up to 1 January 2027.

This initiative complements the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore’s (“IPOS”) existing CS&E Programme with Vietnam which was the first in ASEAN when it was launched on 1 March 2023 for an initial period of two years, and which has since been extended for an additional two years till 28 February 2027. 

Set out below are the main benefits of the CS&E Programme with Indonesia: 

  • Available to all qualifying patent applications filed in Singapore or Indonesia, including those claiming priority from earlier applications. 
  • Obtain a joint CS&E report within 10 months of a valid request filed with IPOS. 
  • Leverage the combined expertise of the IP offices of Singapore and Indonesia for comprehensive prior art search and examination. 
  • May defer translation cost and official costs for patent filing, and search and examination at the second office of filing or examination, until the applicant is ready to make a subsequent decision. 
  • Prioritised examination at the second office of examination if the claims submitted at the second office sufficiently correspond to claims examined in the CS&E report. 

The CS&E Programme is an additional option for businesses to enjoy expedited patent processing and early patentability assessments, enabling informed decision-making on IP strategies in Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam. 

Reference materials 

Further information on the CS&E Programme is available from the Acceleration Programmes webpage of the IPOS website www.ipos.gov.sg under the “Collaborative Search and Examination with Indonesia and Viet Nam” section.