In brief
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has suspended acceptance of new acceleration requests under its SG Patents Fast and SG Trade Marks Fast programmes, with effect from 4 January 2026 until further notice.
Requests filed before 4 January 2026 that meet the respective qualifying criteria will continue to be processed on the accelerated timelines.
No restart date has been announced.
In more detail
The SG Patents Fast and SG Trade Marks Fast programmes were launched on 20 May 2025 to replace the SG IP FAST pilot (which ended on 31 December 2024), with changes designed to better support enterprises and innovators seeking expedited IP protection in Singapore. These two programmes introduced clearer timelines, simplified eligibility and a fee structure intended to cover prioritization costs. More details on these programmes are available in our May 2025 client alert.
The current suspension applies across both programmes. Importantly, requests received before 4 January 2026 that meet the qualifying requirements under the respective programmes will have their office actions and applications accelerated .
Key takeaways
While IPOS reviews these programmes, applicants should reassess how best to achieve speed and certainty within the existing framework.
For patents, applicants should consider alternative acceleration pathways that remain available. For example, to expedite the examination of their patent applications, applicants may, where applicable, opt for the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), an international work sharing programme that provides accelerated examination of a patent application by referencing examination results from another IP office. The PPH leverages the IPOS’s global network of IP office partners and provides benefits such as higher grant rates, together with faster and fewer office actions. More details about the PPH and its recent enhancements are available in our January 2025 and September 2025 client alerts.
For trademarks, applicants can make fuller use of the efficiency levers already embedded in the current system. For example, selecting descriptions from IPOS’s preapproved classification database reduces examination time and attracts lower official fees per class, helping to approximate some of the benefits previously offered by SG Trade Marks Fast.
What the suspension of these two programmes means in practice will naturally differ by profile.
R&D‑intensive businesses and deal teams that were seeking to rely on SG Patents Fast to secure early examination outcomes for fundraising or cross‑border filing decisions should, where possible, pivot to PPH routes or consider narrowing applications to prosecution‑ready claim sets to maintain momentum.
If PPH is contemplated, it’s imperative to decide early which foreign office you will use to generate work products that can be leveraged for Singapore acceleration. The goal is to obtain a high‑quality, prosecution‑ready first action you can reference under PPH.
For brand‑driven launches, the absence of SG Trade Marks Fast makes it more important to conduct thorough clearance searches and, where possible, adopt preapproved goods and services terms so that applications continue to progress swiftly under standard examination. Move availability searches up in the launch-critical path to avoid delays from avoidable objections or oppositions, which now matter more with no expedited lane.
We are monitoring the status of the programmes closely and will provide an update as soon as more information is available, including any changes to eligibility, fees and expected timelines once IPOS concludes its review.
In the meantime, please reach out to your usual contacts if you require assistance with assessing PPH eligibility, refining trademark specifications, or general advice on filing and portfolio management strategies — especially for transaction or launch‑critical portfolios.
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The following authors have contributed to this legal update:
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