During IP week@SG 2019, the heads of ASEAN IP Offices witness the launch of initiatives to support innovative enterprises to expedite the patent grant within ASEAN under the regional work-sharing programme- ASEAN Patent Examination Cooperation (ASPEC).

In a collective effort to foster economic growth into the ASEAN region, one of the fastest-growing consumer markets in the world, the ASEAN member states IP Offices launch 2 new initiatives namely the ASPEC Acceleration for Industry 4.0 Infrastructure and Manufacturing (ASPEC AIM) and Patent Cooperation Treaty-ASPEC (PCT-ASPEC).

ASPEC AIM serves to expedite Industry 4.0 patent applications within 6 months turnaround time for first office action while PCT-ASPEC expands the scope of ASPEC to include the use of PCT reports from an ASEAN International Searching Authority (ISA) and International Preliminary Examining Authority (IPEA)1 to accelerate patent grant in another ASEAN country. The ASPEC AIM and PCT-ASPEC pilots will run for a period of two and three years respectively starting from 27 August 2019.

For more information on how to file an ASPEC request, please refer to the  Document Submission Guidelines.


1 Currently, ASEAN ISA/IPEA refers to both the Singapore and Philippines IP Offices.