The ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation (ASPEC) is the first regional patent work-sharing programme among nine participating ASEAN Member States (AMS) IP Offices of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. The programme was launched on 15 June 2009.

The purpose of this programme is to share search and examination results between the participating offices to allow applicants to obtain corresponding patents faster and more efficiently. The programme will potentially reduce duplication on the search and examination work done, saving time and effort. Additionally, search and examination work done on a corresponding application serves as a useful reference in producing quality reports.

ASPEC operates in the English language in all participating AMS IP Offices and is free-of-charge to the applicant at any participating AMS IP Office. Official search and examination fees at AMS IP Offices continue to apply.

Please find the ASPEC Document Submission Guideline, request form and ASPEC brochure as follows.

ASPEC Document Submission Guideline:

pdfASPEC Document Submission Guideline - August 2025

 

ASPEC Request Form:

documentASPEC Claims Correspondence Table (12 Feb 2014)

pdfASPEC Request Form – August 2025

 

ASPEC Brochure:

pdf ASPEC Brochure - Release August 2025

 

 

(New) ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation Plus (ASPEC+) Programme

Building on the established ASPEC framework, the AMS IP Offices launched the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation Plus (ASPEC+) programme on 6 April 2026. The launch was announced by Director General Mr Hermansyah Siregar of the Directorate General of Intellectual Property, on behalf of the Minister of Law of the Republic of Indonesia, H.E. Mr. Supratman Andi Agtas, during the 78th ASEAN Working Group on IP Cooperation (AWGIPC) Meeting.

ASPEC+ offers patent applicants more closely harmonised patent reports and committed timelines, offering a more predictable and efficient route to patent protection across the region.

Main features of ASPEC+ include:

  1. Choose your preferred IP Offices based on your market priorities within ASEAN.
  2. Receive the first office action within 10 to 14 months, providing early certainty on the status of your patent applications.
  3. Benefit from enhanced search and examination results through an exchange of expertise between your IP offices of choice.
  4. Possibility of receiving identical or similar examination results from your IP offices of choice.
  5. Optimise patent prosecution effort, time and resources as simultaneous responses to identical or similar examination results, can be prepared.

ASPEC+ maintains the same accessibility features as ASPEC, operating in English and is free of charge to applicants. Official search and examination fees at the IP offices of choice continue to apply.

Through the combination of ASPEC and ASPEC+, ASEAN aims to strengthen our position as an attractive destination for IP and innovation.

Please find the ASPEC+ Applicant Guidelines and Request Form as follows.

pdfASPEC+ Applicant Guidelines

documentASPEC+ Request Form