The validity period of Singapore trademark use is 10 years. Modern Singapore Trademark Law was passed in 1998 to fulfill the city-state's obligations under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights. Trademark registration in Singapore is handled by the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory body under the Ministry of Law of Singapore. Although Singapore law does not make it mandatory to register a trademark in order to use it, trademark registration adds significant value to a business. By applying for trademark registration, the trademark owner acquires ownership and has the right to prevent others from using a similar or identical trademark without the owner's permission.

The main features of Singapore’s trademark law include:

Trademark registration under the Trademark Law is only valid in Singapore. Trademark protection is territorial, so to obtain trademark rights and protection in other countries, it is necessary to register the trademark in those countries or to register an international trademark through the Madrid Protocol. Since Singapore is a party to the Madrid Protocol, after the trademark is filed in Singapore, an international application can be submitted through Singapore's IPOS. For more details, see Global Trademark Registration through the Trademark Office of Singapore.

The trademark must be capable of graphic representation. The mark may be any letter, word, name, signature, number, device, brand, title, label, ticket, shape, color, aspect of packaging or a combination of these. Unlike jurisdictions such as the United States, the Singapore trademark system does not require the submission of evidence of use before a trademark registration is granted.

Under the Trademark Law, there is no time limit for submission. However, it should be noted that a lawsuit for infringement of a registered trademark can only be brought if the trademark has been registered. Trademark registration is effective from the date of application. A registered trademark in Singapore is valid for 10 years and can be renewed indefinitely every 10 years.

With the introduction of service mark registration, these categories have been expanded from International Classification 35 to 45. Due to the inclusion of service marks, the search for prior rights will now be extended to: With respect to marks applied to goods, services closely related to the goods for which registration is sought, for service marks, the examination will include goods marks closely related to those services.