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Trademark Search & Clearance
Registrability searched to examination standard.
- Examiner-level assessment
- Conflict and similarity review
- Clear go / no-go advice
Explore service →Trademark Registration in SingaporeBuilt Around Your Business.
Comprehensive trademark protection for Singapore businesses, with specifications built around the client's business and direct filing across more than ten jurisdictions.
Trademark Registration
Built Around Your Business
Cat and Pillar is a trademark and brand-protection consultancy founded on a single premise: a trademark registration is only as valuable as the protection it provides, which depends on how accurately it reflects the business it is intended to protect. Cat and Pillar takes the time to understand each client's business and its future plans prior to filing, and files directly in the jurisdictions relevant to that business, rather than routing applications through a third-party correspondent.
Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, UK, Benelux & Scandinavia.
Get in Touch→Clear thinking. Direct filing. Examiner-grade precision.
Four principles that shape how we protect every brand we work with.
About Us
We take the time to understand each client's business before filing. Misclassification is one of the most common causes of inadequate protection: goods and services selected because a description looks correct, rather than because it reflects actual business activities. We build specifications from broad and narrow terms within the pre-approved classification lists, chosen to reflect the business and its future plans.
Cat and Pillar is incorporated in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Australia, and files directly across those jurisdictions, plus New Zealand, Brunei, the United Kingdom, and Benelux and Scandinavia. This lets us manage each application directly, across more jurisdictions than most firms are able to.
Before filing, we assess each mark for distinctiveness and conflicts with earlier marks, so clients understand the likelihood of registration before proceeding. The methodology draws on the firm's founding experience as a trademark examiner, and is applied consistently across the firm.
Beyond the jurisdictions in which we operate directly, a network of partner firms extends coverage to more than 90 jurisdictions in total, coordinated at all times from Singapore.
Why Trademarks Matter
A registered trademark is often among the most valuable assets a business holds. It is a common misconception that using a brand name is sufficient to own it; only registration converts a brand into a legal asset.
How Cat and Pillar Protects a Brand
Understanding the Business
Cat and Pillar begins by understanding the client's business and its future plans, to identify the classes and specification that properly cover it.
Assessment
The mark is assessed for distinctiveness and for conflicts with earlier marks, so that the client understands the likelihood of registration before proceeding.
Filing, Examination, and Publication
Cat and Pillar prepares and files the application, responds to examiner queries on the client's behalf, and sees the matter through to publication.
Registration and Ongoing Protection
Once registered, a mark is valid for ten years and is renewable. Cat and Pillar tracks all deadlines and monitors for conflicts.
Four reasons clients stay with us.
Hover a card to explore what sets Cat and Pillar apart — from examiner-grade assessments to global coverage.
Examiner-Grade Assessments
Built on real IPOS examination standards, not guesswork. Our founder spent seven years as a Trademark Examiner at IPOS and led the redesign of the office's own filing and examination system.
Built on real IPOS examination standards, not guesswork. Our founder spent seven years as a Trademark Examiner at IPOS and led the redesign of the office's own filing and examination system.
Instant Filing for Key Markets
Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand applications are filed directly with the IP office through real-time system integration — no lag between confirmation and your official filing date.
Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand applications are filed directly with the IP office through real-time system integration — no lag between confirmation and your official filing date.
One Platform, Every Market
File once and extend protection to 90+ countries through the Madrid Protocol or direct filing, with your entire portfolio tracked in one place.
File once and extend protection to 90+ countries through the Madrid Protocol or direct filing, with your entire portfolio tracked in one place.
Global Trademark Coverage
Register trademarks in more than 90 jurisdictions through a single, streamlined platform.
Register trademarks in more than 90 jurisdictions through a single, streamlined platform.
Our Services
Registrability searched to examination standard before any filing commitment.
- Identical and similar search
- Class and specification review
- Risk scoring and opinion
- Recommended next steps
Across Singapore and international jurisdictions.
Examiner-grade registrability checks before you file.
From direct national filings to Madrid Protocol.
Recognised for the Work
Experience shaped by IPOS, built for business.
Former Trademark Examiner at IPOS. Led the redesign of Singapore's trademark filing and examination system. Holds a degree from NUS and a Specialist Certificate in Intangible Asset Management from the IP Academy.
Cat and Pillar is led by a team with more than 40 years of combined experience, including Co-Founder and CEO Tan Yan Shao, a former IPOS trademark examiner, and Co-Founder and Senior IP Manager Lim Hai Bee.
What Clients Say
Examiner-grade insight, founder-friendly process — trusted by brands across 90+ jurisdictions.
Hear from businesses we have helped protect.
Trusted by Leading businesses
Frequently Asked
Questions
Still have questions? Our team is happy to walk you through the process.
Contact us →Fees depend on the number of classes of goods and services covered, and the jurisdictions in which the application is filed. Cat and Pillar provides a quotation upfront, with no hidden charges.
There is no charge for an initial conversation regarding a brand. Where a formal trademark assessment or report is required, this is a separate, chargeable service, quoted upfront before any work commences.
Where an application draws no objections, registration through IPOS typically takes six to nine months. Cat and Pillar provides updates at each stage and manages any examiner queries that arise.
An assessment examines the registrability of a mark, including distinctiveness and conflicts with earlier marks, and identifies anything likely to cause an objection. This is a paid service, scoped and quoted before work begins.
A Singapore trademark is valid for ten years from the filing date and may be renewed every ten years thereafter. Cat and Pillar issues reminders before each deadline. Terms differ in certain markets; in Macao, for example, the term is seven years.
Yes. Cat and Pillar files directly in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, the United Kingdom, and Benelux and Scandinavia, and extends further through a global partner network covering more than 90 jurisdictions. As trademark rights are territorial, Cat and Pillar advises clients on which markets are relevant to their business.
Global Reach Across More Than
90 Jurisdictions
Cat and Pillar files across more than 90 jurisdictions worldwide, coordinated at all times from a single point of contact. The firm operates directly in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, the United Kingdom, and Benelux and Scandinavia, and extends further through a global network of partner firms.
