On 23/05/2013,
you requested for the version in force on 23/05/2013
incorporating all amendments published on or before 23/05/2013.
The closest version currently available is that of 31/07/2005.
7.
—(1) The following shall not be registered:
(a)
signs which do not satisfy the definition of a trade mark in section 2(1);
(b)
trade marks which are devoid of any distinctive character;
(c)
trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which may serve, in trade, to designate the kind, quality, quantity, intended purpose, value, geographical origin, the time of production of goods or of rendering of services, or other characteristics of goods or services; and
(d)
trade marks which consist exclusively of signs or indications which have become customary in the current language or in the bona fide and established practices of the trade.
(2) A trade mark shall not be refused registration by virtue of subsection (1) (b), (c) or (d) if, before the date of application for registration, it has in fact acquired a distinctive character as a result of the use made of it.
(3) A sign shall not be registered as a trade mark if it consists exclusively of —
(a)
the shape which results from the nature of the goods themselves;
(b)
the shape of goods which is necessary to obtain a technical result; or
(c)
the shape which gives substantial value to the goods.
(4) A trade mark shall not be registered if it is —
(a)
contrary to public policy or to morality; or
(b)
of such a nature as to deceive the public (for instance as to the nature, quality or geographical origin of the goods or service).
(5) A trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that its use is prohibited in Singapore by any written law or rule of law.
(6) A trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that the application is made in bad faith.
(7) Notwithstanding subsection (2), a trade mark shall not be registered if it contains or consists of a geographical indication in respect of a wine or spirit and the trade mark is used or intended to be used in relation to a wine or spirit not originating from the place indicated in the geographical indication.
(8) Subsection (7) shall apply whether or not the trade mark has, or is accompanied by, an indication of the true geographical origin of the wine or spirit, as the case may be, or an expression such as “kind”, “type”, “style”, “imitation” or the like, and irrespective of the language the geographical indication is expressed in that trade mark.
(9) A trade mark shall not be refused registration by virtue of subsection (7) if the application for its registration had been made in good faith, or if it had been used continuously in good faith in the course of trade by the applicant for its registration or his predecessor in title, either —
(a)
before 15th January 1999; or
(b)
before the geographical indication in question is protected in its country of origin.
(10) A trade mark shall not be refused registration by virtue of subsection (7) if the geographical indication in question —
(a)
has ceased to be protected; or
(b)
has fallen into disuse,
in its country of origin.
(11) A trade mark shall not be registered in the cases specified in sections 56 and 57.
(12) The Minister may make rules to provide that a sign specified in the rules shall not be registered as a trade mark, or shall not be so registered unless such conditions as may be prescribed are met.
(13) A trade mark shall not be registered if or to the extent that the registration contravenes any rule made under subsection (12).
[UK Trade Marks Act 1994, s. 3; TRIPS Arts. 23, 24]