ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation Plus (ASPEC+) programme in effect from 6 April 2026

10 April 2026

The nine participating ASEAN Member States (“AMS”) Intellectual Property Offices (“IP Offices”) of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam have launched the ASEAN Patent Examination Co-operation Plus (“ASPEC+”) programme with effect from 6 April 2026.

ASPEC+ is a new option offered under the established ASPEC programme which is a regional patent work-sharing programme among the AMS IP Offices. Developed under Singapore’s leadership as Chair of the ASEAN Patents Task Force, ASPEC+ offers applicants more closely harmonised patent reports and committed timelines for a more predictable and efficient route to patent protection across the region.

Whereas the regular ASPEC programme operates sequentially, that is, a first AMS IP Office report is submitted to a second AMS IP Office to accelerate patent examination, the ASPEC+ programme sees multiple AMS IP Offices work collaboratively to deliver their respective first office actions within committed timelines. Through this approach, the AMS IP Offices contribute their expertise to the search and examination process and endeavour to issue identical or similar examination results where possible. Each AMS IP Office retains its responsibility to issue examination results in accordance with its national legislation and practices, with no obligation to conform to the findings of other AMS IP Offices.

The main features of ASPEC+ include:

  1. Choose preferred AMS IP Offices based on market priorities within ASEAN.
  2. Receive the first office action within 10 to 14 months, providing early certainty on the status of patent applications.
  3. Benefit from enhanced search and examination results through an exchange of expertise between the chosen AMS IP Offices.
  4. Possibility of receiving identical or similar examination results from the chosen AMS IP Offices.
  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 AMS IP Offices continue to apply. The regular ASPEC programme remains available for use. Together, these initiatives underscore the AMS IP Offices’ commitment to helping businesses and innovators scale across ASEAN with greater confidence, strengthening the region’s position as a premier destination for IP and innovation.

Comment

ASPEC+ is a significant step forward in streamlining patent prosecution across ASEAN, and Singapore’s central role in developing and championing this programme underscores its position as the ideal gateway for businesses seeking patent protection in the region. Applicants who are interested in obtaining patent protection across ASEAN countries should consider leveraging ASPEC+ to benefit from more predictable timelines and harmonised examination results across their chosen AMS IP Offices.

Allen & Gledhill’s Patent Prosecution team comprises professionals qualified across a diverse range of technical disciplines, with extensive experience in patent prosecution, advisory, and litigation support work. We would be pleased to assist in developing and executing a patent filing strategy tailored to your commercial objectives in the ASEAN region and in other jurisdictions worldwide.

Reference materials

The ASEAN IP website www.aseanip.org has been updated to announce the launch of ASPEC+ and includes the following materials:

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