Singapore: IPOS decides on the trade mark registrability of abbreviations of scientific terms

The word mark "IP-PA1" was sought to be registered in respect of goods in Class 3. IP-PA1 was an abbreviation for "immunopotentiator from Pantoea agglomerans 1", a specific polysaccharide isolated and extracted from the bacteria Pantoea agglomerans 1. The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) held that the word "IP-PA1" was descriptive and non-distinctive when applied to goods that contain it as an ingredient, and thus refused the registration. This was the case even if the applicants were the first to isolate and extract the compound, and although knowledge of the word was mainly confined to technical persons.