Own your brand in every market you plan to enter.
A brand you cannot register is a liability you have not priced. Meridium supports trademark protection from first search to long-term portfolio care: clearance before you commit, filing with IPOS, prosecution support, renewals, and the Madrid Protocol route when protection is needed in several jurisdictions at once.
Why brand protection belongs in the entry plan
Trademark filings are cheap relative to everything else in a market entry, and they are time-sensitive in a way most founders discover too late: most of Asia operates on a first-to-file basis, where the person who registers first generally wins, whatever the history of use elsewhere. The right moment to protect the brand is before the market knows you are coming, not after.
Meridium’s role is to make protection systematic: clearance before commitment, a specification that matches the business plan, filings sequenced across your markets, and a register that keeps renewals from slipping. Where a matter needs a registered IP agent or a disputes lawyer, we say so plainly and manage the specialist, so you get the right expertise without running another vendor relationship.
What's included
- IPOS register searches and a written clearance view before filing
- Classification of goods and services under the Nice system
- Trademark filing with IPOS and prosecution support through examination
- Responses to office actions, objections and formalities queries
- Madrid Protocol applications for multi-jurisdiction protection
- Renewals and a portfolio register with dates tracked by your named contact
- Coordination with registered IP agents and law firms where a matter requires them
How it works
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Search and clearance
Before money is spent on filing, we search the register and give you a written view of the risks: identical marks, confusingly similar marks, and classes where you would collide with someone established.
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Classification and filing
We specify the goods and services under the Nice classification to cover what you actually sell and what you credibly will, then file with IPOS.
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Prosecution
If the examiner raises objections or third parties oppose, we prepare responses, and where a matter turns adversarial we bring in the right counsel under your instruction.
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Portfolio care
Registered marks go into a portfolio register. Renewals, use requirements and expansion filings are tracked, so protection does not quietly lapse.
What we need from you
- The mark as you use it: word, logo or both, in final form
- A plain description of the goods and services the mark covers today and within your plans
- The markets that matter to you now and in the next few years
- Details of any prior use, disputes or existing registrations elsewhere
Common questions
Should I search before filing, or just file?
Search first, always. A filing that collides with an existing registration wastes the fee at best, and at worst invites a dispute after you have invested in the brand. A clearance search is the cheapest insurance in the whole IP world.
What is the Nice classification and why does it matter?
Trademark protection is granted per class of goods and services under an international classification system. Specify too narrowly and competitors operate beside you; too broadly and you invite objections and pay for classes you never use. Getting the specification right is most of the craft in a filing.
How does the Madrid Protocol route work?
With a Singapore application or registration as the base, a single international application through IPOS can request protection in many member jurisdictions at once. It is usually cheaper and easier to manage than filing country by country, though each jurisdiction still examines the mark under its own law. We advise where Madrid fits your market list and where a direct national filing serves you better.
When do you bring in an IP agent or law firm?
Routine searching, filing, classification and renewals we support directly. Where a matter becomes contentious, such as an opposition, invalidation or infringement dispute, or requires formal representation, we engage a registered IP agent or specialist law firm under your instruction and manage them on your behalf. You will always know which of the two modes you are in.
Does a Singapore registration protect me elsewhere in Asia?
No. Trademark rights are territorial. A Singapore registration protects you in Singapore, and it makes an excellent base for Madrid Protocol filings into your other markets, which is exactly how we sequence it for most clients expanding regionally.
Discuss trademarks and IP with a senior adviser.
A scoping call costs nothing and commits you to nothing. You will speak with a senior practitioner, not a sales team.