Global Patent GO - Taiwan - Introduction to Taiwan Patent Applications

For Chinese people, they may be familiar with how to apply for a U.S. patent and the Japanese patent application process, but very few people know how to apply for a Taiwanese patent.

In China’s Patent Law and its related regulations, the handling of patent applications in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan has always been relatively vague. Whether applicants from Taiwan, China can apply for priority examination and whether they can enjoy fast pre-examination, these are all There is no clear answer to this question.

On November 22, 2010, the China Patent Office issued "Several Regulations on the Acceptance of Patent Applications by Taiwan Compatriots", known as Office Order No. 58, which abolished the "Regulations on Accepting Patent Applications by Taiwan Compatriots" and "Regulations on Acceptance of Patent Applications by Taiwan Compatriots" issued in 1993. "Methods for Handling Certain Issues in the Patent Application Procedures of Compatriots" stipulates that for Taiwan patent applications filed after September 12, 2010, the Taiwanese applicant shall submit an invention or utility model patent application to Mainland China within 12 months, or submit a design application. If you file another patent application on the same subject within 6 months from the date of application for a design patent, you can claim priority in Taiwan.

This provision solves the most important issue of whether Taiwanese applicants can enjoy Taiwan’s priority rights when filing patent applications in the mainland. In practice, a large number of Taiwanese applicants bypass the United States and apply for patents in mainland China based on U.S. patents.

By 1995, the intellectual property protection process in Taiwan, China, had become increasingly perfect and entered a period of rapid development. Some large enterprises have gradually established a complete intellectual property management and protection system. The number of patents has increased significantly, and the level of patent layout has been greatly improved. They have gradually developed from "primary defensive type" to "layout offensive type". In all aspects of the enterprise, including R&D, personnel, file management, production, and marketing, all departments are centered on the intellectual property department, which reduces management costs and improves management efficiency. This complete intellectual property management system and business management chain in Taiwan , which is of great reference significance for enterprises in mainland China. Today, Taiwan's advantages in the field of semiconductor design can clearly illustrate this point.

In March 2022, Taiwanese research company TrendForce released a ranking of the operating income of global companies that do not own factories but focus on semiconductor design. The results show that MediaTek jumped to 4th place, Novatek ranked 6th, Realtek Semiconductor ranked 8th, and Himax Optoelectronics ranked 10th, occupying 4 seats in the top 10. This is the first time this has occurred in the U.S.-dominated semiconductor fabless industry since 1980.

Today, we will take a look at the Taiwanese system in Taiwan.

Introduction to Taiwan’s Patent System

• For a detailed introduction to Taiwan patent application, please refer to our website "Introduction to Taiwan Patent Application Process" : Taiwan Patent Application Process - Page Number - Make Patenting Easy · Make patent application easier (yezhimaip.com)
• For Taiwan patent application fees, please refer to our website " Taiwan Patent Price Calculator ": China Taiwan Invention Patent Application Package Paris Convention - Page Code - Make Patenting Easy · Make patent application easier (yezhimaip.com)

1. Language for filing Taiwan patent application:
traditional Chinese

2. Types of patent protection:
Inventions, utility models, designs

3. Ways for Chinese applicants to apply for patents in Taiwan:
Paris Convention

4. Review unit:
Intellectual Property Office, Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs, Intellectual Property Office, TIPO

5. Submit application:
Electronic submission, mail submission, window submission

6. Review process
TIPO conducts substantive examination of invention patent applications and design patent applications, but only conducts formal examination of utility new patent applications. After the invention patent application has been formally reviewed, it will be published 18 months from the filing date. The applicant may request early disclosure, but cannot request delayed disclosure. Applicants must submit a request for substantive examination no later than three years from the date of application. Patent applications that ultimately meet the conditions for authorization will be authorized. After the authorization fee and annual fee are paid within 3 months after the application receives the authorization notice, the patent will be authorized and announced. If the applicant is dissatisfied with the rejection, he may file for re-examination within 2 months from receipt of the rejection notice.

Characteristics of Taiwan Patents

1. After filing a patent application, if the applicant discovers that the type of patent application has been submitted incorrectly, or believes that it is necessary to change the patent type, he may make a request to change the patent application type, changing the invention to a utility model or design, or changing the utility model to an invention. or appearance design, changing the appearance design into a utility model.

2. Taiwan's invention patent applications include priority examination, invention patent accelerated examination (Accelerated Examination Program, AEP), patent prosecution highway (Patent Prosecution Highway, PPH), and support using the patent examination highway (TW-Support Using the PPH Agreement, referred to as TW- SUPA) etc.

3． Taiwan officially incorporated biosimilar drugs into the patent linkage system in August 2019. That is, when a new drug is launched, the new drug will be linked to patent information disclosure, and when a generic drug is launched, its review process will be linked to whether it infringes the patent status of the new drug. link, and give pharmaceutical companies a certain period of time to clarify doubts about patent infringement, which is also the basis for the competent authorities to approve or reject the listing of generic drugs.

4. In 2022, after the new amendments to Taiwan’s patent law are submitted for review again, Taiwan’s patent relief system will refer to the United States Patent and Trademark Office and corresponding agencies in mainland China, South Korea, Japan and Germany, and plans to establish a new “Reexamination and Dispute Review Committee”. The "re-examination" procedure after the initial rejection of an invention patent application will be canceled and replaced by a "patent re-examination" procedure.