TW Patent Overview

Taiwan is among the most active countries in the global patent industry, consistently ranking among the top five or six countries in US patent filing.  In each of the past five years, organizations and inventors from around the world have filed 70,000 ~ 80,000 patents at the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) in Taipei.

Please note that Taiwan is not a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) or Paris Convention.  However, Taiwan is a member of WTO, and all WTO member country applicants can claim priority when filing a TW patent.

The fundamental patent system in Taiwan is quite similar to major patent systems around the world. According to TW patent Article 24, the following items cannot be patented in Taiwan:

● Animals, plants, and essentially biological processes for production of animals or plants, except the processes for producing microorganisms;
● Diagnostic, therapeutic, or surgical operation methods for the treatment of humans or animals;
● An invention that is contrary to public order, morality, or public health.

There are three types of patent in Taiwan (similar to JP, DE, and CN): invention patents, utility model patents, and design patents:

Invention Patents

Subject matter: Any creation of technical concepts by utilizing the rules of nature, such as materials, compositions, machines, objects, processes, software processes, and microorganisms
Examination request Within 3 years of the TW filing date.
Laying-Open 18 months from the TW filing date or priority date.
Claims No. There is an extra charge (NT$800 Official fee per claim) when the total claims exceed 10 claims.
Time to Issue 2 to 3.5 years, on average.
Accelerated Examination Yes.  In practice, there are two major ways:
1. If any corresponding foreign patent applications receive a granted Office Action, the applicant can file an accelerated examination request along with the allowed foreign patent claims.
2. If the applicant is found to infringe on products in the market, the applicant can file an accelerated examination request along with evidence, such as a catalog or website.

The TW IPO will issue an Office Action around 6 months after receiving the accelerated examination request. 

Protection term 20 years from the filing date.
Reexamination If the application is rejected, the applicant can file a reexamination request, which will be examined by a different examiner.
Transfer Patent type If the subject matter of the filed invention patent application qualifies as that of a Utility Model (e.g. machine, object), the applicant can transfer the invention patent to a Utility Model.  In practice, the timing for such a transfer is when the applicant receives the rejection Office Action and thinks the chance of obtaining an invention patent is low.
Opposition No opposition period.  Once an allowance is received, the certificate will be issued in due time after the certificate fee is paid.
Maintenance Fee Annual payments after the patent is issued.
Infringement Infringements are judged between a peripheral claiming system and central claiming system (close to the peripheral claiming system).  The scope of an invention patent right shall be determined based on the claim(s) set forth in the specification of the invention. The descriptions and drawings of the invention may be used as references when interpreting the scope of the claims in the patent application.
Invalidation Anyone may file a patent invalidation.
Legal Action Only civil remedies, not criminal remedies.

Utility Model Patents

Subject matter Shape, structure, or construction of an article such as a machine, device, article, or object.  (Similar to the utility models of JP, CN, KR.)
Registration There is no substantive examination, but only registration for TW utility models. (Similar to the utility models of JP, DE, CN, TW)
Time to Issue 4~7 months.
Claims No. There is no extra charge when the total claims exceed 10 claims.  In addition, more than one independent claim is allowed.
Protection term 10 years from the filing date.
Technical Report If a patentee wants to enforce his Utility Model, in practice, he needs to request a technical report regarding patentability, which is issued by the TW IPO.  If the technical report is positive for patentability, the patentee can then enforce his Utility Model.
Transfer Patent type The applicant can transfer a Utility Model to an invention patent, but the request must be filed before receipt of the granted Office Action.  A Utility Model is issued very fast, so in practice, the timing for such a transfer is very rare, and the applicant needs to make such a request within 3 months of filing the Utility Model.
Opposition No opposition period.  Once an allowance is received, the certificate will be issued in due time after the certificate fee is paid.
Maintenance Fee Annual payments after the patent is issued.
Infringement Infringements are judged in the same way as the invention patent mentioned above.
Invalidation Anyone may file a patent invalidation.
Legal Action Only civil remedies, not criminal remedies.

Design Patents

Subject matter Creation made in respect to the shape, pattern or color of an article or any combination thereof, through eye-appeal.
Associated Design For a creation that originates from and is similar to the original design (parent design), an “associated design” patent application can be filed.  An associated design patent shall expire simultaneously with its parent design patent.
Examination There is substantive examination for TW design patents. (Similar to US, JP, and KR)  After filing, the design patent applications are examined automatically without request.
Partial Design
Protection		 Not yet in Taiwan.  The proposed new patent law will include partial design protection. 
Time to Issue 10 ~18 months.
Protection term 12 years from the filing date.
Opposition No opposition period.  Once an allowance is received, the certificate will be issued in due time after the certificate fee is paid.
Maintenance Fee Annual payments after the patent is issued.
Invalidation Anyone may file a patent invalidation.
Legal Action Only civil remedies, not criminal remedies.