Amended “Positive Patent Examination Pilot Program for Startups” , amended “Accelerated Examination Program (AEP)”, and updated " Priority Document Exchange (PDX) Program" Effective Jan 1, 2022.
[ IP-News Letter of February 2022 ] >Back| Patent | ||
| I. New IP programs effective Jan. 01, 2022 | ||
| 1. | Amended “Positive Patent Examination Pilot Program for Startups” Effective Jan. 1, 2022 | |
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To encourage newly founded companies, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has amended "Positive Patent Examination Pilot Program for Startup Companies" (the pilot program) and accepts application on 1 January 2022. In this program, if the examiner determines that an application pertains to “advanced technology” and an interview can lead to a better understanding of the technical content in an application, the examiner may act upon their own initiative and notify the applicant of an interview. Applicants may explain the technical content of their patent applications if they so wish. As a general rule, there is a limit of 10 applications per interview. Applicants of patent applications that pertain to advanced technology may also proactively submit a letter of intent in paper or electronic form after TIPO has notified the applicant of a substantive examination and before receiving office action or a written decision of patent examination. There is no Official fee for said interviews.
The aforementioned “advanced technologies” in this pilot program include stem cell regenerative medicine, medical care informatics, micro-LED display, neural network, quantum computer, 3nm semiconductor manufacturing process, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things, big data, block chain, and 5G mobile communication technology.
The eligible startups are those that, under Taiwan’s Company Act or its foreign counterparts, have been established for less than five years from the date of patent filing. An eligible startup shall also be the applicant of the invention patent application at the time both when the patent application is filed and also when the pilot program is requested.
The pilot program accepted by TIPO is limited to a total of six (6) applications per month; and each startup company is limited to requesting this program five (5) times one year.
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| Source: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/cp-282-899796-cb7b8-2.html | ||
| 2. | Amended “Accelerated Examination Program (AEP)” Effective Jan 1, 2022 | |
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In order to promote the research and development of green patents and accelerate commercialization of related products, the scope of applicability of AEP will be expanded to include green technologies such as energy-saving, carbon emission reduction, and resource-saving technologies. TIPO's revisions for green patents to the Accelerate Examination Program (AEP) took effect on January 1, 2022. Important revisions to the AEP include: |
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| (1) | Amendment of Terminology: The term "green energy technologies" was amended to read "green technologies" to clarify that the scope of the eligible patent application is not limited to green energy related inventions only. | |
| (2) | Scope of Eligibility: The scope of technology eligible for AEP request is expanded to include green technologies such as energy-saving, carbon emission reduction, and resource-saving technologies. | |
| (3) | Accelerated Examination: For requests on the grounds of "essential to commercial exploitation" and "inventions related to green technologies," examination results will be issued within six (6) months instead of nine (9) months after filing all necessary documents, expediting the examination process of relevant cases. | |
| Source: https://www.moea.gov.tw/MNS/english/news/News.aspx?kind=6&menu_id=176&news_id=98712 | ||
| II. Priority Document Exchange (PDX) Program | ||
| 1. | TIPO Launches Design Patent Priority Document Exchange Program with JPO | |
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Priority documents related to Patent applications, Utility model applications and Industrial Design applications can be exchanged electronically between the JPO and the TIPO bilaterally through the bilateral PDX.
Starting from January 1, 2022, a design patent applicant will be deemed to have filed a priority document if he/she provides an access code issued by the JPO within 10 months after the earliest priority date. The design patent application form and the application instructions have both been amended and provided for applicant use, in conjunction with the forthcoming implementation.
* Please note that, through the bilateral PDX, priority documents related to Trademark applications cannot be exchanged electronically.
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| Source: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/cp-282-900865-48c40-2.html | ||
| 2. | Taiwan and South Korea Sign MoU on Design Patent Priority Document Exchange | |
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Taiwan and Korea signed an MoU on Electronic Exchange of Priority Document (PDX) for Design Patents on November 12, 2021, following the collaboration between Taiwan and Japan on Design Patent Priority Document Exchange in 2019. Through bilateral cooperation between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, applicants are exempt from submitting priority documents in hard copy.
Under the MoU on the Exchange of Industrial Property Information and the Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents signed in 2015, the PDX program has been applicable to invention and utility model patent applications. As the aforementioned program has been put to extensive use by applicants from both countries since its implementation, TIPO and KIPO decided to include design patent priority documents in the program.
TIPO and KIPO will be actively conducting system development and testing in the future. According to the schedule planned by both offices, the system is estimated to be officially launched in July 2023, which will provide more convenient examination services for applicants.
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| Source: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/cp-282-898727-9926c-2.html | ||
| III. Updated on TIPO Website | ||
| • | Carbon Reduction Technology Development Patent Map Available on TIPO Website | |
| TIPO has established the "Green Technology Section" in the Global Patent Search System (GPSS, https://gpss.tipo.gov.tw/ ). This section provides technical analysis reports in the seven categories of WIPO IPC Green Inventory, along with a search interface with a faceted navigation system, providing users a platform to search for patents that hold great reference value for future R&D developments. | ||
| Source: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/cp-282-899795-51832-2.html | ||
| • | TIPO Releases Guide to AI Application in Precision Medicine IP | |
| The Guide, presented in the form of a video, consists of 12 topics covering the fields of patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets. By featuring scenarios most concerning to industries or frequently encountered situations, the video disseminates relevant and crucial intellectual property knowledge, starting from R&D, the application process, IPR protection, to means to acquire further information regarding IP. The Guide to AI Application in Precision Medicine IP is available on the TIPO YouTube channel. (https://reurl.cc/jk9jZ2) | ||
| Source: https://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/cp-282-900863-1077f-2.html | ||
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