Manufacturing Firms in Taiwan Increase R & D Spending The Ministry of Economic Affairs released data for 2023 showing listed manufacturing companies accelerated their research and development spending to a record high of NT 692.7 billion dollars in the face of a dip in sales and profits.  The spending was up 2.9% from 2022, driven mainly by expenditures by those in the electronic parts, computer products and optical components industries.  Companies in the electronic components sector spent NT 450.7 billion dollars on R & D last year, up 2.2% and accounted for 65.1% of overall spending, while those in the computer products and optical components sector spent NT 158 billion dollars, up 4% and contributing 22.8% of the total.  In terms of individual companies, global foundry giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) headed the list with R & D spending of NT 178.7 billion dollars, up 11.1% from 2022 and accounted for 25.8% of the total.  Smartphone chip designer MediaTek Inc. came in second with spending of NT 80.6 billion dollars and networking chip designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp. was in third place at NT 20.1 billion dollars.  Despite the inclement economic weather, firms in Taiwan have still been developing technologies to maintain their leading edge in the market. Summary of Operating Procedures for Accelerated Examination of Trademark Applications in Taiwan The Trademark Act was amended last year to cater to those who needed an accelerated examination of their trademark application.  The amendment came into effect on May 1, 2024.  To help applicants prepare for the accelerated examination, the Operating Procedures for Accelerated Examination of Trademark Applications were announced on...

Taiwan Issues Report on Patent Trends for Semiconductor Industry Waste Management The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) recently issued a report titled Analysis of Patent Trends of Key Technologies for Waste Treatment in the Semiconductor Industry.  The document looked at patent applications related to waste treatment of copper, silica mud and hydrogen in the semiconductor industry. Regarding applications related to copper recycling, the patent offices of the US, Japan, Europe, China and Korea ranked as the top five patent offices in terms of the number of patent applications and accounted for approximately 70% of patent applications in this field worldwide. Looking at the data regionally, applicants from various Asian countries accounted for 62% of the worldwide total, but European, American and Australian applicants also filed a significant number of patent applications reflecting their long histories of large mining companies and their continued development of their technological level such as in the fields of pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, microbial metallurgy and other processing means. Regarding applications related to silica mud recycling, the abovementioned five major patent offices plus TIPO accounted for 93% of patent applications in this field worldwide. Regionally, applicants from Asian countries filed the majority of patent applications totaling 86.5% worldwide.  By contrast, Europe and American applicants only came to 7.2% worldwide, reflecting that Asian applicants had more initiative to develop technologies related to the various types of solid liquid separation such as filtration, centrifugation, flotation, fusion, vaporization, magnetic separation, gravity separation, hydrocyclone, electrostatic separation and vacuum microwave drying. Regarding applications related to hydrogen recovery, except for the Korean office, the other four major ranked offices were the biggest source...

Science and Technology Advisory Board Meets in Taiwan After a 12-year hiatus, a meeting of a high-level science and technology advisory board was held in Taipei in early December, 2023.  The Executive Yuan Science and Technology Advisory Board Meeting was held over three days, convening top scientists and industry leaders to offer advice on a path forward for Taiwan’s technology development over the next ten years.  The conference will focus on two main themes.  One is green technologies amid the global effort to move toward carbon neutrality, and the other is the possible mutual enhancement between artificial intelligence (AI) and the semiconductor industry.  The advisers consist of leading figures from academia and the private sectors who have in-depth knowledge of Taiwan’s industries and supply chains and how they are being affected by various geopolitical strains.  It is expected that the meeting will come up with both mid-term and long-term development strategies to guide Taiwan on the path to maintain its top-notch technical capabilities.  President Tsai, who will leave office in May 2024, gave a speech announcing that the country will invest NT300 billion in a chip-driven industrial innovation plan that will look at ways to combine generative AI with Taiwan’s semiconductor development.  Also, for the development of green technologies, the government will mobilize the resources of different ministries, academia, industry, and civil groups to push for technologies that can help Taiwan achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.  The Executive Yuan Science and Technology Advisory Board meeting was first convened in 1980 and was held 31 times up to 2011.  The revived grouping is expected to meet annually in the future....

TIPO Announces Updates to the Trademark Classification for Goods and Services The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office has made adjustments to the designated goods and services names in trademark applications in response to the latest (12th) edition of the Nice Classification list.  A total of 422 items have been added and 56 items have been deleted.  An additional 15 modifications have been made to class/subclass names or annotations, as well as 25 corrections.  The aforementioned changes took effect on January 1, 2024.  The list of designated goods/services categories and names will be updated on the online trademark filing system as well.  The official timeline of website updates will be published on the website of the TIPO Information Management Office.   Applicants wishing to use the fast-track mechanism on the online trademark filing system after January 1, 2024, will be able to download the latest updates.  This will ensure consistency between the designated goods/services names stated in the application and the content in the electronic filing system, avoiding discrepancies that could jeopardize eligibility for the fast-track mechanism, as well as associated fee reductions. Taiwan’s TSMC Top Applicant for Patents for Eighth Year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world’s largest contract chipmaker, applied for the most patents out of any Taiwanese entity last year for the 8th consecutive year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced in February.  TSMC filed 1,956 invention patent applications in 2023, which is the company’s most ever and 28% more than in 2022.  By being the largest patent applicant in Taiwan, it also drives the growth of upstream IC design and also downstream IC packaging and testing services.  The...

Taiwan and US Signs MOU on the Secure Exchange of Patent Data On November 22, 2023, Taiwan and the US signed the MOU on the Secure Exchange of Patent Data, streamlining and reducing the cost of patent priority claims for Taiwanese applicants who annually file over 20,000 patent applications in the United States.  The annual number of patent applications filed by Taiwanese has consistently been around 20,000 in recent years, but rose 6% from 2021 to 2022.  The MOU aims to alleviate this burden by facilitating the secure exchange of priority documents between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  The collaboration between Taiwan and the US on the electronic exchange of priority documents began in 2016 through TIPO and USPTO’s bilateral discussions.  Given the importance of information security, both confirmed details related to information equipment and transmission meticulously.  After continuous efforts from both sides, the MOU was finally signed in November 2023.  This milestone in the deepening of Taiwan’s relations with the US follows the implementation of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) project in 2011, and the signing of the MOU on Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Cooperation in 2017.  To create an environment conducive to international patent applicants, TIPO has launched the electronic priority document exchange (PDX) program with Japan and South Korea in 2019 and 2021 respectively.  The recent expansion in PDX collaboration with the US shall greatly increase the convenience of Taiwanese applicants filing patent applications in the US, as well as for US applicants filing in Taiwan – a mutually beneficial arrangement.  Following the signing, TIPO and...