The Greater China IP Updates – March 2024

April 10, 2024
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...

The Greater China IP Updates

February 26, 2024
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...

The Greater China IP Updates – January 2024

January 17, 2024
Taiwan Introduces Chip-driven Industrial Innovation Plan The Executive Yuan has approved a plan to spend NT 300 billion dollars in the next 10 years to fund innovations that would combine the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) systems and chips.  The plan was briefed to Cabinet members by the National Science and Technology Council and it is expected that the plan will be enabled by cooperation between the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Digital Affairs and the National Development Council.  It was noted that with the rise of generative AI systems, chips have driven the development of the global technology industry and have become a motivator for businesses seeking innovation.  The development of chips would be the key technology for the next industrial revolution.  The plan also lays out strategies to meet the rising challenges in developing next-generation chip technology.  The government is to allocate the abovementioned sum of money from 2024 to 2033 to develop chip technology in order to keep Taiwan at the forefront of technological developments by developing the highest level technology to design advanced chips and accelerate heterogeneous integration of chip designs and interfaces.  The funding would be used to speed up the production of non-silicon-based wafers, as well as the development of chips smaller than 1 nanometer, 3D chip stacking technology and heterogeneous integrated packaging.  The funding would also be used to develop energy-saving applications with high computing power.  Of the NT 12 billion budgeted for 2024, about NT 8 billion would be used to train and attract talent, while NT 4...

The Greater China IP Update – December 2023

December 25, 2023
Taiwan Introduces the Accelerated Design Patent Examination Pilot Program The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has introduced their Accelerated Design Patent Examination Pilot Program to provide a more flexible examination process for design patent applications.  Following are some of the conditions for applicants to be aware of: Applicants shall provide documents to show that a third party has used the design commercially backed up by a timeline and third party details. The applicant should submit evidence such as product catalogs, newspapers or magazines. Applicants who have won known domestic or international design awards shall provide relevant documents including a certificate bearing the applicant’s name and appearance of the subject design. Design awards such as the Golden Pin Design Award (Taiwan), iF Design Award (Germany), Red Dot Design Award (Germany), Good Design Award (Japan), and the International Design Excellence Award (USA) all qualify. Design patent applications from startup companies that are registered and established for less than 8 years can qualify. If the applicant is a non-Taiwanese company, proof of establishment date (and Chinese language translation) shall be required.  Also, a startup company can only apply for Accelerated Design Patent Examination for a maximum of 3 cases in the same year. The program is applicable once the TIPO has notified the applicant that an application is about to enter substantive examination or re-examination. TIPO expects to render examination results within 2 months at the latest after the application form and necessary documents are submitted in full. The trial period of the program runs until December 31, 2024.  The TIPO will determine whether to continue implementation or modify the program after...

The Greater China IP Updates – November 2023

December 12, 2023
Taiwan Tech Arena Celebrates Fifth Anniversary Tech incubator Taiwan Tech Arena was formed by the Cabinet in 2018.  Its aim was to nurture chip-focused start-ups and recruit international talent to Taiwan by optimizing the investment environment for start-ups and create programs to encourage youth entrepreneurship and regional vitalization.  The Cabinet has approved more than 90,000 applications for youth entrepreneurship loans and assisted young start-ups in obtaining more than NT 73.5 billion dollars in financing.  More than 700 start-ups have been created with this help in such fields as artificial intelligence (AI), software and health applications.  In effect, the organization bridges the gap between academia and the private sector via the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).  Next year, the government plans to launch the Chip-Driven Taiwanese Industrial Innovation Plan.  By actively assisting entrepreneurs to protect their IP, the plan will roll out new initiatives to bolster connections with other countries, promote industrial innovation while integrating Taiwan’s industrial supply chains.  The 10-year plan seeks to take advantage of Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors to drive breakthroughs in sectors related to food, medicine, housing, transportation, education and entertainment.  Currently, there has been a lot of investor excitement over ChatGPT, and indeed the potential for patents in semiconductor technologies and software related design has given a boost of optimism to the sector. Taiwan Increases Research and Development Spending In a study organized by the Ministry of Economic Affairs researching the period 2012 to 2021, it was seen that Taiwanese companies accelerated research and development investment to an all-time high of NT 820.6 billion in 2021.  A lot of the research and development has...