The Greater China IP Updates – October 2022

October 17, 2022
Taiwan IP Office Adjusts Guidelines for Parallel Filing Effective July 1st 2022, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office has ordered some changes to the Patent Examination Guidelines.  Concerning parallel filing, there were some questions as to how the IP Office should handle a pending invention patent application if, in the meantime, the granted utility model that covers the same subject matter is invalidated.  First of all, it should be noted that filing an invention patent application and a utility model application on the same day, by the same applicant and for the same subject matter, is a commonplace and practical strategy for getting early protection of an invention.  Utility models, giving protection of the shape and structure of an article, aren’t examined substantively, so they will be granted protection within just a few months.  On the other hand, the examination of an invention application for the same subject matter will take longer.  That could take up to one year or so, and if the invention patent application is allowed, the applicant can then opt for either the allowed invention application or the already granted utility model.  If the former is chosen, the utility model rights will be extinguished.  With the new guidelines, the procedure about how to deal with parallel filings when the granted utility model is invalidated has now been decided upon.  Now, the validity of an invention patent application must remain consistent with the validity of the granted utility model.  If the utility model invalidation is appealed, the examination of the invention patent application should be suspended during that process.  The applicant does, however, have the right to...

Climate Change Disclosure in China and How Best to Measure

September 21, 2022
INTRODUCTION 2023 will be a year of substantive climate change action as all EU market participants (EMPs) and China market participants (CMPs or together Financial MPs) will be accountable to comply1 with a plethora of rigorous and exacting disclosure requirements on how they are managing emissions. Given that China has been the largest CO2 contributor for the last decade2 and consistently responsible for nearly a third of the world’s emissions3 since 2018, it is in the best position to improve the global trajectory. The table below shows the top carbon emitters by jurisdiction. Accurate emissions measurement matters, given that significant change is required to adjust the current direction (shown below) and avoid impending issues caused by global temperature rise. This article describes the complexity of emissions measurement among multinational corporates in China and their related investment community, given the dynamic multi-jurisdictional regulatory landscape. It then demonstrates the current issues and concludes with a practical means to navigate them. GLOBAL REGULATORY MOVEMENT As mentioned, China and the EU have established significant systems (i.e., regulations and carbon measurement via their Emission Trading Systems (ETS)) that require immediate action from FMPs to meet 2023 mandatory reporting requirements. 2023 compliance deadlines should be feasible, given the impetus began in 2015 via COP214, where leaders5 pledged to have strategies implemented within five years. However, most regulatory announcements occurred around the five-year mark (2020) and have accelerated since. Most critical are the major emitters.6 Among them, the EU and China7 have made the greatest regulatory strides. Accordingly, FMPs in these markets are facing an imminent and arduous compliance feat. For example, in March 2020, the...

The Greater China IP Updates – September 2022

September 15, 2022
Taiwan Updates Distance Learning IP Rules In response to current technological developments, educational policies, and pandemic measures, the Legislative Yuan passed partial draft amendments to the Copyright Act in a third reading on May 27, 2022.  The amendments target aspects of distance learning such as the rules for fair use of copyrighted works, allowing teachers to provide classroom instruction without unnecessary worry.  In accordance with digital education policies, the amendments also allow textbook preparers to transmit digital copies to teachers and students to promote the use of e-schoolbags as a replacement for the heavy backpacks that previous generations had to endure.  The main amendments are as follows: Within the necessary scope of classroom instruction, teachers may offer reference materials or information to students online. This is in response to the pandemic situation as well as international technological development trends. Not-for-profit remote education may use copyrighted works but must still pay for copyright authorization. For-profit distance learning activities must acquire paid authorization also. Textbook preparers may transmit digital copies of copyrighted works to teachers and students for e-schoolbags unlike previously when only paper copies of textbooks were allowed to be distributed. Remuneration must be paid for the authorized use of copyrighted works under the new regulations. The National Central Library (NCL) will be allowed to digitally reproduce its collection in advance as a precaution against damage or loss. The NCL and affiliated libraries will also allow readers access to the digital collection via computers within the libraries. Taiwan Amends Guidelines to Accept E-signed POAs The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) is planning to revise the Patent Examination Guidelines to allow...

The Greater China IP Updates – August 2022

August 24, 2022
TIPO and TWPAA Co-host Awards Ceremony for the Patent Specification Drafting Competition The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) partnered with the Taiwan Patent Attorneys Association (TWPAA) on April 26 to host Embracing IP to Chase Dreams – the 2022 Entrepreneur’s Forum, which is part of the 2022 World IP Day series of events.  The Patent Specification Drafting Competition for Youth was held concurrently in 3 separate locations in North, Central and South Taiwan, and attracted a total of 29 teams of students from 19 Taiwan colleges to participate.  Contestant teams took classes and competed over a period of two days, and a panel of judges consisting of industry experts and government officials chose 3 teams as the winners.  As a yearly event, TIPO hosts various events to celebrate World IP Day.  This year, as part of the theme – IP and Youth: Innovating for a Better Future – the drafting competition was one of a package of activities intended to inspire creative thinking.  During the two days of the event, undergraduate students were introduced to basic concepts in IPR and patent specifications, and with the guidance of professional instructors, the teams could practice converting creative ideas into tangible IP assets. Taiwan Tightens Requirements before Allowing Investment in China The provisions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Investment or Technical Cooperation in Mainland China have been amended.  In order to protect the IP of Taiwanese firms, the April 2022 revisions have broadened the definition of technical cooperation.  This means that the transfer and licensing of computer program copyrights are subject to restriction.  Also, the transfer of investments to individuals...

The Greater China IP Update – July 2022

July 18, 2022
Taiwan’s Judiciary Says Intellectual Property Complaints Can Be Made Online The Judicial Yuan’s electronic litigation and online indictment platform has begun taking complaints about intellectual property infringements.  This new service is partly in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and also because digitization is more environmentally friendly.  For civil and administrative suits involving intellectual property, the system receives requests to upload only legal documents involving provisional attachments, the preservation of evidence, provisional injunctions maintaining a temporary status quo, and the enforcement of a suspension of action.  In the event that the plaintiff in an intellectual property case agrees to an administrative lawsuit, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court can also upload the litigation documents and the official copy of the ruling to the platform.  Once the upload has been completed and the files are in the system archives, it is considered legally binding and any rulings on the document would be effective immediately.  The Judicial Yuan has urged the public to use the platform as it is in accord with the government policy of becoming carbon neutral by 2050. TIPO Publishes Patent Applications Data. The Intellectual Property Office in Taiwan has published the statistics for patent applications for the first quarter in 2022.  In that time period, TIPO received a total of 17,498 patent applications which was a 2% increase year on year.  There were 12,534 invention patent applications (a 5% increase), 3,328 utility model patent applications (a 6% decrease), and 1,636 design patent applications (a 5% decrease).  8,983 patent applications were filed by foreign applicants, which was an increase of 7% mainly attributed to a jump in the number...