New Draft Amendment to Taiwan Patent Act The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) announced the Draft Amendment to Certain Articles of the Patent Act on September 24, 2024.  The aim of the Amendment is to respond to the growth of emerging digital industries and the increasing diversity in image design through digital technology.  The Draft Amendment focuses on two main areas as follows: Relaxing several restrictions on design patent protection by taking into account the emergence of digital technology by allowing the scope of design protection to include image designs using digital technology and lifting the restriction that image designs must apply to articles. Also, a consolidated application for similar designs will be allowed by amending the relevant stipulations on revisions, invalidation proceedings and other related matters.  The grace period will be extended from six months to twelve months within which the applicant can file a design application irrespective of the prior publication or disclosure of the design.  Design divisional applications will have the time limit extended to three months from the receipt of either the approval of a design application or a reexamination decision. For any disputes over the right to apply for a patent and patent rights, civil procedures will be exclusively used for their resolution. This is a change from previous ideas under consideration such as an Appeal and Dispute Review Committee.  However, as this is still in draft form there may be further adjustments after discussions about how to deal with the various issues raised from this new Amendment. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Forecasts Revenue to Grow 29% in 2025 Driven by robust demand for...

Taiwan Intellectual Property Releases 2023 Trends and Comparisons The recently released report focuses on Taiwan Invention Patent Applications and WIPO PCT Applications.  In 2023, WIPO received an estimated 272,600 PCT invention patent applications, a 1.8% year on year decrease, ending a 13-year growth streak.  In contrast, TIPO received 50,854 applications, marking a 1.2% increase.  In 2023, the top three technical fields for WIPO applications were Computer Technology (10.2%), followed by Digital Communication (9.4%) and Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy (7.9%).  For TIPO, the top field was Semiconductors (15.0%), followed by Computer Technology (9.1%) and Electrical Machinery, Apparatus and Energy (6.1%).  Regarding the primary countries and their focus areas under WIPO patent filings, China had the highest share in Digital Communication (15.6%) while the United States focused most heavily on Computer Technology (12.9%).  Japan (11.3%) and Germany (11.8%) predominantly filed in the field of Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy, whereas South Korea showed a similar focus on Electrical Machinery, Apparatus, and Energy and Digital Communication (both at 11.2%).  In comparison, Taiwan, China, the US, Japan, and South Korea all ranked Semiconductors as the top field under TIPO filings, with shares ranging from 12.5% to 25.7%.  Under WIPO patent publications, China’s Huawei ranked first for the seventh consecutive year with 6,494 applications, followed by South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (3,924 applications) and the United States’ Qualcomm (3,410 applications).  For TIPO patent publications, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) took the top spot for the fifth consecutive year with 1,582 applications, followed by Applied Materials (794 applications) from the US, Samsung Electronics (747 applications) from South Korea, and Qualcomm (695 applications) from the US. ...

Taiwan Publishes IPR Statistics for Patents in 2nd quarter of 2024 In the second quarter of 2024, TIPO processed a total of 17,683 patent applications, comprising 11,988 inventions, 3,766 utility models, and 1,929 designs, as well as 23,885 trademark registration applications.  Compared to the same quarter in 2023, the number of patent applications from resident applicants saw a 2% decline, while applications from non-residents increased by 6%.  Overall, there was a positive growth trend in the total number of applications compared to the same period last year.  In terms of resident invention patent applicants, TSMC has maintained the top position for 8 consecutive years since the second quarter of 2017.  Second was Nanya Technology, third was AU Optronics, fourth was Inventec, and fifth was Innolux.  As to the non-resident invention patent applicants, Applied Materials was top of the list, Samsung Electronics was second, Qualcomm was third, Tokyo Electronics was fourth, and Coupang was fifth.  Looking at invention patents from the source countries, Japan was first, the US was second, China was third, South Korea was fourth, and Germany was fifth. For design patents, residents filed 855 design patent applications, and non-residents filed 1,074 design patent applications.  Shu-Te University was the top applicant for design patents in this period, L&F Plastics was second, Compal was third, Tong Yah was fourth, and Delta was fifth.  Amongst non-residents design patent applicants, Zhejiang Smart Intelligence was first, Ford Global Technologies was second, BMW was third, Molex was fourth, and China Wonderland was fifth. Looking at trademarks from the source countries, China was first, Japan was second, the US was third, South Korea was...