Taiwan IP Updates  ˇV April 2022

By Lyndon 

ˇ@

Taiwan Patent and Trademark Applications in 2021

Resident invention applications were the highest since 2014 at 19,547 cases mostly fueled by a rise in the number of applications by corporations.  However, utility model (14,543 cases) and design applications (3,534 cases) filed by residents went down by 12% and 10% respectively due to lower numbers from the corporation and individual sectors.  Overall patent applications increased by 1% to 72,613 cases.  Of these, invention patent applications (49,116 cases) grew by 5%, while utility model (15,796 cases) and design patent applications (7,701 cases) decreased by 10% and 4% respectively.  For trademark applications, both resident and non-resident, 95,917 cases were filed, and that was the highest number recorded ever since TIPO was founded in 1999. 

Looking at non-resident patent applications, Japan held the top spot with 13,324 overall applications, followed by the US with 7,986 cases, China with 4,253 cases and South Korea at 2,388 cases.  Looking at trademark-filing countries, China was the leader with 4,929 cases, followed by the US with 4,032 cases, and Japan with 3,437 cases.  Interestingly, Class 35 (business operation) and Class 9 (computer and technology products) reported the strongest growth in resident and non-resident trademark filings respectively.  Locally, Uni-President was the top-ranked applicant with 567 cases, followed by Taiwan Family Mart with 180 cases.  A significant reason for the increases in applications in 2021 was the improved examination efficiency with the average disposal pendency dropping to less than 14 months for invention patent applications and 6.2 months for trademark applications.

ˇ@

TSMC IP Continues to Strengthen

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company continues to lead against its competitors in the IP field.  Currently, the company is using its advanced 5-nanometer process in the commercial production of the A-series processors for Appleˇ¦s iPhone line.  TSMC is also involved in the production of Appleˇ¦s M1 Ultra chip which will be used in Mac computers amongst other applications.  Considering that Apple Inc. is believed to be TSMCˇ¦s biggest customer at 26% of revenue, the future looks bright with sales to Apple in 2021 at US Dollars 14.27 Billion, up 20.37% from 2020.  TSMC has seen total revenue increase by 18.53% from 2020, on the back of emerging technologies such as 5G and Internet of Things applications, high-performance computing devices and automotive electronics.  In all, the US market was the largest buyer of TSMCˇ¦s chips last year, in 2021 up 24% from 2020, making up 64% of total sales.  Taiwan sales were in second place, a 58% increase from 2020, and accounted for 12.8% of total sales in 2021.  A large part of the sales in Taiwan were to Advanced Micro Devices Inc. which accounted for 10% of TSMCˇ¦s total sales in 2021.  Sales to China in 2021 were down 29.6% from 2020, and were due in large part to sanctions against HuaWei Technologies Co. which led to TSMC halting shipments to the Chinese firm.  Whilst the 7-nanometer and 5-nanometer processes account for the bulk of sales for TSMC, the more sophisticated 3 and 2-nanometer processes being worked on mean that TSMC is making every effort to develop and put to commercial use the IP it has been testing in recent years.

ˇ@

Any Third Party May File Non-Use Revocation against a Trademark Not Used for Three Consecutive Years According to the Supreme Administrative Court in Taiwan

The Supreme Administrative Court ruled in a trademark revocation case in 2022 that the goods or services actually used by the registered trademark should be consistent with the goods or services specified in the trademark registration.  Therefore, when considering the interests of consumers, maintaining fair competition in the market, and promoting the normal development of industrial and commercial enterprises and other legislative purposes, it should be open to public scrutiny, so it is not appropriate to limit the eligibility about who can file a revocation case.  When the Trademark Act was amended in 1992, under Article 63 of the Trademark Act, the previous requirement about who was eligible to file a trademark revocation was that only an interested party was entitled to file for a trademark revocation after not being used for a period of 3 years.  Since the over-arching idea is that failure to use the registered trademark on the designated goods or services for more than 3 consecutive years without justifiable reasons are grounds for revocation stipulated in Article 63 of the Trademark Act, it makes sense that the recent Supreme Administrative Court ruling allows any third party to file for non-use revocation of a trademark.

ˇ@

ˇ@

ˇ@

ˇ@

ˇ@

ˇ@