Patent Amendments ©(Part II of II)

Taiwan IP Updates – July 2022

By Lyndon

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 of invention patent applications. By nationality, Japanese applicants ranked first with 3,555 invention patent applications and 251 design patent applications.

Taiwan Offers Tax Incentives to Boost Patent Strength

The Ministry of Economic Affairs said it would offer tax incentives for research and development, and for advanced equipment investment for local firms that are important links in global supply chains, such as semi-conductor companies. The ministry plans to raise tax benefits for R&D to a 25% rebate on costs, compared with 15% currently. The ministry also plans to eliminate a tax deduction limit of 1 billion New Taiwan Dollars on newly acquired advanced equipment. The legislature is expected to pass the measures, which would be added to the Statute for Industrial Innovation, later this year. The move comes as a reaction to other major economies seeking to bolster key components and semiconductor supply chains. Whether it is in reaction to Taiwan’s partners’ plans for reshoring or friend-shoring, it’s important that Taiwan continues to innovate and grow their patent portfolio to stay competitive. The ministry is looking to make strategic moves to safeguard Taiwan’s global role in key industries.

Taiwan Signs MoU with India to Increase IPR Cooperation

The Taiwan-India MoU on Intellectual Property Rights at the India Taiwan Business Roundtable was signed on May 18, 2022. It has been heralded as opening a new chapter of cooperation between Taiwan and India in the field of IPR. Under the framework of this MoU, both sides will jointly facilitate activities such as expert exchange programs, training courses, and experience exchange regarding IP awareness campaigns. Other collaborative efforts are also underway, such as facilitating the protection of traditional knowledge and setting up a joint committee to coordinate the implementation of related cooperation activities. India is an important country in Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy. Not only will the signing of the MoU deepen both Taiwan and India’s understanding of each other’s IP fields, but it will also enhance an IP protection environment for the benefit of industrial development and applicants of both sides.