Patent Amendments ©(Part II of II)

Taiwan IP Updates ĄV December 2025

By Lyndon

Ą@

Taiwan Investigates Possible Theft of IP from TSMC

An incident occurred that may have breached the National Security Act. The High Prosecutors Office is currently investigating an alleged IP theft from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. by former TSMC senior vice-president Lo Wei-jin who retired in July after 21 years at the company. He is suspected of stealing the foundry’s most advanced process technologies, including 2-nanometer, 16A and 14A technologies, before joining Intel Corp in October. Apparently, before leaving he ordered his subordinates to brief him about the latest developments in the abovementioned technologies and took confidential documents with him. Prosecutors are investigating and collecting evidence in preparation for possible prosecution under the National Security Act and the Trade Secrets Act. The legislature amended the National Security Act in 2022, tightening regulations on industrial espionage and the leaking of operational secrets, while establishing a list of 32 items classified as national core key technologies.

Tipo’s July to September 2025 Intellectual Property Statistics Report

From July to September 2025, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office received a total of 17,991 patent applications, comprising 12,695 invention patents, 3,608 utility model patents, and 1,688 design patents. This represents a 2% decrease compared to the same period in 2024, with invention patent filings down slightly by 0.3%. Resident and Non-Resident applications accounted for 49.5% and 50.5% respectively, with the number of applications decreasing by 1% and 2% respectively, compared to the same period last year. A total of 27,038 trademark registration applications were filed, marking a 16% increase compared to the same period last year. Of these, 79% were from Resident applicants and 21% were from Non-Resident applicants. This number represents the highest total since q4 of 1998, with Resident applications exceeding 20,000 for the first time. The highest number of invention patent applications were filed by TSMC with 283, followed by AU Optronics (91), Nanya Technology (87), Inventec (82), Delta (78), Hon Hai (76), Realtek (69), UMC (52), and Innolux (44). Not surprisingly, TSMC has held the top spot for the past 10 years. For design patent applications, residents filed 855 applications with the highest number filed by L&F Plastics with 54 applications, followed by Tron Future Tech (22) and Opto Tech (14). Non-Resident applicants filed 7,919 invention patent applications. The top 5 countries were Japan with 3,150 applications, followed by the US (1,825), China (952), South Korea (826), and Germany (219). Applications from Japan, the US, and China all increased, highlighting Taiwan’s crucial role in the global technology supply chain, as more foreign companies choose to establish their patent presence in Taiwan to safeguard their technological advantages and strengthen market competitiveness. The top Non-Resident applicant for invention patents was Applied Materials from the US with 302 applications, followed by Tokyo Electron (217), and Samsung Electronics (197). Non-Resident applicants filed 833 design patent applications. The top country was Japan with 233 applications, followed by China (146), the US (118), Switzerland (116), and France (68). Beijing Roborock filed the most Non-Resident design applications with 35, tied equally with Harry Winston. Third place was Wonderland tied equally with Renault at 27 each.

Ą@