A:

For invention and utility model applications, the priority document must be submitted within 16 months from the earliest priority date. For design applications, the deadline is within 10 months from the earliest priority date.

If multiple priorities are claimed, the submission period for all priority documents is calculated from the earliest priority date.

The submission period for the priority document is a statutory period and cannot be extended. However, if the last day of the statutory period falls on a holiday, it may be extended to the next working day.

A:

If the applicant of the Taiwan application is not the same as the applicant of the priority application, considering that in practice it is difficult for a non-successor to obtain the original priority document, it is presumed that the applicant has the legitimate right to claim priority. TIPO will not require the submission of an additional priority assignment document. The same applies to the inventor. If any disputes arise later, the applicant shall bear the legal responsibility.

A:

(1) If the applicant disagrees with the initial examination decision of a design patent, they may request a re-examination from TIPO within 2 months from the date the decision is served. If the applicant disagrees with the re-examination decision, they may file an administrative appeal within 30 days from the day following receipt of the decision. The appeal must include the original and a copy of the appeal petition (original to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, copy to TIPO), along with a copy of the decision, and may be filed through TIPO or directly with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

(2) For utility models, since only formality examination is conducted, re-examination is not applicable. If the applicant disagrees with the formality examination decision, they may file an administrative appeal within 30 days from the day following receipt of the decision. The appeal must include the original and a copy of the appeal petition (original to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, copy to TIPO), along with a copy of the decision, and may be filed through TIPO or directly with the Ministry of Economic Affairs.

A:

An assignment agreement must include the declarations of intent from both the assignor and the assignee, and it must be signed by both parties. However, if the assignor has unilaterally signed the agreement and the assignee applies for the assignment recordation, this indicates mutual consent between both parties. In this case, the assignee is not required to sign the assignment agreement. The agreement may be submitted as a copy, but it must be preliminarily shown as a true and accurate reproduction of the original or authentic document.

A:

The patent certificates issued by TIPO (Taiwan Intellectual Property Office) are in Chinese. However, TIPO offers a Patent Certificate English Translation Certificate service. If the patent holder requires an English version, they may download Form No. 46: Application for Patent Certificate English Translation Certificate and provide the patent title, patent holder’s name, and inventor’s (utility model creator’s)(designer’s) name in both Chinese and English. A fee of NT$1,000 must be paid, after which TIPO will issue the English translation certificate for the patent certificate.

A:

Following the implementation of electronic certification, applicants who have already received an electronic patent certificate may still require a paper version for certain purposes. In such cases, they may apply for a duplicate patent certificate by submitting a request along with a fee of NT$1,000.

There is no limit on the number of copies that can be requested, and applicants may apply for as many as needed.

Additionally, the duplicate patent certificate serves as a certification document, and its appearance differs slightly from the original. The duplicate is based on the original patent certificate but includes an additional notation stating: “This is a certified true copy of the patent certificate” to distinguish it from the original.

A:

If a foreign legal entity (corporation) needs to change its name, it must submit relevant proof documents issued by the competent authority in its country of registration. If such proof documents cannot be provided, a declaration statement may be submitted instead. The declaration must specify the fact of the name change, the reason for the inability to submit proof documents, and a statement accepting full legal responsibility.

However, if the applicant’s original name in a foreign language remains unchanged and only the Chinese-translated name is being modified, no proving documents are required.

Additionally, regardless of whether the change is due to a name correction, clerical error, or a modification in translation style, a fee of NT$300 per application must be paid.

A:

According to the Regulations on Patent Fee Reduction and Exemption, certain individuals, schools, and specific types of enterprises are eligible for patent annual fee reductions or exemptions, as detailed below:

1. If the patent holder is a foreign school or an SME from Taiwan or a foreign country, they may submit a written application for a reduction in patent annual fees.

If the patent holder is an individual or a Taiwanese school, TIPO will automatically apply the fee reduction.

The annual fee reduction amount per patent is as follows:

A. Years 1 to 3: NT$800 reduction per year.

B. Years 4 to 6: NT$1,200 reduction per year.

2. An SME that qualifies for the patent annual fee reduction is defined according to Article 2 of the SME Recognition Standards. Specifically, an SME refers to a business that is legally registered as a company or commercial entity and meets one of the following conditions: (a)The paid-in capital is less than NT$100 million; or (b)The number of regularly employed staff is fewer than 200.

3. If any one of the co-patent holders does not qualify for the fee reduction, the full fee must be paid without any reduction.

A:

According to Article 34, Paragraph 2 of the Taiwan Patent Act, a divisional application must be filed within the following periods: (a)Before the reexamination decision of the original application; (b)Within three months after the delivery of the approval decision or the reexamination approval decision of the original application.

Since a divisional application is based on the technical content disclosed in the original specification and involves subject matter that is not identical to the claims approved in the original decision, the applicant may still file a divisional application even if they do not proceed with obtaining the certificate for the original application.