Taiwan: New accelerated examination program helps startups obtain design protection
To enhance the examination services for design applications in Taiwan, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has initiated an accelerated examination pilot program, effective from September 1, 2023, until December 31, 2024. Following this period, TIPO will assess its effectiveness to determine whether to maintain the program in its current structure. As part of this initiative, the time interval between filing a design patent application and receiving the first office action will be reduced from four months to two.
This program permits applicants to submit a request for accelerated examination for their design patent application once they receive official communication notifying them of an upcoming substantive examination. It’s important to note that such a request cannot be submitted after receiving the first office action. Although there is no official fee associated with this request, applicants are required to file electronically. Upon approval of the request by TIPO, the examiner will provide the analysis results within two months from the date of the request.
There are three criteria on which applicants may base their request for accelerated examination:
- Third-party commercial implementation
- Receipt of a recognized design award
- Start-up status
When relying on the first criterion, which involves a third party commercially implementing the applicant’s design, the applicant must identify this third party and specify when this commercial implementation began. Additionally, the applicant needs to explain how the third party has implemented the design and provide evidence of this, such as a product catalog or a newspaper/magazine article.
The second criterion pertains to the applicant’s design receiving a well-known domestic or international design award. TIPO recognizes specific awards for this purpose, including:
- Taiwan’s Golden Pin Design Award
- Germany’s iF Design Award
- Germany’s Red Dot Design Award
- Japan’s Good Design Award
- the US International Design Excellence Awards
To support an application based on such an award, the applicant must submit the awarded certificate of merit and documentary evidence of the design’s appearance.
Regarding the third criterion, a start-up can submit requests for accelerated examination for up to three design applications annually. In accordance with Taiwan’s company law or the relevant foreign law for international companies, TIPO defines a company as a start-up if it has been in existence for less than eight years. If the design application claims priority, the start-up status duration is calculated from the company’s incorporation date to the earliest priority date cited in the design application. International companies must provide a certified document displaying the incorporation date, along with its Chinese translation. An affidavit is necessary if the certified document is not the original.
This program offers applicants the opportunity to promptly secure patent protection for their designs in Taiwan, aligning with their patent strategy, portfolio management, and product commercialization schedules. Ultimately, this initiative streamlines responses to counterfeit designs and assists design award recipients and start-ups in obtaining patent rights for their innovative creations.
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– You could visit here to see Procedure of Taiwan Trademark Registration.
– You could visit here to check the required documents for filing trademark in Taiwan.
– You could check trademark fee in Taiwan here.
– You could also read 04 Often Questions About Filing Trademark In Taiwan here.
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