New measure for acknowledging claim of priority of design patents comes into force - 2019.08.26

On claiming priority of design patents, in the future, only when it is discovered that the date of a previous application or the date of publication of relevant data falls between the claimed priority date and the filing date of a later application, may the competent authority decide whether to recognize the priority claim or not, based on verification documents. If it is not discovered during the search, in principle, the priority claim will be published in the Patent Gazette as requested by the applicant.

If the applicant makes several priority claims at once, based on the aforementioned principle, the claims will still all be published in the Patent Gazette. However, this does not mean the design patent in question may (always) acquire multiple priority claims or part of such claims. It depends on whether the content of the priority claims are against the rules relating to “identical designs.” Substantial determination will be in place if prior art is found to be set between the filing date of application and the priority date.

The measure was implemented on the date of publication (August 1, 2019) of Vol. 46, Issue. 22 of the Patent Gazette.

New measure for acknowledging claim of priority of design patents comes into force

TIPO’s Q3 2018 IPR Statistics Report - 2018.11.13

In Q3 2018, TIPO received a total of 18,328 applications for invention, utility model, and design patents, a 2% drop from the same period of last year. Of these, invention patent applications have been growing for seven consecutive quarters. Applications for trademark registrations (21,060), however, decreased by 5%.

Patent
Invention patent applications (11,746 cases) increased by 1%, a growth for seven consecutive quarters (Table 2). Design patents (2,200 cases) grew by 0.1%. Utility model patents stood at 4,382 cases, an 11% drop from the same period of last year (Table 1).

Of residents’ applications, 1,195 cases were filed for design patent, registering a 6% year-on-year increase. Invention patent applications (4,440 cases) dropped by 6% though the cumulative number of applications at the end of Q3 2018 grew slightly. Utility model applications (4,061 cases) fell by 11%. Of non-residents’ applications, invention patent applications (7,306 cases) grew by 6% while applications for utility model (321 cases) and design (1,005 cases) decreased by 9% and 6% respectively (Table 1).

As for invention patent applications by domestic companies, the TSMC once again led by 303 cases. HTC (43 cases) and QUANTA (36 cases) both saw huge growth of 87% and 125% respectively. However, applications by HON HAI (51 cases) saw a drop of 55% (Figure 2).

By nationality of foreign origins, Japan topped the list with 3,254 invention patent applicants, followed by the US (1,559 cases)(Figure 1). Among the largest filing companies, QUALCOMM came on top with 234 cases, followed by ALIBABA GROUP SERVICES (132 cases) and TOSHIBA MEMORY (115 cases). QUALCOMM outperformed others by an increase of 73% in this period (Figure 2).

Trademark
The number of new applications for trademark registration (21,060 cases) in Q3 2018 decreased by 5% from the same period of last year. However, the cumulative number of applications at the end of Q3 2018 increased by 1% (Table 1).

Applications filed by residents (14,795 cases) were down by 9% while applications by non-residents (6,265 cases) were up by 6% (Table 1).

Among the largest filing countries (regions), mainland China stayed on top with 1,522 cases, followed by Japan (1,133 cases), US (1,085 cases), Hong Kong (442 cases) and R. Korea (385 cases). With the exception of R. Korea fell, the other top-filing countries (regions) registered growth (Figure 1).

Download: TIPO’s Q3 2018 IPR Statistics Report.pdf

TIPO has uploaded the new version of IPC on its website - 2018.09.28

TIPO has uploaded the new version of the International Patent Classification (IPC) (2018.01) on its website. Applications made after July 16 will be categorized in accordance with the new IPC. Items printed in the Patent Gazette and the Patent Application Publication Gazette will also be categorized in accordance with the latest IPC, starting from August 11, 2018 and October 1, 2018, respectively.

For more information, Please visit:
https://www.tipo.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=673206&ctNode=7127&mp=1

TIPO releases IPR statistics for the first half of 2018 - 2018.09.28

In the first half of 2018, TIPO received a total of 35,293 applications for invention, utility model, and design patents, a 1 percent drop from the same period last year. Among them, the number of invention patent applications has been on the rise for six seasons in a row.

For invention patent applications, by nationality of applicants, 8,408 applications were filed by Taiwanese nationals while 14,075 ones filed by foreigners, representing a 4 and 2 percent year-on-year increase, as well as a positive growth for the seventh consecutive season and a turn toward positive growth in the season, respectively. By nationality of applicants of foreign origins, Japan topped the list with 6,378 applications, followed by the US (3,263).

For more information, Please visit:
https://www.tipo.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=681864&ctNode=6687&mp=2