News Topics
I. [WIPO] Trends Analysis of WIPI in 2023 and Trademark Applications filed in Taiwan in the past years
III. [TW] TIPO Offers New Examination Services for Design Patents
IV. [TW] Pilot Operation Program for Active Patent Examination in New Industries
V. [TW] New System for Telephone Communication with External Examiners and Remote Video Interview
I. Trends Analysis of WIPI in 2023 and Trademark Applications filed in Taiwan in the past years
WIPO released the World Intellectual Property Indicators 2023 (WIPI 2023) Report on November 6, 2023, as usual, it converted the “Nice Classification of Goods and Services” into the top ten industry categories and applied a specific weight calculation method for analysis.
Comparing the data of Taiwan in 2022 and WIPI 2023 (based on the records of 2022), the highlights are as follows:
- The number of global trademark applications in 2022 has ended the 12 consecutive years of growth since 2009. After the surge in applications related to the COVID-19 epidemic in the previous two years, the numbers of trademark applications and trademark registrations have dropped sharply by 15.7% and 14.5%, respectively. It has returned to more normal levels, but the caseload is three and a half times as compared with that of 2008.
- After weighted, China still ranks first with more than 7,513,504 trademark applications (including 7,304,080 trademark applications filed by Chinese entities and 209,424 trademark applications filed by foreign entities) in 2022, nearly 10 times more than the United States with 767,375 trademark applications (including 494,216 trademark applications filed by US entities and 273,159 trademark applications filed by foreign entities) in 2022. Taiwan received 122,230 trademark applications (including 86,794 trademark applications filed by Taiwanese entities and 35,436 trademark applications filed by foreign entities) in 2022, ranking the 18th in the world. Taiwan has granted 102,107 trademark registrations in 2022, also ranking the 18th in the world.
The top four industry categories for Taiwan’s trademark applications filed by foreign applicants are the same as those for WIPO non-resident applications, which are “Research and technology (including Nice Classifications 09, 38, 42, 45),” “Health and medical care (including Nice Classifications 03, 05, 10, 44),” “Clothing and accessories (including Nice Classifications 14, 18, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 34)” and “Leisure and education (including Nice Classifications 13, 15, 16, 28, 41)” in order. Compared with the international average, the proportion of trademark applications filed by foreign applicants in Taiwan in the field of “health and medical care” is significantly higher than that disclosed in WIPO data. It appears that foreign applicants pay more attention to Taiwan’s development potential in the field of “health and medical care”.
References
Chun-Wei Lo
Patent and Trademark Counselor of RichIP Group
II. In 2023, Taiwan’s acceptance of invention patents continued to grow by 1.2%, and WIPO’s acceptance of PCT invention patents turned negative for the first time since 2009
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has announced the “Comparative Analysis of the Trend of Invention Patent Applications Accepted by WIPO and the TIPO in 2023”. The following are some of the highlights in the analysis.
In 2023, WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) accepted around 272,600 PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) invention patent applications, with an annual decrease of 1.8%, and the ending of consecutive growth for 13 years. By contrast,, the TIPO accepted 50,854 cases, with an annual increase of 1.2%. The details can be found in Figure 1.
In 2023, the most of the invention patent applications accepted by WIPO and the TIPO belong to “computing technology” and “semiconductors” respectively. In 2023, “computing technology” (10.2%) was the largest technical field for invention patents accepted by WIPO, followed by “digital communications” at 9.4% and “electronic mechanical energy devices” at 7.9%. The TIPO had the highest proportion of “semiconductors” at 15.0%, followed by “computing technology” at 9.1% and “electronic mechanical energy devices” at 6.1%. The details can be found in Figure 2.
Regarding technology proportions of WIPO’s accepted invention patent applications among the major countries (regions), mainland China has the highest proportion in “Digital Communications” at 15.6%, the United States has the largest proportion in “Computing Technology” at 12.9%, and Japan and Germany has the highest proportion in “Electronic Machinery Energy Devices” at 11.3% and 11.8 % respectively, while South Korea places equal emphasis on “Electronic Machinery Energy Devices” and “Digital Communications” (both 11.2%). By contrast, regarding technology proportions of TIPO’s accepted invention patent applications, Taiwan, mainland China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea all has the highest proportion of “semiconductors”, accounting for 12.5% to 25.7%. The details can be found in Figure 3.
In 2023, among the top ten applicants for WIPO invention patent application publications, Huawei from mainland China ranked first for seven consecutive years with 6,494 cases, followed by Samsung Electronics of South Korea (3,924 cases) and Qualcomm of the United States (3,410 cases). By contrast, among the top ten applicants for TIPO invention patent application publications, TSMC has topped the list for five consecutive years with 1,582 pieces, followed by Applied Materials (794 cases), South Korea’s Samsung Electronics (747 cases), and Qualcomm (695 pieces). The top ten applicants of both of WIPO and TIPO include South Korea’s Samsung Electronics and US’s Qualcomm. The details can be found in Figure 4.
In 2023, the majority of WIPO’s top ten applicants focused on “digital communications,” while the majority of the TIPO’s top ten applicants focused on “semiconductors”. Regarding South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, it primarily focused on “digital communications” in WIPO cases, but it primarily focused on “semiconductors” in TIPO cases. By contrast, American Qualcomm primarily focused on “Digital Communications” in both WIPO cases and the TIPO cases. The details can be found in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
III. TIPO Offers New Examination Services for Design Patents
The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) is expanding the range of examination services for design patents, including options for accelerated examination and simultaneous adjustment of the deferred examination period for design patents:
I. Accelerated Examination: The TIPO has begun accepting applications for accelerated examination of design patents from September 1, 2023. Applicants who meet one of the following criteria are eligible to receive examination results within two months of submitting a complete application:
- Third party commercial exploitation, including product photos, product catalogs, newspapers and magazines with starting time.
- Design has been recognized by prestigious international or national design awards. The TIPO recognizes the following design awards as prestigious: Taiwan’s Golden Pin Design Award, Germany’s iF Design Award, Red Dot Design Award, Japan’s Good Design Award, and the United States’ International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).
- Applications from new startup enterprises, which has been established for less than 8 years. Maximum of 3 applications per year.
II. Deferred Examination: To accommodate the commercialization timelines for foreign designs in Taiwan, the TIPO has amended regulations for the deferred examination period for design applications. A request for deferred examination can be submitted at the same time as the filing of the design patent application or within one year after the filing date (but it must be submitted before receiving the office action or the decision of patent examination. Regardless whether priority rights are claimed or not, the deferred examination date is now uniformly be set within one year from the filing date of Taiwan application.
References
Chun-Wei Lo
Patent and Trademark Counselor of RichIP Group
IV. Pilot Operation Program for Active Patent Examination in New Industries
I. Qualified Applicants
An application is filed by a new start-up company.
- The company should be the applicant of the invention patent application.
- A new start-up company refers to that has been registered and established under Taiwan’s company law or foreign legal organizations for less than 8 years.\
- Calculation method for companies established less than 8 years:It refers to less than 8 years from the date of establishment of a company to the date of the request for program.
II. Eligible patent applications:
- Invention patent application: an agent is appointed when applying.
- Submitted time: after the TIPO notices that the substantive examination is about to take place, but before receiving the first office action.
III. How to apply:
- Application must be made electronically.
- Fill in the application form:
State the name of the applicant and the date of company establishment.
IV. Number of cases that can be accepted:
- The same new start-up company: maximum 5 applications per year.
- The TIPO: The maximum number of cases accepted is 6 per month.
V. Application time point and examination process:
- Appoint an agent to apply for a patent application.
↓
- A substantive examination is about to be carried out.
↓
- Apply electronically for the New Industry Active Review Project
- It must be less than 8 years from the establishment of the company to the application for the plan
- Before receiving the first office action
↓
- the 1st month
The TIPO issues interview information
Search report and other reasons for not granting a patent
↓
- the 2nd month
Conduct proactive interviews
Provide suggestions for amendments/corrections
↓
- the 3rd month
applicant
Submit an amendment or response
↓
- the 4th month
Notice of Office Action / Notice of Allowance
The average implementation time from applying for this program to the applicant obtaining a patent or receiving an office action is within 4 months.
References
Chun-Wei Lo
Patent and Trademark Counselor of RichIP Group
V. New System for Telephone Communication with External Examiners and Remote Video Interview
Starting September 1, 2024, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has introduced the Optimization Program for Telephone Communication and Remote Video Interviews with External Examiners on a pilot basis.
Invention patent applicants can now use the TIPO’s three-way conference call mechanism (with specified software, e.g. Cisco Webex Meetings) to facilitate communication and exchange of opinions between the applicant side, the external examiner, and the TIPO examiners in non-public places.
This initiative is designed to enhance the quality of patent applications and improve the efficiency of the examination process.
References
Chun-Wei Lo
Patent and Trademark Counselor of RichIP Group