INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN TAIWAN
Opposition Term |
03 Months |
Registration Term |
10 Years |
First Renewal Term |
10 Years |
Subsequent Renewal Term |
10 Years |
For getting a trademark registered in Taiwan, an application has to be filed with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), which administers the entire trademark registration process.
Taiwan follows ‘first-to-file’ principle, i.e., trademark registration is necessary to obtain trademark rights, and the sequence of rights acquisition correlates with the examination of trademark applications.
TIPO has updated and made public its classification list of goods and services for the purpose of trademark application and registration in accordance with the 11th edition of Nice Classification of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Multi-class trademark applications can be filed in Taiwan.
The opposition period is three (03) months from the publication date of the trademark registration.
A trademark registration in Taiwan is valid for ten (10) years from the date of registration, which is further renewable indefinitely for successive periods of ten (10) years each.
Trademarks may be renewed six (06) months before the expiration date or six (06) months after it, provided a surcharge for the late renewal is duly paid.
The grace period to renew a trademark after the date of expiry is six (06) months.
A trademark that is not used for three (03) consecutive years may be subject to a non-use cancellation by an interested third party or ex officio.
Taiwan is not a member of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property or the PCT.
For seeking patent protection in Taiwan, an application has to be filed with the Taiwan's Intellectual Property Office (‘TIPO’), which administers the entire process of patent grant.
The Patents Act, as amended in 2011 and the Enforcement Rules, formulated pursuant to Article 158 of the Patent Act - deal with the mechanism of patent protection in Taiwan.
In Taiwan, an invention that satisfies the conditions of originality, novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability, subjects to patentability. Utility model patents, design patents, and invention patents are the three types of patents that can be protected.
The types of patent applications that can be filed include only the Non-Convention Application since Taiwan is not a member of the PCT or the Paris Convention. However, it does grant patents based on the principle of reciprocity to foreign applicants.
The opposition system was abolished in 2004, and now the only way to a challenge a granted patent is through the invalidation procedure.
Patents last for twenty (20) years in Taiwan. The maximum protection period for a utility model in Taiwan is ten (10) years from the date of filing.
The annual fee for the year in which the Taiwanese patent is granted must be paid on the publication date. Subsequent annual fees are due yearly in advance. The annual fees for several years may be paid in a lump sum.
There is a grace period of twelve (12) months if the patent owner misses the deadline for paying an annual fee.
Registered designs are protected under the Patent Act in a similar way as for patents, i.e., The Patents Act, as amended in 2014.
For getting an industrial design registered in Taiwan, an application has to be filed with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office.
Opposition against an industrial design application can't be raised in Taiwan.
The validity term of a design application in Taiwan is fifteen (15) years from the date of filing.
Annual fees are due each year starting from the 1st year, and should be paid within three (03) months from the receipt of the notice of allowance. The succeeding annuities should be paid one day before the publication date of each payment year.
Late payment is possible within a grace period of six (06) months after the due date by paying a corresponding surcharge.
Taiwan is not a signatory to the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works.
The Copyright Act, as amended on 2019-05-01, is the basic legislation governing copyright protection in Taiwan.
Taiwan no longer maintains a copyright registration system. Copyright is automatically granted on any work, which falls under the scope of the Copyright Act.
The standard copyright protection term lasts for the lifetime of the author plus fifty (50) years following his death. However, the duration of copyright protection varies depending on the type of work.
For anonymous or pseudonymous works, copyright protection lasts for fifty (50) years from publication.
For corporate works, photographic works, audiovisual works, sound recordings, and performances, the copyright protection term lasts for fifty (50) years from publication or fifty (50) years from creation if unpublished.