Patent Law in Taiwan

Patent laws in the region vary in their effectiveness. Regulations across jurisdictions to crack down on infringers are in a constant state of renewal and revision in order to stay ahead of those who steal intellectual property. Keeping the trolls at bay depends on staying abreast of regional developments in patent law

Taiwan

Taiwan is known for its beautiful scenery and strong semi-conductor technology. But you may not know that the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) is one of the top 10 patent offices in the world. In 2016, 72,000 patent cases were filed with the TIPO, more than the 66,000 cases in Germany, which makes Taiwan the sixth-largest patent office. In 2016, Lee and Li filed 6,400 patent cases for its clients in Taiwan, which is about 9% of the total national filing.

With 70 years of experience in prosecuting and litigating patents, Taiwan is now moving towards the following trends in latest patent practice.

First, the legal standard in judging the existence of an inventive step has always been challenging, not only in Taiwan but in other jurisdictions all over the world. Before the IP Court, patents held invalid by judges in patent infringement suits rose to 69% in 2010, but had dropped to 35% in 2016. This demonstrates that case law has tried to adjust the legal standard to be friendlier to patent holders. Effective from July 2017, the TIPO has started applying new patent examination guidelines with respect to the inventive step, which places more effort on trying to avoid hindsight. The IP Court’s case law and the TIPO’s practice have clearly shifted to becoming friendlier towards IP.