Practice · Patent

Taiwan patent filing and prosecution before TIPO.

We file and prosecute invention, utility model, and design patent applications before the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) for applicants and law firms outside Taiwan. Taiwan has no national phase under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), so the application is filed directly with TIPO. To claim priority, an invention or utility model application must be filed in Taiwan within 12 months after the filing date of the first application, and a design application within six months. The description, claims and drawings (for a design, the description and drawings) may be filed first in English, provided the Chinese translation follows within the period TIPO specifies. This page sets out what we need from you, the time limits that apply, and the source of each rule.

Last reviewed: October 16, 2026 Reviewed by Jack (Chieh-Kai) Yang

What we handle

Drafting, filing, and prosecution of invention, utility model, and design patent applications before TIPO.
Direct filings with a priority claim, including for PCT families. Taiwan has no PCT national phase; see Is Taiwan in the PCT?
Responses to office actions, amendments, and reexamination.
Invalidation actions and validity opinions.
Draft US applications prepared in Taiwan for registered US practitioners. Jack (Chieh-Kai) Yang is a Taiwan Patent Attorney who passed the USPTO Patent Bar in 2020 (not registered). He prepares draft US applications and office-action responses in Taiwan for registered US practitioners, who review, sign and file them and handle all communication with the USPTO, including examiner interviews. Preparing the drafts in Taiwan reduces translation drift and examiner-communication cost.

At a glance

Invention, utility model, and design: the statutory periods side by side.

The periods in this table are fixed by the Patent Act; article numbers refer to its official English translation.

Taiwan patent types · periods fixed by statute
Item	Invention	Utility model	Design	Patent Act
Examination	Substantive examination, on a request filed within three years after the filing date.	Formality examination only; patentability is not substantively examined. No request for examination is needed.	Substantive examination, which TIPO conducts automatically; no request for examination is needed.	Arts. 38 and 113; TIPO FAQs for utility models and designs
Priority period	12 months after the filing date of the first application.	12 months after the filing date of the first application.	Six months after the filing date of the first application.	Arts. 28, 120 and 142
Priority document	Within 16 months after the earliest priority date. Cannot be extended.	Within 16 months after the earliest priority date. Cannot be extended.	Within 10 months after the earliest priority date. Cannot be extended.	Arts. 29, 120 and 142
Grace period	12 months after the disclosure.	12 months after the disclosure.	Six months after the disclosure.	Arts. 22, 120 and 122
Patent term	Expires 20 years from the filing date.	Expires 10 years from the filing date.	Expires 15 years from the filing date.	Arts. 52, 114 and 135

Grace period. If the invention was disclosed, by or against the applicant’s will, and the application is filed in Taiwan within 12 months after that disclosure, the disclosure does not count against novelty or inventive step (Patent Act, Art. 22(3)); for a design, the application must be filed within six months after the disclosure (Art. 122(3)). The grace period is calculated from the day following the earliest disclosure up to the filing date accorded in Taiwan, and its starting point is determined separately from that of the priority period. Under TIPO’s examination guidelines, where an invention application both claims priority and relies on the grace period, the priority period cannot be counted from the date of the disclosure, and the two periods cannot be accumulated. The grace period does not cover publication in a patent gazette, in Taiwan or abroad, that follows from the filing of a patent application and is made by the applicant’s will (Arts. 22(4) and 122(4)).

Term. An invention patent right begins on the publication date of the grant, and its term expires 20 years from the filing date of the application (Art. 52). Patent term extension is available only for invention patents for pharmaceuticals (not veterinary drugs), agrichemicals, or their manufacturing processes. A request must be filed within three months after the first regulatory approval is obtained, and no request may be filed within the six months before the original patent term expires (Art. 53).

Route into Taiwan

No PCT national phase: file directly with TIPO and claim priority.

Taiwan is not a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT). A PCT international application cannot be filed in Taiwan, and it cannot designate Taiwan or enter a national phase in Taiwan (TIPO FAQ; TIPO patent Q&A, in Chinese). A PCT international application can serve as the basis for a priority claim in Taiwan, provided it is the first application for the invention; the Taiwan application must still be filed directly with TIPO within the priority period. TIPO’s other conditions for a priority claim based on a PCT application are set out in Is Taiwan in the PCT?

To claim priority, an invention or utility model application must be filed in Taiwan within 12 months after the filing date of the first application. Where two or more priorities are claimed, the period is counted from the earliest priority date (Patent Act, Art. 28). Under TIPO’s examination guidelines (in Chinese), the period is six months where either the first application or the Taiwan application is a design application. The 12 months are counted from the day following the filing date of the first application up to the filing date accorded in Taiwan. If the Taiwan filing date is moved to a later date because required documents were completed late, and that later date falls outside the 12 months, the priority claim will not be accepted. A design patent application claiming priority must be filed in Taiwan within six months after the filing date of the first application (Arts. 28 and 142(2)).

Taiwan is not a member of the Paris Convention. Priority is instead available for first filings made in a WTO member or in a country that reciprocally recognizes priority claims with Taiwan. Priority may also be claimed in Taiwan from an application first filed in mainland China. The same priority periods and requirements apply as for any other priority claim, and we check eligibility for each case.

Our page on Taiwan and the PCT also covers the position once the 12 months have passed; a short answer is among the questions at the end of this page.

Filing

What we need to file, and what can follow later.

The table gives the minimum for a filing date and the items that may be supplied afterwards. Each item is covered in full in the Taiwan patent filing checklist, which is also available as a printable checklist (PDF).

Filing a Taiwan patent application · documents and periods
Item	What applies
Filing date	For an invention patent application, the filing date is the date on which the application form, the description, the claims and any necessary drawings have all been filed (Patent Act, Art. 25). For a utility model application, it is the date on which the application form, the description, the claims and the drawings have all been filed; drawings are mandatory for a utility model (Art. 106). For a design patent application, it is the date on which the application form, the description and the drawings have all been filed (Art. 125).
Language	The application form itself must be completed in Chinese. The description, claims and drawings (for a design, the description and drawings) may be filed first in a foreign language. If the Chinese translation is then submitted within the period specified by TIPO, the filing date is the date on which the foreign-language documents were filed (Arts. 25(3), 106(3) and 125(3)). The foreign-language documents must be in one of nine languages: Arabic, English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian or Spanish (Regulations Governing Submission of Foreign Language Application Documents, Art. 2).
Chinese translation	According to TIPO, the Chinese translation is due within four months for invention and design applications, and within two months for utility model applications, counted from the date the foreign-language documents were filed. An extension may be requested before the period expires, up to a total of six months from that date. The period stated in TIPO’s notice for the individual application governs (TIPO FAQ). If the Chinese translation is not submitted within the specified period, the application will be dismissed. If the translation is submitted before the dismissal decision is served, the application is accepted, but the filing date becomes the date on which the translation was submitted and the foreign-language documents are deemed not to have been filed (Arts. 25(4), 106(4) and 125(4)).
Priority claim	A priority claim must be declared at the time of filing the Taiwan application, stating the filing date of the first application, the country or WTO member in which it was filed, and the application number of the first application (Art. 29(1)).
Priority document	The priority document must be the certified copy issued by the office of first filing. For invention and utility model applications, it must be submitted within 16 months after the earliest priority date, and for design applications within 10 months; otherwise the priority claim is deemed not to have been made (Arts. 29, 120 and 142(3)). These are statutory periods and cannot be extended (TIPO’s examination guidelines, in Chinese). As of October 2026, TIPO exchanges priority documents electronically for priority applications filed in Japan, South Korea, and the United States (TIPO’s section on electronic exchange of priority documents, in Chinese). The exchange with Japan covers invention and utility model applications (since December 2, 2013) and designs (since January 1, 2022); with South Korea, invention and utility model applications (since January 1, 2016) and designs (since July 1, 2023); and with the United States, all patent types (since September 4, 2026). Where the priority application is a national application filed in one of those countries, the priority document can be supplied by electronic exchange; a PCT international application does not qualify. What we need from you to use the exchange, and what happens if it fails, are set out in the Taiwan patent filing checklist.
Applicant, inventors	For each inventor we need the full name and the nationality. The patent application form is completed in traditional Chinese, so a foreign applicant and each inventor need a Chinese name. No assignment or other document proving the right to apply is required when a patent application is filed, even where the applicant is not the inventor (TIPO FAQ). A certificate of incorporation is normally not needed at filing: in patent cases TIPO in principle judges a foreign company’s status from its name, and it may ask for proof of identity or corporate status where it considers it necessary.

Power of attorney

A power of attorney may be filed after the application, and TIPO sets the period in its notice. Under TIPO’s patent examination guidelines (in Chinese) the period is, as a rule, four months for invention and design applications, extendable by two months on a reasoned request filed before it expires; for utility model applications it is two months, extendable by two months and then, on a further reasoned request, another two. As a rule the total does not exceed six months, and the period stated in TIPO’s notice governs. If the power of attorney of an applicant with no domicile or business establishment in Taiwan is not filed within that period, the application is dismissed; a late filing made before TIPO issues the dismissal is still accepted (Patent Act, Art. 17(1)). Periods fixed by the Patent Act itself, such as the period for filing priority documents, are a different matter: they cannot be extended at the applicant’s request unless the Act itself provides otherwise.

Taiwan’s patent and trademark laws and enforcement rules do not require a power of attorney filed with TIPO to be notarized or legalized; what they call for is a signed power of attorney stating the agent’s authority. TIPO may, where it considers it necessary, ask the applicant for documents proving identity or corporate status. This covers proceedings before TIPO only, not powers of attorney for court proceedings.

As a rule, a scanned copy of the signed power of attorney is enough for us to file; it is filed with a statement that it is identical to the original. Please keep the signed original: TIPO may ask to see it, and we will ask you for it if TIPO does. The official position is that, for patent matters, a power of attorney should in principle be the original, but a copy is accepted if the party states that it is identical to the original (Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act, Art. 4). In an electronic filing the power of attorney may be filed as an electronic file stated to be identical to the original, and TIPO may require the original for verification where it considers it necessary (Regulations Governing the Implementation of Filing Patent Applications and Services by Electronic Means, Art. 11).

Who signs, electronic signatures, and the wording TIPO looks for are covered in Power of attorney for Taiwan patent and trademark filings.

Examination

Office actions, response periods, and how long it takes.

The table follows an invention application from filing to decision. Where a period is set by TIPO in its notice and not by statute, the table says so, and the notice governs. The main prosecution periods for patents and trademarks are collected in Taiwan patent and trademark deadlines at a glance.

Invention patent applications · from filing to decision
Step	What applies
Laying open	An invention patent application is laid open (published) after 18 months from its filing date or, where priority is claimed, from the earliest priority date, provided it meets the formality requirements and nothing bars its publication (Patent Act, Art. 37). Design patent applications are not laid open before the grant is published; laying open after 18 months applies only to invention patent applications.
Examination request	For an invention patent application, any person may request substantive examination within three years after the filing date. If no request is filed within that period, the application is deemed to have been withdrawn (Art. 38). A request for substantive examination cannot be withdrawn once it has been filed.
Amendments	The applicant may file amendments on its own initiative at any time before TIPO issues an office action. Once an office action has been issued, amendments may be filed only within the period designated in it (Art. 43(3)). An amendment to the description, claims, or drawings may not extend beyond the scope of what was disclosed in the description, claims, or drawings as filed. The only exception is the correction of translation errors (Art. 43(2)).
Office action	When TIPO issues an office action (a notification of reasons for refusal), it normally sets the time to respond at two months for applicants residing in Taiwan and three months for applicants residing in other countries, after the date on which the notification is served. This is a period designated by TIPO, not one fixed by statute; the period stated in the notice governs (TIPO FAQ). If no response is filed within the designated period, TIPO renders a decision of rejection (Art. 46(2)).
Extension	According to TIPO (TIPO FAQ; patent Q&A, in Chinese), the applicant may request one extension of the response period: two months for applicants residing in Taiwan and three months for applicants residing in other countries, so that the total designated period does not, in principle, exceed four months and six months respectively. An extension may be requested, with reasons stated, before the designated period expires (Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act, Art. 6).
Final notice	TIPO may issue a final notice where it considers it necessary. After a final notice, the claims may be amended only within the period designated in that notice, and only to delete claims, narrow the scope of the claims, correct errors, or clarify ambiguous statements (Art. 43(4)).
Rejection	An applicant who disagrees with a decision of rejection on an invention patent application may request reexamination, with a statement of reasons, within two months after the decision is served (Art. 48). A reexamination decision rejecting a patent application may be challenged by administrative appeal and, if the appeal is unsuccessful, by an administrative action; the time limits for both are set out in Taiwan patent and trademark deadlines at a glance.
Divisional	A divisional application from an invention application may be filed before a reexamination decision on the original application is rendered, or within three months after the approval decision on the original application, whether at first instance or on reexamination, is served (Art. 34(2)). The three-month period for filing a divisional application after allowance is a statutory period and cannot be extended (TIPO patent Q&A, in Chinese). A divisional application filed after allowance must be directed to an invention that is disclosed in the description or drawings of the original application and is not the same as the invention in the allowed claims. A divisional application keeps the filing date of the original application and may keep its priority claim.

For a design patent application, TIPO’s published guidance gives the time to respond to an office action as two months for applicants residing in Taiwan and three months for applicants residing in other countries; the period stated in TIPO’s notice governs. Utility models are covered in the next section.

How long it takes

For 2025, TIPO reported an average first office action pendency of 8.0 months and an average disposal pendency of 13.8 months for invention patent applications (TIPO Annual Report 2025). For invention patents, TIPO measures both figures from the filing of the request for substantive examination, not from the filing date of the application, and the figures cover first-instance examination. For design patent applications it reported an average first office action pendency of 4.7 months and an average disposal pendency of 5.7 months. These figures, like the utility model figures below, are TIPO’s published averages for 2025, not a forecast for any individual case. More on timing is in How long does a Taiwan patent or trademark take?

Faster examination

TIPO’s fast-track channels for invention patent applications currently include the following; each has its own requirements, set out in the official source cited.

Accelerated Examination Program (AEP): available on four grounds set out on TIPO’s AEP page; a request may be filed after TIPO has notified the applicant that substantive examination or reexamination is about to begin.
Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH): TIPO runs PPH programs with partner patent offices, in two forms, Normal PPH and PPH MOTTAINAI; TIPO’s PPH page lists the current programs and links to the guidelines for each.
Prioritized examination (Patent Act, Art. 40): after an application has been laid open, TIPO may, on request, examine it with priority if a person other than the applicant is commercially exploiting the invention.
TW-Support Using the PPH Agreement (TW-SUPA): for invention patent applications first filed in Taiwan that serve as the priority basis for a corresponding application filed at a PPH partner office.

TIPO also runs pilot programs, each with its own eligibility requirements and a stated trial period. One of them is the Accelerated Examination Pilot Program for Design Patents, whose trial has been extended through December 31, 2026; TIPO will then decide whether to continue or modify the program. The others are listed in How long does a Taiwan patent or trademark take?

Utility models

Utility models: granted after a formality examination.

Utility model applications undergo a formality examination only; patentability is not substantively examined. If the formality examination finds no ground for refusal, the utility model patent is granted and published (Patent Act, Art. 113). No request for examination is needed (TIPO FAQ).

Responding to TIPO: for a utility model application, the time to respond or amend is the period stated in TIPO’s notice; if the applicant does neither within that period, a decision of rejection is rendered (Art. 120, applying Art. 46(2)).
No reexamination stage: a decision not to grant a utility model patent is challenged by administrative appeal.
Divisional applications: a divisional application from a utility model application may be filed before a decision is made on the original application, or within three months after the approval decision on the original application is served (Art. 107(2)).
Timing: for 2025, TIPO reported an average disposal pendency of 2.0 months for utility model patent applications (TIPO Annual Report 2025).

Technical evaluation report

After a utility model patent has been published, any person may request a technical evaluation report on it from TIPO (Art. 115). TIPO’s Q&A (in Chinese) describes the technical evaluation report as a non-binding report, not an administrative decision; it serves only as a reference for exercising the right or using the technology. When exercising a utility model patent right, the patentee may not issue a warning without presenting the technical evaluation report (Art. 116). If a utility model patent is revoked, the patentee is liable for damage caused to others by exercising the patent right before the revocation, unless the right was exercised on the basis of the content of the technical evaluation report and with due care (Art. 117).

A request for a technical evaluation report cannot be withdrawn, and may still be filed after the utility model patent right has been extinguished. Where the request states that a party other than the patentee is commercially exploiting the utility model and encloses supporting documents, TIPO is to issue the report within six months (Art. 115). For 2025, TIPO reported an average completion time of 5.0 months for utility model technical evaluation reports (TIPO Annual Report 2025).

Invention and utility model filed on the same date

An applicant who files an invention application and a utility model application for the same creation on the same date must declare this in each application at the time of filing. If the utility model patent has been granted before the invention application is allowed, TIPO will notify the applicant to choose one of the two within a set period. If the declarations were not made, or no choice is made in time, the invention patent will not be granted. If the invention patent is chosen, the utility model patent right is extinguished on the publication date of the invention patent. The utility model patent must be kept in force until then: if it has already lapsed or been finally revoked before the decision on the invention application, the invention patent will not be granted (Art. 32).

After allowance

Grant, annuities, and challenges to a granted patent.

Grant

After an invention patent application is approved, the applicant must pay the patent certificate fee and the first-year annuity within three months after the approval decision is served. The grant is published only after payment; if the fees are not paid within that period, it is not published (Patent Act, Art. 52(1)). The same three-month payment rule applies to utility model and design patents. An applicant who unintentionally misses the three-month payment deadline may still have the grant published by paying the patent certificate fee and an increased first-year annuity within six months after that deadline expires (Art. 52(4)). An invention patent right takes effect on the date the grant is published.

Annuities

Annuities for an invention patent are counted from the publication date of the grant. The first-year annuity is paid together with the patent certificate fee after approval; the annuity for the second and each later year must be paid before that year begins (Art. 93). It follows that no annuity falls due while an application is pending; the first-year annuity becomes payable only after the application has been approved. Annuities for several years may be paid at one time.

If the annuity for the second or a later year is not paid on time, it may still be paid within six months after the due date, together with a surcharge that is calculated by the month of delay and capped by statute (Patent Act, Art. 94). If the annuity is still unpaid when the six-month late-payment period ends, the patent right is extinguished, with effect from the expiry of the original payment deadline (Art. 70). A patentee who unintentionally failed to pay within the late-payment period may apply to have the patent right reinstated within one year after that period expires, on payment of an increased annuity; TIPO then publishes the reinstatement (Art. 70).

TIPO has no legal duty to notify patentees that an annuity is due. Any reminder it sends is a courtesy, and the patentee remains responsible for paying on time. According to TIPO’s Q&A (in Chinese), as a rule its annuity notices go to the patentee and its agent; for a foreign patentee, only to the agent.

A patentee that is a natural person, a school, or a small or medium enterprise may apply to TIPO for a reduction of patent annuities (Art. 95), and the reduction is open to foreign patentees. The reduction applies only to the first through sixth annuities (Regulations for Reduction and Exemption of Patent Annuities, Art. 4). A foreign enterprise counts as a small or medium enterprise for this purpose if it meets Taiwan’s Standards for Identifying Small and Medium-sized Enterprises. A foreign small or medium enterprise may apply in writing for the reduction, and TIPO may ask for supporting documents where it considers this necessary. According to TIPO, where a patent is jointly owned, the reduction is available only if every patentee qualifies.

Invalidation actions

A granted invention patent can be challenged by an invalidation action filed with TIPO. During the patent term, any person may file one on the grounds listed in Article 71 of the Patent Act; an action based on the ownership grounds (the application was not filed by all joint owners of the right to apply, or the patentee is not the owner of that right) may be filed only by an interested party. The same rule applies to utility model patents (Art. 119) and design patents (Art. 141).

When an invalidation action is filed, the patentee must file a response within one month after TIPO serves a copy of the request (Art. 74). That one-month period may be extended, with TIPO’s approval, if the patentee requests an extension, stating the reasons, before the period expires. The Patent Act does not fix the length of the extension; the period TIPO actually grants governs. What TIPO has said about the length is in Taiwan patent and trademark deadlines at a glance.

Courts

The court of first instance for administrative actions arising under the Patent Act is the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court (Intellectual Property and Commercial Court Organization Act, Art. 3). The court has operated under that name since July 1, 2021; it was previously the Intellectual Property Court. First-instance civil actions arising under the Patent Act fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court. Under the same provision, a court that the parties have agreed on in writing, or a court before which the defendant argues the merits without contesting jurisdiction, also has jurisdiction (Intellectual Property Case Adjudication Act, Art. 9(1), in force since August 30, 2023). The court has Technical Examination Officers who, on a judge’s instructions, assess the technical issues in a case, collect and analyze technical materials, and give opinions (Organization Act, Art. 16).

Working with us

Fees, instructions, and reporting.

Fees are scoped and quoted per matter before work begins. To ask for a quote, see How to send instructions on the For Foreign Associates page.

For a patent application, the official application fee is due when the application is filed (Patent Act, Art. 92). According to TIPO’s English FAQ for patents, non-residents cannot pay official fees to TIPO directly, whether by bank transfer, credit card or check; payment has to be made by an appointed representative who resides or is domiciled in Taiwan, such as a patent attorney.

Jack (Chieh-Kai) Yang, Taiwan Patent Attorney (since 2017), handles the firm’s Taiwan patent prosecution and strategy; his profile lists his qualifications. How to send instructions and how we report TIPO’s notices are set out on the For Foreign Associates page. Before we accept a new matter, we run a conflict-of-interest check.

Statutory references are to the Patent Act, its Enforcement Rules and the other statutes named, in the official English translations on law.moj.gov.tw. The Patent Act was last amended on May 4, 2022 (adding Article 60-1); that amendment took effect on July 1, 2022. Some rules on this page come from TIPO’s examination guidelines, Q&A or annual report rather than from the statutes. Periods that TIPO sets in its notices are given as TIPO states them; the notice in the individual case governs.

Common questions

Taiwan patents: questions foreign applicants ask.

Is Taiwan a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

No. Taiwan is not a member of the PCT. A PCT international application cannot be filed in Taiwan, and it cannot designate Taiwan or enter a national phase in Taiwan. To claim priority, an invention or utility model application must be filed in Taiwan within 12 months after the filing date of the first application; for a design application the period is six months. Under TIPO’s examination guidelines, the period is six months where either the first application or the Taiwan application is a design application. The 12 months are counted from the day following the filing date of the first application up to the filing date accorded in Taiwan.

Can priority be claimed in Taiwan although Taiwan is not a member of the Paris Convention?

Yes. Priority may be claimed in Taiwan from a first application filed in a WTO member or in a country that reciprocally recognizes priority claims with Taiwan (Patent Act, Art. 28). Priority may also be claimed in Taiwan from an application first filed in mainland China; the same priority periods and requirements apply as for any other priority claim.

What if the 12-month priority period has already passed?

A priority claim in an invention or utility model application filed in Taiwan after the 12-month priority period has expired will not be accepted; for a design application the period is six months. The procedure for reinstating a priority claim, which is open until 16 months after the earliest priority date (10 months for designs), is for a claim that was unintentionally left out of, or incompletely declared in, an application filed in time; it does not extend the 12 months. A Taiwan application can still be filed without a priority claim. It is then examined as of its own filing date, so if the earlier application has already been laid open, or its grant has been published, the Taiwan application lacks novelty. If the 12 months are about to expire or have just passed, contact us as early as possible; we review the publication history for each case.

How long does a Taiwan patent last?

The term of an invention patent expires 20 years from the filing date of the application, the term of a utility model patent 10 years from the filing date, and the term of a design patent 15 years from the filing date; a derivative design patent expires at the same time as its original design patent (Patent Act, Arts. 52, 114 and 135). The patent right itself begins on the publication date of the grant. Patent term extension is available only for invention patents for pharmaceuticals (not veterinary drugs), agrichemicals, or their manufacturing processes (Art. 53).

Can a Taiwan patent application be filed in English?

The description, claims and drawings may be filed first in a foreign language, which must be one of the nine languages listed in the regulations, English among them. If the Chinese translation is then submitted within the period specified by TIPO, the filing date is the date on which the foreign-language documents were filed. The application form itself must be completed in Chinese.

What should a patentee have in hand before asserting a Taiwan utility model patent?

Utility model applications undergo a formality examination only; patentability is not substantively examined. When exercising a utility model patent right, the patentee may not issue a warning without presenting the technical evaluation report (Patent Act, Art. 116). If a utility model patent is revoked, the patentee is liable for damage caused to others by exercising the patent right before the revocation, unless the right was exercised on the basis of the content of the technical evaluation report and with due care (Art. 117).

Are annuities payable while a Taiwan patent application is pending?

Annuities for an invention patent are counted from the publication date of the grant. The first-year annuity is paid together with the patent certificate fee after approval; the annuity for the second and each later year must be paid before that year begins (Patent Act, Art. 93). It follows that no annuity falls due while an application is pending; the first-year annuity becomes payable only after the application has been approved.

Insights

Start a Taiwan patent matter.

Please send new instructions and inquiries to info@cc-collab.com.tw with a short description of your matter; we will normally reply by email on the next business day.