Taiwan Patent

Dual Filing

　According to the Taiwan Patent Act, an inventor, a utility model creator, a designer, or the assignee or successor thereof has the right to apply for a patent to the Intellectual Property Office by himself/herself or the patent attorney designed by him/her.

　If an applicant who has no domicile or business establishment in Taiwan shall designate an attorney to file patent applications and handle patent-related matters on his/her behalf.

Taiwan patents usually include invention, utility model and design patents.

Patent Authority	Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO)
Types	Invention	Utility Model	Design
Subject Matter	The creation of technical ideas, utilizing the laws of nature.	The shape or structure of an article or combination of articles.	The shape, pattern, color, or any combination thereof, of an article as a whole or in part by visual appeal.
Terms of Protection	20 years from the filling date.	10 years from the filling date.	15 years¹ from the filling date.
Priority Claiming	Within 12 months from the 1^st filling date.	Within 12 months from the 1^st filling date.	Within 6 months from the 1^st filling date.
Substantive Examination	Any person within 3 years from the filling date.	No. (Formality examination)	No, it automatically proceeds while completion of the filing.
International Application²	✕²	✕²	✕
Technical evaluation report	N/A	YES	N/A

Note:
◆Effective from November 1, 2019, the protection period for designs has been extended to 15 years.
◆Taiwan is not a signatory to the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty), which means it cannot initiate PCT patent applications nor be designated as a PCT member country. However, Taiwan does accept foreign priority claims based on PCT applications.
◆According to the Taiwan Patent Act, an inventor, a utility model creator, a designer, or the assignee or successor thereof has the right to apply for a patent to the Intellectual Property Office by himself/herself or the patent.
◆If an applicant who has no domicile or business establishment in Taiwan shall designate an attorney to file patent applications and handle patent-related matters on his/her behalf.