Patent Law: How to Protect Your Invention in Taiwan
專利工程師暨法務專員 林春宏
美国柏克莱加州大学 分子生物学士
美国柏克莱加州大学 信息管理 硕士
加拿大英属哥伦比亚大学 法律博士
2012-12-06


If you are interested in protecting your invention in Taiwan, you should consider applying for a patent in Taiwan.  Even if you have previously obtained a patent for your invention in another country, you still need to apply for a patent in Taiwan if your ultimate goal is to protect your invention in Taiwan, because patent law is territorial and is granted by the national authority of a specific jurisdiction.  In other words, a patent issued by another country or jurisdiction is not valid in Taiwan.  Therefore, the best way to achieve your goal of protecting your invention in Taiwan is to file a patent application and successfully receive a patent in Taiwan.
 
A patent is a type of intellectual property right granted by the Government of Taiwan, Republic of China (R.O.C.) to an inventor to exclude others from making or selling the invention in Taiwan or importing the invention into Taiwan.  The Patent Act (amended in 2011) is the current law that deals with patent application, patentability, substantive examination, claim of priority, re-examination, and various other patent-related issues.
 
According to the Patent Act (2011), the term “patent” can be classified into three categories: (1) invention patents, (2) utility model patents and (3) design patents.  To successfully receive a patent from the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), a patent application must satisfy the statutory requirements of patentability.  An applicant may designate a patent agent or patent attorney to file patent applications or handle patent-related matters on his or her behalf.
 
 
References:
Taiwan Patent Act (2011)
http://www.tipo.gov.tw/ch/NodeTree.aspx?path=43
http://www.tipo.gov.tw/en/AllInOne_Show.aspx?path=2531&guid=98c50f60-3afd46ec-9a13-14289d2ba135&lang=en-us