TIPO Offers New Examination Services for Design Patents

TIPO is expanding the range of examination services for design patents, including options for accelerated examination and simultaneous adjustment of the deferred examination period for design patents:

I. Accelerated Examination: To combat design infringement and assist design competition winners and new startups obtain rights to their design creations as quickly as possible, TIPO will begin accepting applications for accelerated examination of design patents from September 1. Applicants that meet one of the following criteria are eligible to receive examination results within two months of submitting a complete application:

i. Third party commercial exploitation.

ii. Design has been recognized by prestigious international or national design awards. TIPO recognizes the following design awards as prestigious: Taiwan's Golden Pin Design Award, Germany's iF Design Award, Germany's Red Dot Design Award, Japan's Good Design Award, and the United States' International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA).

iii. Applications from new startup enterprises.

II. Deferred Examination: To accommodate the commercialization timelines for foreign designs in Taiwan, TIPO has also amended regulations for the deferred examination period for design patents. Regardless of whether priority rights are claimed, the deferred examination period will now uniformly be set within one year from the application date. Applicants are welcome to make greater use of this provision.

Source: TIPO