2019 Annual Report Intellectual Property Office

In trademark laws, TIPO held public hearings to listen to feedback on the partially amended Trademark Act. The amendment aims to create a well-rounded legal environment by introducing the mechanism of accelerated examination and the management of trademark attorneys and agents, as well as expanding the eligibility of applicants to groups other than juridical persons. Optimizing Examination Efficiency and Quality The average disposal pendency for invention patent and trademark applications was within 14 and 7 months respectively. On the basis of this stable examination efficiency, TIPO added the Patent Examination Quality Feedback webpage to seek public feedback, and for the first time conducted a survey on patent examination efficiency and quality. According to survey results, about 90% of the respondents said overall examination quality was better than the previous year. In the e-payment system, a mobile payment service was introduced to facilitate convenient and expeditious transactions. Comprehensive Support for Industrial Innovation and Development TIPO is dedicated to providing comprehensive user-friendly search tools to meet the growing needs for domestic industries to establish R&D and develop global IP portfolios. Sources of patent information continued to be expanded in the global patent search system (GPSS). This search system is a free platform for the public to access and analyze more than 75 million entries of patent information from TIPO, IP5, WIPO, and over 90 IP offices worldwide. In addition, patent search functionality of the Taiwan Patent Search System (TWPAT) was also upgraded. At the same time, TIPO continued to extend its IP support services to help start-ups and local SMEs. These services include sending patent examiners to domestic companies for learning and exchange of patent services and technologies, hosting seminars to inspire potential patent applicants in financial, optoelectronics and communications sectors, and providing customized courses for the industries. Furthermore, TIPO continued to coordinate between domestic advertising agencies and Google to deter online infringement. Strengthening Taiwan-Japan and Taiwan-US IP Cooperation and Deepening International Cooperation In January, TIPO and the JPO signed an MOU on Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH), which will replace the current PPH pilot by a permanent PPH program, and a MOU on Design Patent Priority Document Exchange (PDX) to expand international participation and help residents further their businesses overseas. These programs will enable TIPO and the JPO to provide more efficient and convenient examination services to applicants. As to deepening cooperation with the US, the TIPO-USPTO Exchange of Best Practices on Trademark Examination was held for the first time in Taiwan. The two sides also held a seminar on preventing digital infringement and practices in trade secret protection and enforcement. 2019 3 TIPOANNUAL REPORT