2019 Annual Report Intellectual Property Office

V. IPR CREATION AND USE IPR Capability Certification TIPO held 2 information sessions on IPR Personnel Professional Capability and Certification Examination to promote the professional certification system of IPR practices and fill IP practitioners' gap between theory and practice. In July, the capability certification exams on patent and trademark were held. Of these, a total of 366 people registered for the professional capability certification exam on patent, with 70 people passing and obtaining the certificate. In the exam on trademark, there were 436 registrations, with 59 people passing and obtaining the certificate. Pre-employment and On-the-job Training for Patent Attorneys Patent Laws Laws and Practices 06 IPR Awareness Campaigns In May, TIPO held 5 information sessions on "The 2019 Advocacy Event for the Examination Guidelines on Unity of Invention as well as on Biology-related Invention Patent Applications," with a total of 315 people in attendance. The sessions introduced ways to determine unity of invention as well as specific types and discourses of biology-related invention. TIPO subsequently posted its feedback to public opinions on the official website. In November, TIPO held an information session on the amended Examination Guidelines following the amendment to the Patent Act in 2019 to give an overview of the key revisions in the Guidelines. TIPO is planning to organize more information sessions in 2020. Pre-employment Training for Patent Attorneys In 2017, the Taiwan Patent Attorneys Association (TWPAA) commissioned by TIPO began organizing pre-employment training courses to allow for more relevant practices and live up to the guiding principle of self-governance. TIPO asked TWPAA to continue organizing training sessions to quickly familiarize novice patent attorneys with patent practices. In 2019, a total of 101 trainees completed training. Current patent attorney and agents are required to take on-the-job training courses for at least twelve hours every two years t o enhance spec i f i c knowl edge . TIPO conducts a yearly audit and notifies those having to make up for insufficient hours. In addition, TIPO updated the "Q&A for on-the- job training" in March and provided training course information on its website. All of these are aimed at increasing patent agents' professionalism and quality of services. 2019 TIPOANNUAL REPORT 67