USTR announces Taiwan's removal from USTR's annual Special 301 Watch List

On January 17, 2009, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) announced Taiwan's removal from the USTR's annual Special 301 Watch List, after the conclusion of an Out-of-Cycle (OCR) Review. This marks the first time since 1998 that Taiwan has been left off Special 301 list.
In the 2008 Special 301 Report released on April 25, 2008, the USTR announced Taiwan would remain on the annual Watch List with an OCR attached. After an intensive, eight-month review, the USTR revealed the decision to remove Taiwan from the Watch List, citing Taiwan's much improved efforts toward IPR protection.
According to the USTR, Taiwan has continued to make great strides in the last eight years in strengthening IPR enforcement and legislation. it has transformed from what the U.S. called "a haven for pirates" in 2001 to today's world-class center for innovation and research. The decision by the USTR to remove Taiwan from the Special 301 Watch List is testament not only to the commitment Taiwan has made in protecting IPR, but also to the strong, long-term partnership between US and Taiwan. It is hoped that Taiwan continues its efforts in IPR protection and that both parties can make similar progress in other trade relations.
The USTR report noted considerable progress has been made by Taiwan in the three key areas in which the U.S. urged improvement: the establishment of an IP court, the implementation of campus IPR measures, and successful legislation of the ISP Bill amended to the Copyright Act.
Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) believes that protecting IP rights is not only a responsibility to the world, but helps improve Taiwan's development of industry at home and competitiveness abroad. Because of these beliefs, MOEA has taken an active role in recent years to develop IPR protective policies and measures; these objectives, in turn, have garnered both significant results and international praise.
MOEA welcomes USTR's recognition of these efforts and its decision to remove Taiwan from the Special 301 Watch List. These recent achievements are the product of hard work and cooperation between private institutions and all branches of government ¡V most notably the Judicial Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, and the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, National Police Agency, and Directorate General of Customs of the Executive Yuan. MOEA would like to thank each of these agencies for their help in accomplishing this goal. However, since IPR protection is an established policy of Taiwan's government, MOEA acknowledges that these same efforts must continue into the future. MOEA will use these recent successes as a foundation to continue its mission of protecting IP rights.


TIPO launches the "Mechanism for Accelerating Patent Examination Procedure" on January 1, 2009

In light of the growing number of invention patent applications and the lack of Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) agreements with foreign patent offices, TIPO has developed its own new set of procedures based on the PPH system to help accelerate the speed of patent examination in Taiwan. Invention patent applicants can now submit scope of patents and other relevant documents from recently-published or soon-to-be-published applications in other countries to give TIPO examiners a broader source of reference and help expedite the examination process.
Applicants planning to apply for Accelerating Patent Examination Procedure need to provide all required documents and meet the following two criteria: the applicant has received notification from TIPO of the upcoming substantive examination or re-examination, and the corresponding patent from abroad must have already been approved by the patent office of that country.
Although the majority of foreign patent offices limit the use of the PPH system to applications which have yet to commence prosecution (i.e. the respective patent office has not sent out an examination notice to applicants), there are no such limitations under TIPO's new express examination system: all invention patents currently under examination may apply for the new express service. If at the time the express examination is requested, the applicant has received notification from TIPO's examiner to narrow the scope of the patent and has done so, then the applicant should refrain from using the approved foreign patent that has a larger scope than the one amended in Taiwan as grounds for express examination.
In most patent cases, TIPO will send out a notice of examination results (including examination comments notice and written examination decision) no more than six months after receiving all required documents from the applicant. However, the actual waiting period will depend on the specific technical fields of each case. Applicants can download and complete the "Application for Accelerating Patent Examination Procedure, located on the "Patent Applications FAQ" section of the TIPO website, before submitting the application (available in Chinese only). The express examination service is initially scheduled for a trial period of one year and may be continued pending a future review.

TIPO announces 2009 "Triple E" plan

TIPO has recently unveiled the "Triple E Plan", a new policy focus for 2009 aiming to promote the three "E"s of Examination, Excellence, and Enforcement. The goals of these three themes entail the following:
Examination: TIPO will focus on strengthening the efficiency of patent examinations by way of three major objectives: raising the number of examination personnel, ensuring a standard level of examination quality, and increasing the number of new applications processed (a goal is set at 50,000 applications for 2009).
Excellence: This objective refers to the goal of fortifying the legal structure of IPR in Taiwan, through completing amendments to the Patent Act and Trademark Act, and promoting successful legislation of the Copyright Act's new ISP Liabilities Bill and the amended Copyright Intermediary Organization Regulations. TIPO places the utmost priority on these amendments to the Patent, Trademark and Copyright Acts. Their successful signings into law would prove tremendously beneficial to the implementation and protection of IPR in Taiwan industries.
Enforcement: TIPO will strive to increase copyright awareness and strengthen enforcement via the following three methods: improving mechanisms of copyright licensing use (such as advocating proper, legal use of copyright and sound mechanisms for intermediary licensing); promoting the new 2009-2011 IPR Action Plan to emphasize investigation of counterfeiting and to ensure the assets of industry; and coordinating with prosecutors, police and the courts to strengthen the judicial system and ensure the protection of IP rights. Through preventing licensing disputes, increasing awareness of copyright, intensifying anti-counterfeiting investigations and providing more effective judicial protection, the prospects for investment by industry in Taiwan will be much enhanced.
Each year, TIPO receives an average of 80,000 new patent applications and 60,000 new trademark applications. The increased importance put on patent and trademark applications, examinations and rights protection by industry reflect industry¡¦s growing dependence on patent implementation as a vital tool for market competition. Yet this recognition of IPR's importance is countered by the Internet boom of recent years and the major threat this technology creates for copyrighted work online. TIPO understands this threat, believing that ensuring a safe, top-notch environment for IPR protection is the most effective way to encourage industrial investment and maintain industrial competitiveness.
The challenges facing TIPO today are numerous and wide-ranging. The numbers of patent examiners must be replenished, as personnel shortages at TIPO in recent years have had a negative effect on examination efficiency, prolonging waiting periods for obtaining patent rights and stunting the development of industry. Comprehensive amendments to the Patent, Trademark, and Copyright Acts must be drafted and promoted by listening to the needs of industry. Updated copyright licensing mechanisms must be developed to improve the relationship between copyright holders and users. And intensive training in investigation techniques must be continued to combat new, advanced counterfeiting methods. TIPO's new Triple E Plan represents a list of concrete plans and measures to meet these challenges and improve the landscape of IP protection in Taiwan, stimulating innovation and increasing Taiwan¡¦s competitiveness abroad.