Date: 1 July, 2021

Wisdom is featured in the cover story “George Huang and Kai Furihata on Taiwan Intellectual Property Trends”, of Invention Magazine July 2021 issue published by the Japan Institute for Promoting Invention and Innovation (JIII). Invention interviewed Wisdom’s Director, George Huang (Attorney at Law / Patent Attorney) and Head of Patent Department Kai Furihata (Japan Patent Attorney) on the latest intellectual property developments in Taiwan.

Invention is the monthly magazine of JIII which covers hot topics of patent, trademarks, copyrights and other intellectual property rights (homepage of the Invention Magazine). Formerly the Industrial Property Magazine first launched in 1905, Invention has more than 100-year history and is highly-reputed among the intellectual property professionals and in-house counsel in Japan.

Japan and Taiwan have been increasing close recently in economic, cultural, sports and other aspects. According to the tourism bureaus of the two countries, before the outbreak of COVID-19, the number of Japanese visiting Taiwan and Taiwanese visiting Taiwan reached a record high in 2019. In the economic aspect, Taiwan is Japan's 4th largest trade partner, just behind China, the United States and South Korea. Such friendly ties between Japan and Taiwan have opened up an opportunity for the JIII’s interview with our colleagues.

Statistics released by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office show that the trademark applications have increased every year, and Japan ranked first in invention and design patent applications filed by non-residents. In view of the continuous growth, this interview “George Huang and Kai Furihata on Taiwan Intellectual Property Trends” starts with introducing basic information about the Taiwan intellectual property system, namely the patent attorney and the proposed trademark agent system, and IP registration process in Taiwan. Then the interview focuses on the Taiwan intellectual property development in recent years, and the differences between the IP framework in Japan and Taiwan. George and Kai also provide an in-depth analysis of notable court decisions and possible future changes to for Taiwan intellectual property system. They further explain the reason of high volume of utility model patents in Taiwan as compared to Japan, and the advantages of utility model patents.

On the other hand, this interview also explores how foreign companies can claim priority for patents and trademarks in Taiwan, which is not a party to the Paris Convention nor a member country of the Madrid Agreement or Protocol. Finally, the interview concluded with the potential impact of the "New Southbound Policy (Taiwan’s regional economic and trade strategy for Asia)" on intellectual property.

Full PDF version of the cover story is available at the end of the page.