Traditional and Non-traditional Taiwan Trademarks

Taiwan Trademark Act included non-traditional trademarks (three-dimensional shape, single colour and sound trademarks) for the first time in 2003. In order to cope with the fast-changing business environment around the world, Taiwan Trademark Act was amended again in 2011. The Trademark Act now covers any sign that is capable of being recognized as an indication of the source of goods or services. The protection includes but is not limited to trademarks consisting of words, designs, symbols, colours, three-dimensional shapes, motions, holograms, sounds, or any combination thereof.

WORD MARKS

A word mark consists exclusively of words or letters, numerals, other standard typographic characters or a combination thereof that can be typed. A word mark should be reproduced in a standard typeface or font without any design.


(Trademark Holder: National Taiwan University)

DESIGN MARKS

A design mark consists of figures, logos, labels, words or a combination thereof. It is also called a “device mark”.


(Trademark Holder: Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation)

SYMBOL MARKS

A symbol mark is a sign consists of symbols, numerals and words.


(Trademark Holder: Gourmet Master Co. Ltd.)

COLOUR MARKS

A colour trademark is a sign simply consisting of a single colour or a combination of colours. If a trademark contains colour(s) and yet people do not recognise the particular goods/services by its colour(s), it is deemed as a design or word trademark.


(Trademark Holder: Kuo-Kuang Motor Transportation Company Ltd.)

THREE-DIMENSIONAL SHAPES MARKS

A three-dimensional shape mark is a sign with three-dimensional shape that has length, width, and height in three dimensions.


(Trademark Holder: Tatung Company)

MOTIONS MARKS

A motion trademark refers to a sequence of moving images. The motion trademark protects the overall commercial impression established by such moving images, and has the function to identify the source of goods/services.


(Trademark Holder: Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co., Inc.)

HOLOGRAMS MARKS

A hologram trademark is made up of multiple images on a negative, which are stored via technology designs and can identify the source of goods or services. The images are three dimensions either in multiple pictures or one picture only, and the color of the pictures varies depending on the different perspectives. A hologram is often used as an anti-counterfeiting label for money notes, credit cards or other valuable products and can also be found on product packaging or ornamentation.


(Trademark Holder: President Pharmaceutical Corp.)

SOUNDS MARKS

A sound trademark is a distinctive short sound or a melody that identifies the source of goods/services. A sound trademark may contain music (e.g., a series of tones or a small part of a song) or non-music matters (e.g., narrator's voice or roar of a lion), and the sound must be reproducible graphically.

Trademark: PAOLYTA C Advert Theme Song


(Trademark Holder: Paolyta Co., Ltd)

OTHER NON-TRADITIONAL TRADEMARKS

If the applicant decides to file an application for registration of a non-traditional trademark that is not given in the Taiwan Trademark Examination Guidelines or Trademark Act, the applicant must furnish the reproduction of the trademark.

Example: Position trademarks - If the specific position is an important feature of the trademark, colour trademarks or three-dimensional trademarks can be indicated on a specific position of certain goods or services.


In this trademark, red, blue and white stripes are affixed to the tail of an airplane. (Trademark Holder: American Airlines, Inc.)

HOW WE CAN HELP

Our trademark team is experienced in all aspects of obtaining and protecting a trademark, from trademark prosecution to handling infringements, appeals and litigations before the Taiwan IP Office and the courts. We are capable to give you the most secure protection on your trademark and intellectual property rights. Contact us if you wish to find out more about IP protection.

Login

Login Success