【Volume 117】

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) will accept requests for accelerating examination of design patents starting from September 1, 2023¹. Currently it takes 6-10 months to examine a design patent application, and the new program is expected to effectively shortened the wait time.

Below is a brief overview of the Accelerated Examination Program for Design Patents:

(1) Application Timing:

During the period after receiving the TIPO Official Notification that the examination is about to be conducted, and before receiving the first Office Action.

(2) Conditions:

Condition 1: Commercial implementation by a third party

Condition 2: The claimed design has received prestigious design awards domestically or internationally

The accepted design awards are as follows:

i. Golden Pin Design Award (Taiwan)

ii. iF Design Award (Germany)

iii. Red Dot Design Award (Germany)

iv. Good Design Award (Japan)

v. International Design Excellence Awards, IDEA (USA)

Condition 3: Design Patent application from startups

Companies registered under the Taiwan Company Act or foreign laws with less than 8 years of establishment are limited to 3 applications per year.

(3) Fees:

During the trial period (September 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023), no official fee will be charged.

(4) Examination Timeline:

After requesting for accelerated examination and providing relevant documents, an applicant can receive the examination results within 2 months.

[1] https://www.tipo.gov.tw/tw/cp-85-925650-1fdcd-1.html