TIPO to Waive Publication Prerequisite for PPH and AEP
Since April 1 of 2016, applicants who wish to expedite Taiwanese invention patent applications through either the PPH[1] or AEP[2] route, publication of the invention applications is no longer required .
TIPO previously required the pending application to be published before being eligible for accelerated examination under the PPH and AEP processes. Specifically, patent applications which are not yet published upon a request for acceleration shall be requested for early publication. Along with the publication request an official fee of NT$1,000 would apply.
Since backlog clearance has successfully met TIPO’s aimed expectations, and that the pendency period continues to reduced each year[3], TIPO has available capacity to initiate substantive examination for an application before it is published[4], after the applicant’s request for PPH or AEP. Some major jurisdictions such as the USPTO, JPO, and KIPO do not regard early publication as a part of the requirement for PPH eligibility. Hence, the publication prerequisite for PPH is either redundant or is of no advantage for international harmonization.
By waiving the publication prerequisite, not only the applicant is free from being charged of some fees but each acceleration program becomes more accessible to the applicants.
The table below briefly summarizes the requirements for PPH and AEP eligibility:
[1] Thus far, TIPO has reached into bilateral PPH agreements with USPTO, JPO, KIPO, and the Spanish OEPM.
[2] Short for Accelerated Examination Programs, Taiwan’s own acceleration scheme supplementary to the PPH, applicable to all foreign counterparts of Taiwan applications.
[3]At the end of 2015 the pendency was 15 months for issuance of first OA and 23 months to allowance/rejection.
[4] 18 months from the filing date or the earliest priority date, if any.
[5]Disclaimer: as an illustration in brief, each item listed herein do not completely represent all detailed requirements of the same.
|