TIPS^®  Taiwan Intellectual Property Special

Examination Priority of Litigation-Involved Invalidation Case

Article 90 of the Patent Law provides that any civil litigation that involves patent application or invalidation, the court may stay or suspend civil litigation until the application or litigation reaches a final decision. In general, the defendant in the litigation may initiate an invalidation action to delay the civil proceeding by invoking Article 90.

Therefore, in this New Patent Law, a preventive measure is added to prevent an invalidation action that is brought for undue interference of the patent litigation proceeding. In deciding whether to stay the civil proceeding, the court should consider the legitimacy of the invalidation brought against the patent at issue. In the meantime, the TIPO should examine the invalidation that involves litigation on a priority basis.