TIPS^®  Taiwan Intellectual Property Special

The Ministry of Economic Affairs Announced the Draft Bill of Regulation on the Management of CD-R Product

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (“MOEA”) on March 13 announced the Draft Bill of Regulation on the Management of CD-R Product (“Regulation”). The MOEA will call for public hearings to review the Regulation and will submit to the Legislative Yuan (Taiwan’s Legislative Branch) in April in order to prohibit the piracy of CD-R products.

Pursuant to the Regulation, the authority in charge of the management of CD-R products, including manufacturing, sales and distribution, is the MOEA. Any company wishes to manufacture CD-R products shall apply, with the MOEA, for the grant of CD-R source identification number, for the approval of CD-R factory, the import and/or transfer of the manufacturing machine before starting to put in practice. Moreover, the Regulation empowers the authority in charge of entering the CD-R factory to inspect the legality of the manufacturing.

The Regulation provides that, should the CD-R manufacturer fail to apply with the MOEA for grant of CD-R identification number, the manufacturer will be punished with a fine of neither less than NT$30,000 nor more than NT$150,000 and the seizure of the CD-R products. If the CD-R manufacturer set up a factory without the MOEA’s approval, the MOEA shall have the right to order the manufacturer to desist further manufacturing and the manufacturer will be punished with a fine of neither less than NT$60,000 nor more than NT$300,000.

It is believed that this Regulation can provide a regime to effectively manage the manufacture and distribution of CD-R products and prevent piracy behaviors.