TIPS® Taiwan Intellectual Property Special IPO’s Directions for Revision of Existing Intellectual Property Laws
In a media interview given in August, Mr. Min-Pang Chen, Director of the Intellectual Property Office (“IPO”), revealed that the IPO will revise existing laws or launch new practices in the coming year to strengthen intellectual property rights protection:
1. In keeping with the worldwide trend, the Trademark Law will include provisions providing for protection to three-dimensional trademarks, the practice of multiple-category application, abolition of associated trademarks, transference of the right of a trademark on part of the goods covered by its registration, shortening of the opposition period, abolition of eligibility restrictions on interested parties applying for trademark revocation and prohibition of behaviors that dilute the identity of well-known trademarks or injure the good will.
1. The current Trade Secrets Act (“Act”), designed based on provisions in the TRIPs, provides only civil damages. In view that the U.S. Economic Espionage Act prescribes for criminal punishment of imprisonment of up to ten years as well as civil damages of up to US$10,000,000, the Act will be gradually revised towards the direction of grave punishment and hefty damages including the addition of criminal liabilities.
2. To increase the level of transparency in, and to apply information technology to, patent and trademark applications, the IPO has drafted an internal operation guideline for the review of applications. Furthermore, the IPO has obtained the approval of the Executive Yuan (Taiwan's cabinet) to include in the IPO's on-line search system patent-related records and documentation from international patent organizations in the U.S., Japan and Europe. These materials not only will facilitate industry users looking up patent-related information, but will also greatly reduce the time spent by members of the review board in searching for patent documentation.
3. In view that famous Taiwanese brand names are often registered by another party in China (note: For example, the well-known Cash Box KTV trademark was registered by another Chinese enterprise with head office in Shanghai, China), the IPO will hold regular seminars to introduce the relevant laws and systems of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) to Taiwanese enterprises. In addition, the Ministry of Economic Affairs will also make suggestion to the Mainland Affairs Council of the Executive Yuan that an Agreement on Cross-Strait Intellectual Property Rights Protection be signed expeditiously so as to afford greater protection to Taiwanese enterprises.
4. The drafted amendment on patent law includes elimination of patent-of-addition related provisions, simplification of execution requirement in the case of joint-ownership, domestic priority claiming, earlier disclosure…etc. The English version of the amendment will be available through our web site http://www.tsailee.com.tw or TIPS as soon as it passes legislation. |