IP Court Judges Set Apart from Court of First Instance to Appellate Court

From July 1st 2011, three new judges were added to the IP Court, bringing the number of IP judges to share the caseload of the Court to twelve.  Most importantly, the Court adopted a new practice by setting apart judges who hear civil court cases of first instance from those who sit for the appellate court.  It is believed that the new practice is being implemented as a response to concerns over the interests of trial level within the Court.

Taiwan’s IP Court is known to have jurisdiction over IP disputes arising from the Patent Act, Trademark Act, Copyright Act, Optical Disk Act, Semiconductor Chip Circuit Layout Protection Act, Plant Variety and Seed Act, and Fair Trade Law, as well as Trademark and Secrecy matters under the Code of Criminal Act.  The Court hears the appellate instance of an administrative litigation and that of a criminal proceeding, as well as the first and appellate instances of a civil action, if parties at disputes have no agreement otherwise. 

However, prior to July 1st, the nine IP judges had to hear and adjudicate cases across administrative, civil and criminal courts, and between civil court of first instance and appellate court.  Judges hearing cases of different level had some expressing concerns with respect to whether the trial-level interests would be deprived when a civil case was appealed to the appellate level.  In the case where two civil actions involve the same patent, one is heard at the first instance while the other is appealed to the appellate court, such that two cases at different court levels may be heard by the same IP judge.  Possible issues of prejudice may be raised by cross-level adjudication and questioning of the Court’s justice was unavoidable.

Moreover, a judge at the appellate court may disagree or revoke a judgment rendered by his/her colleague at the first instance, while his/her colleague sitting at the appellate level may likewise disagree or revoke his/her first instance judgment.  Thus it would raise issues over inconsistent opinions rendered by the appellate court with respect to the same patent in different civil actions.

Following the addition of new judges in July, the mixed adjudication over cases of different level will no longer exist.  For all IP cases, this is believed a further step toward justice, and the judgments of the Court will be more compelling.