Examination Deferral Available for Invention Patent Application 

published on 21 Jul 2015

After taking into considerations the strategic aspect of patent application, implementation, and commercialization, starting on April 1^st 2015, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) is allowing examination of invention patent to be deferred without requiring additional fee. The application of invention patent subject to any of the following conditions, however, cannot defer the examination procedure:

¬    Examination decision has been rendered or an office action has been issued;

¬    Division of application has been requested;

¬    Substantive examination has been requested by a third party;

¬    AEP or PPH application has been applied for.

The request for examination deferral should be addressed at the time of requesting for substantive examination, or after the substantive examination request is made but within 3 years after the filing date of the patent application. For patent applications with priority claims, the request shall be made no later than 3 years after the date of application filed in Taiwan.

Deferral of examination does not affect the publication date of patent application. The applicant may withdraw request for examination deferral but may not reapply for the same deferral again. The applicant after the request for examination deferral may alter the date to resume substantive examination, but the altered date shall not go beyond the time period prescribed, namely "within three years after the filing date."  

For any questions relating to this topic, please contact us at cjchen@tsailee.com.tw