Green Patent Fast Track Opens in Taiwan

March 11th, 2014 by Eric Lane Leave a reply »

It’s been a while since a national intellectual property office has seen fit to open a fast lane for green technology patent applications.  So the recent announcement out of Taiwan is welcome news.

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) now includes green technology as a new category of application or invention eligible for expedited examination under TIPO’s existing Accelerated Examination Program (AEP).

TIPO is defining green technologies broadly (as I have argued is important for boosting participation in these programs); the application is eligible if the invention is:

  • related to energy saving, new energy or automobiles powered by new energy;
  • related to energy saving and carbon reduction

One drawback of TIPO’s fast track program is its publication requirement; to qualify for the AEP a patent application must have published before the applicant makes the AEP request.

Because Taiwan is not a PCT contracting state (i.e., it does not participate in the international patent application system), non-Taiwanese applicants must file their applications in TIPO within one year of their original home country filing date.  And because patent applications typically publish 18 months after their original filing date, that means non-Taiwanese applicants must wait an extra six months or so after filing their application in Taiwan to request expedited examination there.

The TIPO fee for accelerated examination of a green technology patent application is NT$4000 (about $134 USD), and the applicant need only submit a written request explaining that the invention in the subject patent application relates to green technology.

The time saved under the AEP is substantial.  According to this article, it takes about 29 months to receive a first office action during ordinary examination in TIPO; under the AEP TIPO issues a first office action in about nine months.

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