Intellectual Property Rights

As introduced by the Taiwan Yearbook 2007:

Taiwan has adopted aggressive policies to protect intellectual property rights (IPR) and facilitate research and innovation as part of an overall strategy to foster the local knowledge-based economy and boost global competitiveness. Since the 1990s, the government has taken steps to build a sound legal infrastructure for IPR protection. In 1999, the National Bureau of Standards was reorganized into the Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Optical Disk Act was implemented in 2001, while the Copyright Act, the Patent Act, and the Trademark Act have been revised several times to bring Taiwan's IPR protection into conformity with WTO's TRIPS Agreement and other international conventions. IP Action Year in 2002 was followed by a comprehensive IPR action plan covering 2003 to 2005.

Legislative and policy efforts have been matched by resolute action. In 2003, a special committee was set up under the Ministry of Justice to coordinate police, investigators, and prosecutors in enforcing IPR laws and regulations. An integrated enforcement team of 220 police officers has been organized as an IPR task force to crack down on piracy, particularly of optical disks. Border control measures are also in place to stop the export of pirated optical disks. Finally, recognizing that the war against piracy can only be won with popular support, the government has begun to educate the public on the importance of protecting intellectual property rights.

In 2006, the Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Economic Affairs streamlined its services in order to achieve its major objectives of protecting intellectual property rights (IPR) through legislation and enhancing the quality and efficiency of patent and trademark reviews.

As of the end of 2006, there were more than 80,000 patent and over 65,000 trademark applications in Taiwan. The country ranked fourth for the number of US patents granted to foreign applicants worldwide in 2006. It ranked third in terms of US patents per capita, behind the United States and Japan.

The newly revised IPR Action Plan (2006-2008) is being implemented to coordinate the IPR protection efforts of different government agencies in response to intellectual crimes and international development trends. Joint efforts by prosecutors, police, investigators, and the Joint Optical Disk Enforcement Taskforce (JODE) to crack down on piracy and IPR infringement have won international recognition.

The Judicial Yuan completed drafting the IP Court Organic Act and IP Case Proceeding Act in December 2005, which was promulgated on March 28, 2007. In conjunction with the establishment of the IP Court in 2007, the act is expected to pave the way for more effective, efficient resolution of IPR-related disputes.

Here are some interesting articles to read:

• Taiwan to launch intellectual property court (May 14, 2008)
• Bill on establishing IPR judges passes preliminary review (December 12, 2006)