A foreign applicant can file a Taiwan patent application claiming priority of a basic foreign application by submitting a certified priority document from foreign countries. The priority document should be an original document issued by a foreign governmental IP office proving the application with its date as filed. However, if said foreign IP office has signed electronic priority document exchange program (PDX) with Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), then the applicant needs not to submit such paper priority document. This can simplify the filing process for applicants from Taiwan and said foreign country/region, to save cost and time of requesting or filing the paper certified copy of priority document.
Taiwan has been bilateral partnering with Japan and Korea on PDX program over the past years. TIPO first started PDX program for invention and utility model applications with JPO on December 2, 2013, and then with KIPO on January 1, 2016. Recently TIPO announced that the PDX program with JPO and KIPO will be extended to design applications. PDX program on design applications between TIPO and JPO will start on January 1, 2022, while the same between TIPO and KIPO is planned to implement in July 2023.
Per Taiwan patent statistics in 2020, there are 13247 applications from Japanese applicants and 1882 applications from Korean applicants. Among these filings, the design applications filed by Japanese and Korean applicants are 1071 and 141, respectively. For 2020 foreign design filings by Taiwanese applicants, there were 236 and 53 applications filed in Japan and Korea, respectively. Hence the above PDX program covering invention, utility model and design applications will benefit the applicants from Taiwan, Japan, and Korea.
Under the PDX program, the applicant shall need to state the filing date, filing number, country/region, and access code of the priority case when claiming priority at the time of filing a patent application (there is no access code for Korean priority case so that the applicant can simply mark “exchange” in the application form for e-filing). According to TIPO, such exchange of electronic priority documents is made once each day with JPO and twice each month with KIPO. Normally TIPO will not inform the applicant after retrieving the priority document online from JPO or KIPO. For incorrect information causing failure of such electronic retrieval, TIPO will then notify the applicant to submit within 2 months the correct information or paper priority document.
The above PDX program is restricted to the national patent/design applications filed in Taiwan, Japan, or Korea. If a Taiwanese application is filed within 12 months claiming a priority of PCT application designating Japan or Korea, the applicant is required to submit a paper or electronic form of certified priority document and it cannot be replaced via the PDX program.
