Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) recently announced that starting from September 1, 2008, the prescribed term in responding to an official action raised in an invention, utility model and/or design application will be revised.
After the revision, response to an official action, instead of calculating on a day-basis (from receipt of official actions), it will be calculated based on month. The decision was made after considering the practice in foreign countries, and to meet the requirements as stipulated in Article 48 of Administrative Procedure Act.
Specifically, per the old practice, an applicant residing overseas is allowed a leeway of 90 days to file a response against an official action, and now said period becomes three months. Also, an extension of term may be filed if necessary but on condition the total prescribed term does not exceed six months (based on the 180-day prescribed term announced by TIPO in January 2008).
