On March 28, 2007, the Taiwan Government promulgated the long-waited “Intellectual Property Court Organic Act” and the “Intellectual Property Cases Proceeding Act” to come into force; in other words, this means a specialized “IP Court” will become operative latest 2008.
According to above said Acts, the IP court will have jurisdiction over civil related IP cases in the 1st and 2nd instances (civil related IP cases in the 3rd instance will fall within the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court), and criminal related IP cases in the 2nd instance (the 1st instance falls within the jurisdiction of District Court; whereas the 3rd instance the Supreme Court), as well as administrative IP litigation cases in the 1st instance (the 2nd or final instance will be judged by the Administrative Supreme Court).
In order to pave way for the IP Court, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) is also contemplating to revise the law and regulations related to IP matters. One revision may be to repeal the “Appeal” proceeding. With the view that future disputes dealing with IP matters will be handled in a more centralized and expeditious manner, practitioners and IP right owners foresee the establishment of the IP court as a significant milestone for IP protection in Taiwan.
