Within the fast track patent examination system in Taiwan, there are Accelerated Examination Program (AEP) and Patent Prosecution Highway program (PPH) for invention patent applications. According to 2019 statistics from the Taiwan Intellectual Propertys Office (TIPO), AEP case filed by the domestic and foreign applicants had about the same percentage, while foreign applicants from United States and Japan filed PPH cases more than AEP cases. The total number of AEP cases was 312, representing a decrease of 8.77% with a minus 12.57% for domestic applicants and a minus 4.79% for foreign applicants. PPH cases based on TIPO-USPTO and TIPO-JPO were also slightly decreased, while PPH cases via TIPO-KIPO were doubled. The following are 2019 statistics of Taiwan invention patent applications filed with AEP and PPH requests, plus their processing times.
| AEP cases in 2019 | Base 1 | Base 2 | Base 3 | Base 4 | Total (percentage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic applicants | 20 | 3 | 117 | 13 | 153 (49%) |
| Foreign applicants | 134 | 13 | 11 | 1 | 159 (51%) |
| Subtotal (percentage) | 154 (49.35%) | 16 (5.12%) | 128 (41.02%) | 14 (4.48%) | 312 (100%) |
| Average time for issuing a first examination opinion | 48.7 days (1.62 months) | 46.8 days (1.56 months) | 81.4 days (2.71 months) | 75.8 days (2.53 months) | - |
| Average time for rendering a decision | 150.1 days (5 months) | 182.9 days (6.1 months) | 204.9 days (6.83 months) | 219.7 days (7.32 months) | - |
Remarks:
- Base 1 – for invention that has a corresponding foreign patent application allowed after the substantive examination by a foreign patent office
- Base 2 – for invention that has a corresponding foreign application pending before USPTO, JPO or EPO, but official action and search report have been issued
- Base 3 – for invention required for commercial practice
- Base 4 – for invention related to green technologies
| PPH bilateral agreement | TIPO - USPTO | TIPO - JPO | TIPO - KIPO |
|---|---|---|---|
| PPH cases in 2019 | 455 | 427 | 37 |
| Average time for issuing a first examination opinion | 47.4 days (1.58 months) | ||
| Average time for rendering a decision | 118.5 days (3.95 months) |
Remarks:
Besides the United States, Japan and Korea, Taiwan also signed PPH agreements with Spain, Poland and Canada, respectively, but there was no PPH cases via TIPO-SPTO, TIPO-PPO and TIPO-CIPO in 2019.
In comparison, the average time for issuing a first examination opinion and rendering a decision for an invention patent application in 2019 under normal examination track are 8.4 months and 13.6 months, respectively. As the processing times for AEP and PPH cases are much shorter, applicants are encouraged to utilize fast track examination programs for obtaining patent protection in Taiwan.
