To provide more diverse and flexible examination options for design patent applications, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) launched the Accelerated Examination Pilot Program for Design Patents in September, 2023. Initially set to run until December 31, 2024, the program has now been extended through December 31, 2026. The details of the program are as follows: 1. Concerning the application timing, applicants may file for accelerated examination for design patents after receiving TIPO’s notification that the preliminary examination is about to begin and before receiving the first Office Action. 2. Applicants must file electronically in accordance with TIPO’s regulations and provide relevant supporting documents. During the trial period, no application fee will be charged. 3. About eligibility criteria, one way is to prove third-party commercial exploitation in the form of product catalogs, newspaper or magazine articles, and specify the third party’s details, the nature of the exploitation, and its starting date. Another criterion is via recognition by prestigious design awards. Applicants must provide certificates and evidence of the awarded design corresponding to the applicant’s name. 4. Finally, another possibility is to prove that the design patent application is by a startup. Each startup is limited to three applications per year under this program. Eligible startups must be companies established less than eight years ago under the Company Act or the relevant foreign law. The establishment period is calculated from the company’s registration date to the design application date. If priority is claimed, the calculation is based on the earliest priority date. TSMC Tops Patent Applicants List in Taiwan for 9th Year Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. applied for the most patents of any company in Taiwan for the ninth consecutive year in 2024 according to data released by the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office. The office reported that TSMC filed 1,412 invention patent applications last year, down 28% from a year earlier, but still the most among all the patent applicants in Taiwan. With invention patents considered the most important for new technologies, the drop in TSMC’s filings largely reflected the contract chipmaker’s patent development strategies focusing on invention patents more than utility model or design patents. DRAM chip supplier Nanya Technology Corp. filed the second-most patents at 466 invention patents, up 25% from a year earlier. In third place was flat-panel maker AUO Corp. with 425 applications, fourth was the Industrial Technology Research Institute 2 with 356, and fifth was flat screen producer Innolux Corp. with 328. Interestingly, iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. reached ninth place with 259 applications, which was an increase of 93% on the previous year. Hon Hai had the highest increase in invention patent applications in Taiwan last year, reflecting their push to increase their IP portfolio. Among foreign companies in Taiwan. American semiconductor equipment supplier Applied Materials Inc. had the most invention patent applications in 2024 with 950, replacing South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. from the top spot. Samsung filed 894 invention patent applications in 2024, dropping down to second place. China Faces the Challenges and Opportunities of AI China has experienced rapid growth in filing patents in recent years. In 2023, global patent filings reached about 3.6 million, utility models were at 3.1 million, and industrial designs were at 1.5 million with China dominating in most categories, closely followed by the US. However, a closer look at China’s IP landscape tells a less glowing story. For example, China submitted 1.46 million patent applications in 2022, but less than 800,000 were granted, indicating many were superficial or too limited in scope. Additionally, while China leads in patent applications, most are for domestic use. In 2016, less than a fifth were invention patents (which protect innovative new inventions), with most being shorter-term utility or design patents covering mild alterations and were mainly for use in domestic markets. China still leads with international patents (PCT), filing roughly 70,000 compared to more than 55,000 from the US in 2023. However, the US filed the most patents abroad (including PCT and direct applications to foreign IP offices with more than 242,000 filings in 2023) with China in third place behind Japan at roughly 120,000 filings. Nevertheless, China has ramped up its investments and efforts in the AI field with 38,000 GenAI patents filed between 2014 and 2023, surpassing all others combined. The US was second at 6,000. The news about DeepSeek’s latest AI model brought into focus the challenges for IP protection in the AI field. By using open-sourced collaboration, i.e. refining publicly available AI technology, DeepSeek demonstrated advanced AI technology can be produced without the massive investment of proprietary models. Although there are some issues about whether DeepSeek infringed on OpenAI’s IP or benefitted from the fair use doctrine only, the challenge for the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to manage AI disputes is a complicated one. China Takes Action over Malicious Trademarks China’s National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) announced on February 24, 2025, that it had rejected 63 trademark applications attempting to maliciously register DeepSeek and its graphic. CNIPA stated that some agencies were suspected of providing illegal services, with obvious intentions of riding the popularity wave and seeking improper benefits. China has previously ordered the rejection en masse of such applications and also ex-officio cancelled 3 trademarks that have been maliciously applied for and registered previously. For example, in 2022, CNIPA cancelled trademarks for Olympic mascots and athletes for infringing on the personality rights and other legitimate rights and interests of others, which caused significant adverse social impact, and damaged the image of China’s strict protection of intellectual property rights. CNIPA rejected 429 trademark applications, including those for Eileen Gu (a Chinese American dual national who chose to compete for the People’s Republic of China). CNIPA also cancelled, ex-officio, 43 trademarks, 20 of which were for Eileen Gu, the freestyle skier hero who won 2 gold medals and a silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. What this shows is that, at least for Chinese trademarks, CNIPA has increased its vigilance on trademark protection.
