Newsletter
Amendments to the Working Guidelines for Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents (PDX) between Taiwan and Japan
The electronic exchange of patent priority documents between Taiwan and other countries can be traced back to December 2, 2013, when the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) jointly commenced the electronic Priority Document Exchange (PDX) program. Subsequently, the electronic PDX program between the TIPO and the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) was launched on January 1, 2016. Currently, Japan and Korea are the only two countries that cooperate with the TIPO in the electronic exchange of priority documents.
The electronic PDX program between Taiwan and Japan in the early days applied only to invention or utility model patent applications. In 2019, Taiwan and Japan signed a Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) on the Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents (PDX) for Design Patents, to include design patent applications in the PDX program.
Following the above development, the TIPO amended items 2 and 5 of the original "Working Guidelines for Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents (PDX) between Taiwan and Japan" in 2021, including the following amendments:
1. The original constraints on the type of patent applications are lifted so that the new guidelines can apply to all types of patent applications.
2. The new guidelines specify the time period within which an applicant should submit to the TIPO an access code issued by the JPO. The specified time period shall be within sixteen (16) months after the priority date for an invention or a utility model patent application and ten (10) months after the priority date for a design patent application.
These amendments will come into effect on January 1, 2022.