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TIPO Relaxes Conditions on Requesting Accelerated Examination Program (AEP) for Invention Applications, Effective January 1, 2022



On October 7, 2021, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) announced amendments to the Accelerated Examination Program (AEP) for invention applications, effective January 1, 2022.

 

The before-amendment version of the AEP provided that an invention applicant could request accelerated examination under any of the following four conditions:

1.     Condition 1: The corresponding foreign application has been granted by a foreign patent authority after substantive examination;

2.     Condition 2: The corresponding foreign application has received an office action and a search report issued by EPO, JPO, or USPTO, but the decision thereof has not been made;

3.     Condition 3: The invention application is necessary for commercial exploitation ; and

4.     Condition 4: The invention relates to green energy technologies.

 

Before the amendment, the AEP specified the scope of "green energy technologies" in Condition 4 based on the alternative energy technologies field defined by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the green energy industries included in the "National Energy Program," which is promoted by Taiwan's Executive Yuan.  In the amendments, the IPO amends the phrasing "green energy technologies" in Condition 4 to "green technologies" and deletes the concerned descriptions regarding the basis of the WIPO's definitions and the Executive Yuan's National Energy Program.  According to the “Green Technology Section” which is newly established by the IPO in its global patent search system in view of the WIPO's IPC Green Inventory (https://gpss1.tipo.gov.tw/), it can be observed that the scope of “green technology" is broader than that of "green energy technologies," including waste management, technological improvements in agriculture/forestry, etc., in addition to alternative energy production and energy conservation.

 

Moreover, to allow applicants who request AEP to more quickly receive examination results, the amendments also shorten the examination period under the existing AEP for Condition 3 or Condition 4 by shortening the issuance time of an examination result from “9 months” to “6 months.”

 

Please refer to the Intellectual Property Office (https://www.tipo.gov.tw/tw/cp-85-897074-74354-1.html) website for more details about AEP amendments.  Applicants may arrange their patent portfolios at their discretion after comprehensive consideration.

 

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