Newsletter
New Measures on Remote Interviews for Patent Applications
In the past, when a patent applicant or patent agent applied for an interview with the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) to discuss patentability issues with a patent examiner, such interview would be held only at TIPO or TIPO service centers in Hsinchu, Taichung, Tainan or Kaohsiung.
To better accommodate changing needs and developments in communication technology, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced an amendment to the "TIPO of MOEA Working Guidelines for Patent Interviews" on February 24, 2022, which includes the following new measures.
The TIPO relaxes interview restrictions on cases unrelated to invalidation action to allow remote interviews for patent applications. That is, a patent applicant or a patent agent may file with the TIPO a request for an interview and have a bilateral or trilateral discussion by video with a patent examiner through the conference system established by the TIPO at a proper venue, as long as the following conditions are met:
1. Software and hardware equipment designated by the TIPO are available and the video quality is good.
2. The remote interview is held at a non-public venue.
In accordance with the new measures on remote interview, the following regulations were also added to the amendment:
1. During the remote interview, no photography, voice recording, or video recording are permitted without the TIPO's consent; and
2. During the remote interview, the TIPO staff shall read out the agenda of the interview and the matters to be discussed, and send an interview record to the participants in electronic format. The participants shall return the signed/sealed interview record in electronic format to the TIPO for confirmation.
The new measures have taken effect as of March 1, 2022.