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Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Patent Act stipulates that the applicant shall submit a certified copy of the patent application (hereinafter referred to as the priority document) issued by a country or WTO member where the patent application was filed within 16 months after the earliest priority date. However, to make the process simpler and more convenient, Paragraph 1 of Article 22 of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Act further stipulates that in the event the priority document has been exchanged between the Specific Patent Agency and the receiving patent authority of the country or the WTO member by means of electronic communication, the priority document is deemed to have been submitted by the applicant. The regulations above are applicable to utility models and design patents as well, while the time period for submitting the certified priority document for a design patent application is 10 months.
On 25 December 2015, the "Operational Directions on Electronic Exchange of Patent Priority Documents between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office and Korean Intellectual Property Office" (hereinafter referred to as Directions) were issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan. While the Directions allow, in Paragraph 1 of Article 2, electronic exchange of priority documents between the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office and the Korean Intellectual Property Office, design patents are excluded from such provision, under Paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the Directions. As a result, an applicant who files a design patent in Taiwan or Korea has to submit a copy of priority documents to successfully claim priority.
To simplify the process, Taiwan and Korea signed the "MOU on Electronic Exchange of Priority Documents for Design Patent Applications" in 2021, extending the electronic exchange of patent priority documents to design patent applications. Based on the MOU, the Ministry of Economic Affairs in Taiwan also amended the Direction to cancel Paragraph 2 of Article 2 so that it clearly applies to all types of patent applications.
The amendment to the Directions came into effect on 1 July 2023. Applicants can file a design patent in Taiwan based on the priority date of a Korean application within 6 months of the date of filing the first design patent application in Korea and submit the access code required for electronic exchange within 10 months of the earliest priority date to complete the procedure of claiming priority. The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office will take the initiative to obtain the priority document from the Korean Intellectual Property Office.
As of July 2023, Japan and Korea are cooperating with Taiwan on the Electronic Priority Document Exchange Program, which is being applied to invention patents, utility models, and design patents. Applicants may take advantage of the Electronic Priority Document Exchange Program to simplify the application process where a foreign priority is claimed.
