The Patent Search Center opened May 3 in Taipei City, a development expected to slash application processing times by as much as 50 percent, according to the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office.
The NT$30 million (US$1 million) facility, which was funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, is responsible for preliminary patent and scientific literature research when assessing submissions.
“The center is an integral part of TIPO initiatives aimed at fast-tracking patent applications in Taiwan,” said Wang Mei-hua, TIPO director-general and PSC chairwoman.
Staffed by 25 employees with extensive patent review experience and industrial expertise, the center is set to help examiners take a chunk out of the TIPO’s 160,000-case backlog.
“Review times should be shortened to 24 months by 2016,” Wang said, adding that the facility will double its manpower next year to speed up patent handling procedures.
According to the official, the facility is modeled after Japan’s Industrial Property Cooperation Center and the Korea Intellectual Property Rights Information Services office.
Separately, the TIPO announced that 19,397 patent applications were submitted during the first quarter, up 2.6 percent year on year. ROC nationals accounted for 11,595, a 0.91 percent increase, while foreigners were 7,802, a rise of 5.22 percent.
Japan topped the new invention list with 3,440 applications, up 8.62 percent from last year. The U.S. and Germany came in second and third, respectively. (JSM)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw