August 2017
Partial Amendments to the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Law(Taiwan)
Jane Tsai
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereinafter, the "MOEA") promulgated Articles 26, 51 and 53 of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Law as amended via the MOEA-Jing-Zhi-10504602860 Directive of June 29, 2016.
First, applicants are encouraged to file patent electronically, and paperless operations are promoted. It is additionally stipulated in Article 26 as amended that electronic files required by the Intellectual Property Office may be used in lieu of the originals of supporting documents for priority right, even though it should be indicated that the electronic files are consistent with the originals.
Paragraph 4 is added to Article 51 as amended and specifically provides that in any of the circumstances under the subparagraphs, design contents may be briefly explained in their description. For example, the legislative reason for Subparagraph 3 indicates: "For a design consisting of a combination of items, when each item is depicted in the drawings of the design, the names of the constituting items should be specified, if necessary, in the design description to avoid confusion about the identity of each item." _
In addition, Article 53 as amended seeks to accommodate the diverse design types deregulated under the Patent Law as amended and considers the federal regulations which enforce the US Patent Act by replacing the formal requirement in the current provision that "three dimensional and six-sided view should be prepared" with the substantive requirement that "there shall be sufficient views to fully disclose the appearance of the claimed design."
The Ministry of Economic Affairs (hereinafter, the "MOEA") promulgated Articles 26, 51 and 53 of the Enforcement Rules of the Patent Law as amended via the MOEA-Jing-Zhi-10504602860 Directive of June 29, 2016.
First, applicants are encouraged to file patent electronically, and paperless operations are promoted. It is additionally stipulated in Article 26 as amended that electronic files required by the Intellectual Property Office may be used in lieu of the originals of supporting documents for priority right, even though it should be indicated that the electronic files are consistent with the originals.
Paragraph 4 is added to Article 51 as amended and specifically provides that in any of the circumstances under the subparagraphs, design contents may be briefly explained in their description. For example, the legislative reason for Subparagraph 3 indicates: "For a design consisting of a combination of items, when each item is depicted in the drawings of the design, the names of the constituting items should be specified, if necessary, in the design description to avoid confusion about the identity of each item." _
In addition, Article 53 as amended seeks to accommodate the diverse design types deregulated under the Patent Law as amended and considers the federal regulations which enforce the US Patent Act by replacing the formal requirement in the current provision that "three dimensional and six-sided view should be prepared" with the substantive requirement that "there shall be sufficient views to fully disclose the appearance of the claimed design."
