Trademark registration in Taiwan. Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. Taiwan’s export-oriented industrial economy is the 21st-largest in the world by nominal GDP, and 20th-largest by PPP measures, with major contributions from steel, machinery, electronics, and chemicals manufacturing. Taiwan is a developed country, ranking 15th in GDP per capita. It is ranked highly in terms of political and civil liberties, education, health care, and human development. Accordingly, many businesses want to enter this market and one of the most important preparations a business needs to take before expanding to this country is to learn the procedure of trademark registration in Taiwan.
Trademark in Taiwan
A mark that is registrable as a trademark in Taiwan can be any words, designs, symbols, colors, three-dimensional shapes, motions, holograms, sounds, or any combination thereof.
In addition, a trademark can also be a packaging design, three-dimensional object, sound, or even a scent.
In general, every mark can be registered as a trademark in this country if it qualifies the following criteria:
- Able to distinguish the goods or services of one party from those of other parties;
- Be represented in a way that the competent authorities, as well as the public, may recognize the subject of protection accurately.
Any domestic or foreign natural person, or business entities who use a trademark to identify the goods or services they offer in trade, may file a trademark application in Taiwan to become the legal owner of that mark.
The procedure of trademark registration in Taiwan
To obtain trademark protection in Taiwan, the applicant needs to file their trademark application to the IP Office of Taiwan.
Once received, the examiner will conduct a formal examination, an examination of distinctiveness (absolute grounds), and a search for prior trademarks to check if the mark is registrable.
If there are no errors, the application will be published in the Trademark Gazette. After the publication, any parties will have a 3 months opposition period in which they can file for the opposition of the registration of the trademark.
A trademark in Taiwan is valid for 10 years from the date of registration. Once every 10 years, 6 months before and after the expiration date, the trademark owner may file for the renewal of the trademark to extend its protection period for another 10 years.
It should be noted that a trademark in Taiwan may be subject to cancellation in Taiwan if it has not been used within the continuous period of 3 years from registration.
Notes when registering a trademark in Taiwan
Notes when registering a trademark in Taiwan include:
- Trademark applications can be filed directly at the Taiwan IP office, by email, or by post. However, the IP Office of Taiwan will not receive applications sent by fax.
- Trademark registration applications must be signed and stamped by the applicant intended to register that trademark. In case the application owner appoints another subject to register, a power of attorney is required. At that time, only the authorized person is allowed to sign and seal.
- Within 06 months from the date of filing the first registration application, the applicant must submit documents requesting priority rights for some or all similar products in Taiwan.
- The applicant must submit 05 copies of the trademark with a maximum size of 8cm x 5cm. Photo paper is not recommended. The registrar’s office may ask the applicant to provide a description and specimen of the mark if it is necessary to the registration process.
You can see a list of Taiwan IP firms here.