Patent Act to be amended to extend grace period for patent applications

Part of the draft amendment to the Taiwan Patent Act passed the third reading at the Legislative Yuan on December 30, 2016, which relaxes the conditions and terms with respect to grace period.  To ensure the patentee’s rights, the amendment extends the grace period from 6 months to 12 months for invention and utility model patent applications and sets out more lenient requirements for disclosure; that is, the applicability of grace period for invention, utility model, and design patent applications is enlarged to cover the circumstances where the invention, utility model, or design is disclosed out of or against the applicant’s will.  Another procedural requirement is also removed that it is no longer mandatory to claim grace period on the date of filing. 

The above mentioned relaxation will cause the patentability to not be affected by the disclosure made prior to the date of filing of the patent application, which will at last facilitate innovation and technology exchanges.  The Executive Yuan will schedule a date of enforcement of the amended provisions.  (December 2016)

/CCS