IPO released Draft Patent Procedure Examination Standards. It is not certainly that submit the application first would win first. People who don’t conform to the procedures may face re-examination or loss priority.

Is it certainly that submit the patent application first would win the patent first? It is not exactly! According to the draft of the Patent Procedure Examination Standards finalized by IPO recently, if patent application is not conform to procedures, it would face re-examination even if the patent application submitted first. Further, it may influence the effective day of the patent or loss the priority. In the future, if applicants don’t provide enough documents, or documents still not completed after supplement, IPO has the right to judge the application being not acceptable or limits the application could produce certain legal effects.

Patent Act of Taiwan, is a entity law as well as a procedure law, besides stipulates allowance of patent right, the procedures of revoke of patent right, and form and entity condition, it also stipulates patent right as well as management items of patent right. Pursuant to the principle of “procedures first and entity later,” applications that conform to the trial procedures shall be put into the examination of form and entity. Hence, applications of the first trial of patent, re-examination, or report are all closely related to procedural examination of patent. (2005.1)

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