To Expedite Trial and Decision of IP Litigation, the Judicial Yuan Is Inclined to Establish “Patent Court”, which Is Likely to be Actualized Next Year.

In view of the surge in patent disputes arising from multi-national high-tech industries, “patent court” in Taiwan is likely to be established under the urgent calling of Taiwanese enterprises and Euro-Us chamber of commerce. The Judicial Yuan has planed three reformation projects—the establishment of specialized intellectual property court, patent court, and specialized chamber. The three projects are scheduled to be carried out after being proposed to the Judicial Yuan’s resolution in May so as to promote prompt trial and conclusion of IP litigations.

 

 

The first project is to establish “specialized intellectual property court” in the High Court. Such project, however, will deprive the people of their “advantage of instances” obtained from IP litigation that begins with district courts (that is, people’s rights of going through the three trials of the district court, the high court, finally the supreme court), while such project will still leave the civil and criminal IP infringement cases pending for years. Since such cases would still be transferred to the administrative court to confirm the proprietary and validity of patent right.

 

The second project is to establish “patent court” in the High Court. Such project submits to the patent court of the second instance the issue of the existence and validity of the key patent rights in an IP litigation by means of two trial-two level system for the purpose of prompt trial and conclusion. To actualize such project, IPO (intellectual property office) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs should establish a deliberation committee, which shares the function similar to that of the “quasi first-instance division”. In the event of any dissatisfaction with the decision rendered by the deliberation committee, people may directly file an appeal with the “patent court” of the second instance, and such system resembles that of the U.S. and South Korea.

 

The third project is to establish “specialized intellectual property chamber” in Taipei, Taichung, and Kaohsiung District Court and also “specialized intellectual property court” in the High Court by means of double track system, namely, administrative appeal—An appeal is filed with the Administrative Court for legal remedy. The district court thus amends the relevant laws to exclude the provisions regulating that the district court should cease the trial before the administrative litigations concerning patent right remain pending.

 

Under the current system, the examination period is 18 months for a patent application filed by enterprises. Even though the amended law is enforced on July 1, it will take 10 months for the enterprise to obtain its patent right. Nevertheless, according to the current patent litigation system, the administrative remedy procedure alone takes at least 2 years, which does not include the time spent in civil compensation and criminal litigation. In consideration of the current product cycle, “The belated justice serves no purposes.”

 

At present, judicial administrative chamber is inclined to suggest the Judicial Yuan’s adopting the project of establishing “patent court” in the High Court to directly solve the issue of the existence and validity of the key patent rights. No matter which project is adopted in the end, such action has made a great development in patent litigation. (2003.04)

CYJ/CCS