Membership-based IPRs OTC Platform to Begin Operation Later This Year with a View to Promoting IPR Holders’ Operation Position to Attract Foreign Investments.

E080514Y8 Jun. 2008（E103）

The TSEC and the OTC both have in the past two years actively promoted the stocks of companies traded on the OTC market by organizing investor conferences to attractive foreign investment. In order to promote the operation position of OTC companies, the OTC will build up an IPR services platform to avail quick access to listed and OTC companies to necessary information leading to the quality R&D team(s) and IPRs they need.

According to the examination of the OTC applications conducted by experts from the relevant industries commissioned to do so, the OTC finds that the qualified applicants are mostly weak in R&D with insufficient R&D personnel and so despite their having met the OTC criteria, these companies need to improve their operation position. Therefore, the OTC took the initiative to build up the IPR services platform to help OTC companies get hold of the R&D personnel to meet their needs.

Many Silicon companies set up with Taiwanese investment have very good R&D teams and technology but they do not intend to be traded on the stock exchange or the OTC. Some of them, however, look forward to working together with listed and OTC companies in Taiwan with the R&D assets they hold. The IPR services platform owed to the OTC’s efforts will operate as an exchange platform to provide local listed and OTC companies with access to the R&D personnel or patented technologies they need to help improve their operation position.

The IPR services center will be membership-based with membership automatically granted to all listed and OTC companies. Qualification of perspective sellers will be strictly screened to prevent false representations on the seller’s part. The screening will cover all information the perspective seller discloses on the platform including the legality of the proposed IPR and the financial impact from the litigation and non-litigious matters arising from the proposed IPR.

The development of the IPR services platform has been on-going for over six months with official operation scheduled to launch later this year.

Comparison of Shanghai IP Exchange and Taiwan IPR OTC Platform
	Shanghai Combined Property Rights Exchange	IPRs OTC Platform
Qualification	Membership	Membership-based. A listed or OTC company may join free of charge but only as the buyer. No qualification is required of the seller.
Objects traded	Rights in things, claims, stock equity, IPRs	IPRs and IPRs only, including know-how and R&D teams.
method of transaction	By agreement, price competition, tendering or otherwise	By share swap or negotiation.
Remarks	Availability of financing to IPR holders.	No financing services.