Points to know about seeking deferment of examination of invention/design patent applications in Taiwan

A PRACTICAL DIGEST

According to the revision of the Operation Guidelines for Requesting Deferment of Substantive Examination of Invention/Design Patent Applications effective as of 1 January 2026, the time period to request deferment of substantive examination is extended from three (3) years to five (5) years for invention patent applications and from one (1) to two (2) years for design patent applications, both counting from the filing date of the application.  In practical operation, 

1.  For invention patent applications
Deferment of substantive examination of an invention patent application may be sought for but once only where substantive examination of the application has been requested and the application is in the phase of
1)  First examination and the Notice of First Office Action is not yet served; or
2)  Re-examination and the Notice of First Office Action is not yet served.

The preceding paragraph does not apply to any invention patent application 
1)  a request for the substantive examination of which has been filed by a third party;
2)  a request for prioritized examination, accelerated examination or PPH of which has been filed; or
3)  more than five years have elapsed from the filing date of the application.

2.  For design patent applications
Deferment of examination of a design patent application may be sought for but once only where the application is in the phase of 
1)  First examination and the Notice of First Office Action is not yet served;
2)  Re-examination and the Notice of First Office Action is not yet served.

The preceding paragraph does not apply to any design patent application 
1)  a request for accelerated examination of which has been filed; or 
2)  two (2) years have elapsed from the filing date of the application.

3.  Procedure 
The request for deferment of substantive examination shall be submitted in writing with these particulars clearly stated in the request form:
1)  The patent application number.
2)  Name or designation of the applicant.
3)  Name of the attorney, where applicable.
4)  Requested date of resumption of examination.

The requested date of resumption of examination provided in subparagraph 4) above must be within five (5) years from the filing date of the invention patent application and two (2) years from the filing date of the design patent application.

4.  Withdrawal and change of requested date of resumption of examination
The applicant may withdraw the submitted request for deferment of substantive examination.  However, once the request is withdrawn, no second request for deferment of substantive examination of the same patent application will be allowed.

The requested date of resumption of examination may be changed on the applicant’s request, provided that the date proposed for the change must be in accordance with paragraph two of Point 4.

5.  Resumption of examination
Upon the arrival of the requested date of resumption of examination, the application will be included in the applications filed in the current year and aligned for examination in order.

6.  Taiwan IPO may decide not to entertain a request for deferment of examination
Where, in its discretion, the patent application may materially affect public interests or the interests of any third party, Taiwan IPO (i.e. the Patent Authority) may dismiss a request for deferment of substantive examination of that patent application.  Further, if the request for substantive examination has been docketed, Taiwan IPO may terminate the deferment procedure.

7.  Lay-open 
The lay-open date of an invention patent application will not be affected by the request for deferment of substantive examination and early lay-open requests will be processed as usual.  (Released 2025.12.17)
/EMA