Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) introduced an Accelerated Examination for trademark applications in May 2023.
Criteria for Applying for Accelerated Examination:
Criteria for Applying for Accelerated Examination:
- Immediate Necessity to Obtain Rights:
This criterion can be further divided into cases (A) where some goods or services have been used or are prepared for use with commercial necessity and urgency (e.g., third-party infringement, receipt of infringement warnings, third-party requests for authorization, planned launches with contracts in place, planned exhibitions with contracts in place, and other necessary and urgent circumstances), as well as cases (B) where all goods or services have been actually used or prepared for use.
- Specification of Facts and Reasons:
Relevant evidence should be attached to substantiate the acceleration application.
- Payment of Accelerated Examination Fees:
The application fee is NT$3,000/per class, plus an additional NT$6,000 for accelerated examination per class (the total official fee is around USD 300 per class).
Besides, the following situations would require notification for correction or temporary suspension of examination during the review process, making it impossible to make a determination within a short period and affecting the effectiveness of accelerated examination. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid applying for accelerated examination in these cases:
- Broad or unclear meanings in the designated goods or services descriptions.
- Non-traditional trademarks such as three-dimensional, color, smell, sound, or continuous patterns.
- Cases involving trademark disputes.