The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has listened to industry representatives claiming that design patents costs are high considering Taiwan’s economic scale. While Taiwan has seen an increase in invention applications, the number of design patent applications has steadily decreased, despite an initial reduction in fees in January 2011. Given that Taiwan’s industry is primarily made up of small- and medium-sized businesses, high fees are contributing to stifling innovation and creativity.

As a result, Director General of TIPO Wang Mei-hua has announced another significant reduction in design patent fees. Beginning July 1, 2011, annuities (the maintenance fee paid each year for the twelve years that a Taiwanese design patent is valid) were reduced by over fifty percent. TIPO hopes that the reduction will stimulate Taiwan’s creative and cultural industry and will offer financially disadvantaged businesses the ability to afford the design patent costs.

While the reduction is available to all design patent applications granted by TIPO, further reductions are given to natural persons and local schools, as well as foreign schools and small- and medium-sized businesses after approval of a written application filed with TIPO.

The following table outlines the changes:

* Figures given in TWD

The reduced fees will also make Taiwan more competitive in the global market for intellectual property protection, as only EU and Korean fees are cheaper: