Overview

During the first half of the year 2023 (H1 2023), the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) received a total of 34,611 applications for patents related to inventions, utility models, and designs. This figure represents a marginal decrease of 0.4% in comparison to the 34,753 applications submitted during the same period in the previous year (H1 2022).

In a year-over-year comparison, the specific breakdown of applications is as follows: Invention patent applications experienced a slight reduction from 24,316 to 24,256 applications, reflecting a decrease of 0.2%. Meanwhile, utility model patent applications decreased from 6,993 to 6,847 applications, accounting for a 2% decline. Notably, there was a 2% increase in design patent applications, rising from 3,444 to 3,508 applications during the aforementioned period.

Domestic Applicants

Comparing the applications in H1 2022 and H1 2023, invention patent applications filed by domestic applicants increased from 9,357 to 9,390 applications, indicating a slight growth of 0.4%. On the contrary, utility model patent applications showed a loss of 3% from 6,483 to 6,317 applications. Most impressively, design patent applications exhibited a surge of 9% from 1,581 to 1,729 applications.

The most notable domestic applicant for invention patent applications was Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, filing the most cases with 1,171 applications. MediaTek ranked first in growth rate with 321 applications, a significant increase of 114%.

Turning to design patent applications, the most active domestic applicant was Acer with 55 applications, while L&F Plastics filed 44 applications with the greatest growth rate of 76%.

Foreign Applicants

The trends of foreign applications contrast with domestic applications. During the period of interest, foreign applications for patents related to inventions, utility models, and designs respectively demonstrated a mild downturn of 1% from 14,959 to 14,886 applications, a remarkable upturn of 4% from 510 to 530 applications, and a noteworthy drop of 5% from 1,863 to 1,779 applications as compared to the same period in 2022.

The top five countries/regions from which applicants filed the most patent applications in Taiwan are listed below:

• Invention: Japan (6,216 applications, +0.4%), USA (3,317 applications, -12%), PRC (1,683 applications, +18%), South Korea (1,263 applications, +19%) and Germany (443 applications, -10%).
• Utility Model: PRC (308 applications, +10%), USA (45 applications, the same as H1 2022), Hong Kong (45 applications, +29%), Japan (31 applications, -9%) and Singapore (21 applications, -25%).
• Design: Japan (449 applications, -13%), USA (323 applications, -3%), PRC (249 applications, +32%), Switzerland (183 applications, +1%) and Germany (85 applications, -43%).

Among the foreign applicants filing invention patent applications, Samsung Electronics (KR) showed the highest capacity by filing 430 applications. Coupang (KR) achieved the greatest growth rate of 238% with 159 applications filed over H1 2022.

With regard to design patent applications, Cartier (CH) was the most prolific foreign applicant with 72 applications, while Apple (US) had the greatest growth rate of 1,233% with 40 applications due to a lower base period in H1 2022.

(Translated and summarized from the news announced on the website of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office)

* Section Chief of International Patent Division at Tai E International Patent & Law Office