In Q1 2023, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office received a total of 17,226 applications for invention, utility model and design patents, which is 2% lower than Q1 2022. The number of the filed invention patent applications was 12,486, with a slight decrease of 0.4%, wherein 4,637 cases were filed by domestic applicants and 7,849 cases were filed by international applicants. The number of the filed design patent applications was 1,654, having a 1% increase, wherein applications from international applicants increased by 6%. The filings of utility model patent applications (3,086 cases) decreased.

Among the top 10 domestic applicants for invention patents, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company was the most prolific and applied for 752 cases; MediaTek (146 cases) had the largest growth of 121%; and the number of applications filed by Innolux (101 cases) exceeded 100 for the first time. Among the top 5 applicants for design patent applications, Acer continued to rank first with 24 applications, and Ant Design (16 cases) and Hetai (12 cases) were both first-time applicants.

The numbers of invention patent applications filed by domestic enterprises (3,817 cases) and research institutes (83 cases) grew by 2% and 9%, respectively, while the filings from colleges and universities (341 cases) decreased. Concerning the invention patent applications filed by enterprises, the filings from large enterprises (3,162 cases) bounced back, but the filings from small and medium-sized enterprises (655 cases) declined. With respect to colleges and universities, both National Cheng Kung University and National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University ranked first with 26 applications each; and Chang Gung University of Science and Technology submitted the most applications (15 cases) among private schools, with a notable increase of 275%. In terms of research institutions, Industrial Technology Research Institute (42 cases) was ahead of other applicants.

International applicants applied for 7,849 invention patent applications, which is similar to the number in Q1 2022, wherein Japanese applicants submitted more applications (3,504 cases) than other countries/regions. Among the top 10 applicants, Applied Materials (United States) (182 cases) returned to the first spot after 9 years; Xi’An Eswin (China) (127 cases) and Meta Platforms Technologies (United States) (90 cases) ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, both being their highest records; and the number of applications filed by Coupang (South Korea) (67 cases) had the largest growth of 168%.

Furthermore, among the top 5 applicants for design patents, Ford Global Technologies (United States) submitted the most applications (49 cases); the filings from Apple (United States) (36 cases) grew by 3,500%; Phoenix (Australia) (24 cases) entered the top 5 for the first time; and Sony (Japan) applied for 16 applications, which is their highest number in company history.

(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