According to Articles 135 and 157 of the newly amended Patent Act implemented on November 1, 2019, the design patent term for original design patent rights still valid on the date of implementation will be automatically extended to 15 years from the filing.

In order to facilitate the inquiry process, the Taiwan IPO has revised the patent right periods for patents meeting the extension conditions. The public can inquire via the “Changes of Rights Inquiry” function of the “Chinese Patent Information Retrieval System” (Chinese only) or the “Certificate Inquiry” function of the “TIPO E-Service” (Chinese only) starting from November 1, 2019.

If there is a need to update the patent right on the patent certificate for a design patent right which is still valid on the date of implementation, the right holder should fill in the “Application for Patent Certificate Addition, Supplement (Replacement),” tick “Certificate Addition" in the application items, and attach the original certificate for submitting a free application; or tick the “Reissue Certificate" for renewal at a fee of NT$600.

(Translated from the Hot News of TIPO)