Taiwan and Korea Making Great Strides in Patent Examination Cooperation: PDX Program to Commence on

Priority documents are important when filing patent applications across countries. Following the cooperation with Japan on electronic exchange of priority documents (PDX), Taiwan signed an MOU on PDX with Korea on June 15, 2015. This latest PDX program will commence on January 1, 2016, marking another giant step towards internationalization of Taiwan’s patent examination procedure. 
In foreign patent applications, Korea ranks third among foreign countries. Last year (2014), applications filed by Korean nationals totaled at 2,127. LG Chem Ltd., Samsung Display Co., and Samsung Electronics Co. are the top-20 foreign corporate applicants. As for patent applications filed with KIPO by Taiwan corporations, the number grew from 768 in 2013 to 955 in 2014. These applications were filed mostly by TSMC, Winbond, MediaTek, and Silicon Motion. This upcoming PDX program will benefit industries such as chemical engineering, electronics, and semiconductor. 
Under the PDX program, an applicant that first files an invention or utility model patent application with TIPO and then another application with KIPO may request KIPO for electronic priority documents and use them to claim priority to the earlier Taiwan application. In turn, an applicant having first filed a patent application with KIPO and then with TIPO may request TIPO for electronic priority documents to be deemed to have provided priority documents. This program also extends to applicants with PDX requests for priority claims within 16 months prior to the launch of this program.
By request of applicants, the two participating offices will directly exchange documents electronically to save time and cost on paperwork. This will significantly streamline the procedure for applications filed in respective offices. Also, the program enables patent examiners to quickly obtain electronic documents to expedite examination and increase administrative efficiency. 
To learn more about this latest PDX program, applicants are advised to access the following documents: Operational Guidelines for Taiwan-Korea PDX Program, Explanations Regarding Taiwan-Korea PDX Program, as well as the revised Invention Patent Application Form, Utility Model Patent Application Form, and Priority Document Application Form. Application know-how and Q&A are also available online. 

The information session will be recorded and made available to the public at the TIPO website.

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https://www.tipo.gov.tw/ct.asp?xItem=575120&ctNode=6687&mp=2

(These latest Intellectual Property (IP) news and events presented here, are prepared and compiled by us, the World Patent & Trademark Law Office (WPTO),for your reference and information)