VOL. 16 NO. 07 JUL. 16, 2008 http://www.industry.net.tw http://www.patent.org.tw
ENFORCEMENT
Chinese-English Patent Glossary Databank With 100,000 Terminologies Will Be Open For Use By End of 2009.
According to an article by Yin-Shuan Wang of the Commercial Times on June 2, 2008, the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs has recently started a project to build an auto-translation system to translate patent specifications. The project is expected to complete a Chinese-English glossary databank with more than 100,000 terminologies by the end of 2009. In 2010, the auto-translation system will be built to enhance the consistency of patent-related terminologies, and hopefully to help shorten the examination time.
Because patent examination is time consuming, and patent applications have increased rapidly in recent years, Europe, the United States, Japan, Korea, and China have all built their own system to translate the patent specifications automatically so that the patent specifications in each country can be translated rapidly first for reference and then be proof-read manually to improve the precision and correctness of the patent specifications.
The Intellectual Property Office has completed the bidding process for the auto-translation system, and is preparing to build the system. The Intellectual Property Office expects to complete phase one of
the Chinese to English databank for patent-related terminologies by the end of next year. The databank will be divided into 8 categories, including more than 100,000 patent-related keywords.
Starting 2010, the databank will be used as the foundation to build the auto-translation system to translate the patent specifications.
The official indicates that there are three major advantages for building this system, including providing a consistency in terminologies in connection with patent inventions, providing a faster access to prior art search for the examiners, and providing an open access to business sectors, law firms, and the public for searching purpose so as to further increase the consistency in the terminologies used and minimize confusions in patent-related terms.
The 6 sources for the databank include academic terminologies from the National Institute for Compilation and Translation, the 8th edition, advanced version of the IPC, the IPC keyword index, the International Classification for Industrial Designs, the database for the English translations of the patents, synonymous adopted by the Science &
Technology Policy Research and Information Center of the National Applied Research Laboratories.
The official indicates that patent-related terms are different from the terms searched on the Internet.
Patent rights involve the exclusivity of the scope of rights. When it comes to rejection or infringement evaluation, the scope needs to be defined as clearly as possible. In the future, the consistency of the patent-related terms in Chinese-English, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese will be improved, and exchange will take place between the databanks in different countries so as to establish a common platform for communication.
MEASURES
The Judicial Yuan And The Intellectual Property Office Co-sponsored A Dialogue Meeting In Line With The Establishment of IP Court.
As the IP Court is scheduled to open on July 1, 2008, the Judicial Yuan and the Intellectual Property Office co-sponsored a dialogue meeting on May 2. People from the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, European Chamber of Commerce Taipei, Asian Patent Attorneys Association Taiwan Group, Taiwan Intellectual Property Alliance, and law offices in Taiwan were invited to the meeting to exchange views on the future operation of the IP Court.
The Judicial Yuan and the Intellectual Property Office provided detailed answers to questions, including the timetable for an IP trial, simplified formalities of evidence presentation in infringement suits, keeping nullity suit from interfering with infringement suit, expanding the extent of crime instruments subject to confiscation, how to enhance the trial quality and speed, and what happens to pending IPR cases in district courts after the establishment of the IP Court. Comments from all sectors were noted for reference, and the interaction
between the attendees and the sponsors was greatly facilitated.
MEASURES
CNFI Held A Research Study On Investigating The IPR Protection Of Taiwanese investors In China And The Resolution Thereof.
The rampant counterfeiting in China has become a global issue. Under the international pressure from the United States, Europe and Japan, China has implemented and enforced relevant IPR protection policies, projects, systems and measures to follow the WTO TRIPS agreement; however, the development of the legal system falls behind the economic development. The concept of IPR protection is still foreign to the people in China. Failure to implement the enforcement to monitor the coordination among inter-government agencies results in an ineffective crackdown on counterfeits.
As a result, the Chinese manufacturers continue to infringe the intellectual property rights of the Taiwanese investors in China. Thus, it is necessary to collect relevant intellectual property regulations, policies, and litigations in China to allow the relevant agencies to track the status and research the subject so as to adopt an effective measure to protect the intellectual property rights and interests of the Taiwanese investors in China. The CNFI is asked by the Intellectual Property Office of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to hold a research study on the investigation of IPR protection of the Taiwanese investors in China and the resolution thereof this year.
The research study is focused on understanding the current status and enforcement progress of IPR
protection in China after China joins the WTO, and how the American, European, and Japanese investors handle the infringement of intellectual property rights in China and the measures thereof, as well as to conduct a survey on the status of IPR protection of the Taiwanese investors in China, to collect the information on litigation actions related to intellectual property rights of the Taiwanese investors in China in 2007 and the case information at the relevant agencies, to sample visit the Taiwanese investors in China who encountered infringement of their IP rights, and to plan on the establishment of a forum for the intellectual property rights of the Taiwanese investors in China. The research study is to discover the relevant issues faced by the Taiwanese investors in China on filing, enforcing, managing, utilizing intellectual property rights as well as on counterfeits and to prioritize the IPR issues to be resolved so as to assist the Taiwanese investors to resolve IPR related issues.
LAWS & REGULATIONS
The WTO Amendment To TRIPS Agreement Has Been Approved By The Legislative Yuan.
The WTO amendment to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement has been approved by the Legislative Yuan on May 23, 2008, under the recommendation of the Executive Yuan. After the approval is announced by Presidential Decree, our WTO delegation will formally inform the WTO Secretariat of our ratification of the amendment.
The WTO reached the agreement to widen the restriction on importation and exportation of compulsory licensed pharmaceutical products in Doha Ministerial Meeting in November 2001. In
August 2003, the decision to implement the compulsory license on patented pharmaceutical products was made. In December, 2005, the WTO General Counsel Meeting passed the amendment to Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement, and agreed to insert Article 31bis after Article 31 to allow the least-developed countries to obtain medicine to cure contagious diseases according to its economic capability through the system of compulsory license.
In general, the pharmaceutical products manufactured under a compulsory license are cheaper in price, the appearance and external packaging can be distinguished from those manufactured by the original manufacturer. The licensee should publish the quantities, names, destination, and distinguishable features of these exported pharmaceutical products to prevent them from getting into the market.
The approval of the amendment is congruous with the humanitarian stance. Taiwan is capable of assisting other Members, and thus the approval is expected to express our support to resolve the pharmaceutical need in the public health sector of the least-developed Members and emphasize our willingness to fulfill our obligations to the international community so as to facilitate our participation in other international activities. The amendment will also affect the amendment to the Patent Act as well as the applicability of Paragraph 2, Article 40-2 of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. In the future, if manufacturers in Taiwan receive any entrustment, they should apply with the Intellectual Property Office for the compulsory licensing to follow Article 76 of the Patent Act procedurally and then notify the WTO Secretariat.
Because this amendment is the first instance for the WTO to make any changes to the TRIPS agreement
since the organization was first established, it is highly watched by the WTO Members and the international community. Rwanda applied with the WTO for entrusting Canadian pharmaceutical plants to produce 260,000 doses of TriAvis last July, marking the first case to entrust another country to manufacture public health-related pharmaceutical products via compulsory licensing.
LAWS & REGULATIONS
Patent Examination Standards For Computer Software Related Invention Takes Effect on May 20, 2008.
It’s been 8 years since the Patent Examination Standards for Computer Software Related Invention was first promulgated in October 199. The Patent Examination Standards for Computer Software Related Invention establishes the principle on computer software protection in Taiwan. During these years, the Patent Act was amended in 2001 and 2003, the Implementing Regulations of the Patent Act was amended in 2004, and the Examination Standards for Substantive Examination of Invention Patent also underwent a major amendment in 2004.
The relevant regulations and examination practices have also changed substantially. Additionally, as the Internet develops, the environment of computer information is also quite different from that in the past. In view of the amendments to the above
regulations and examination practice as well as the changes in technology and society, it is necessary to amend the Patent Examination Standards for Computer Software Related Invention that has been in effect for 8 years.
In the new version of the Examination Standards, computer software is interpreted as a method to implement algorithm. The scope of computer software protection includes an invention of a device, method, recording medium, computer program product and the similar terminologies thereof.
Before the Examination Standards underwent the amendment, the Intellectual Property Office had held numerous internal discussions and 7 public hearings. Thus, the Ministry of Economic Affairs announced the Examination Standards to take effect on May 20, 2008.
The major points of the amendment includes: clearly define the eligible subject matters of computer software related invention, expand the scope of protection for computer software related invention, and add specifications for language used in writing
“means plus function” claims as well as the determination principle. The relevant content adopted in the Examination Standards follows the latest Examinations adopted in the U.S., Japan, and Europe.
TAIWAN IPR NEWS
PUBLISHER／PRESTON W. CHEN PUBLISHING AGENCY／
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF／LIEN-SHENG TSAI INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY COMMITTEE,
DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF／JOSEPH C. CHEN CHINESE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDUSTRIES EDITORS／FRANCK LIN‧ANFERY HSU‧WAN-LIN CHANG ADDRESS／12TH FL., 390, FU HSING S. RD., SEC. 1,
TRANSLATOR／SUZY SHOUNG TAIPEI, TAIWAN, R.O.C.
TEL／886-2-27033500 FAX／886-2-27042477 E-MAIL／[email protected]
THIS PUBLICATION IS FUNDED BY
THE GOVERNMENT INFORMATION OFFICE AND THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OFFICE, MOEA
