Taiwan's trademark certificates to go digital from January 2023

The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has announced that it will finally offer trademark and patent applicants the option of receiving their certificates electronically from 2023. This marks another critical step for TIPO towards going green and paperless.

According to TIPO’s announcement, applicants will be able to choose between an electronic or paper certificate from 1 January 2023. The option will arise upon payment of the application’s registration fee in the case of trademarks – or issue fee and first annuity in the case of patents.

If an applicant initially opts for the new electronic option, they can still acquire a traditional paper certificate on payment of a second fee at a later date. However, it will not be possible to proceed the other way around.  

The electronic certificate will be issued in downloadable PDF format to applicants upon receipt of TIPO’s notice of issuance. It will feature fraud-proof designs alongside a QR code that will link to TIPO’s webpage and show up-to-date information on the trademark or patent.  

While it is unclear how long this two-track system will last, many believe that TIPO’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the paper copy option altogether. Only time will tell if the organisation succeeds.