Article 21 Definition of invention

"Invention" as referred to in this Law means an innovative creation in technical concept based on the law of nature.

An invention patent may be applied in accordance with this Law for any invention susceptible of industrial application, unless--

1. the invention has appeared in any printed publication or has been put to public use anywhere prior to filing; or
2. the invention was publicly known prior to filing.

The preceding limitations shall not apply if the publication, public use, or disclosure of an invention was due to the following causes and a patent application has been filed within six months from the date of publication, public use or disclosure:

1. for research or experimental purposes;
2. the invention was displayed at an exhibition sponsored or approved by the government; or
3. the disclosure was against the applicant's intent.

Whenever the applicant claims the benefit of Item 1 or 2 of the preceding paragraph, the fact involved and the date of occurrence shall be stated at the time of filing, and documentary evidence shall be submitted within a period of time designated by the Patent Office.

An invention, which does not fall under any of the circumstances described in the first paragraph but would have been easily achieved by a person with ordinary skill in the art to which it pertains in the light of the state of the art prior to its filing date, shall not be granted an invention patent under this Law.

Where the invention in a patent application has been disclosed in the specification or drawings of an earlier filed invention or utility model patent application that is laid open or published after the filing of the present application, an invention patent shall not be granted. This provision shall however not apply where the applicant of the present application is the same as that of the earlier filed invention or utility model patent application.

Exceptions to invention patent protection are as follows:

1. animals and plants, and essentially biological processes for the production of animals or plants; the exceptions to protection, however, do not include microbiological processes;
2. diagnostic, therapeutic and surgical methods for the treatment of humans or animals; and
3. inventions, the use of which is detrimental to public order, morality or public health.

An invention patent application shall be filed by the entitled patent applicant by submitting to the Patent Office a completed application form accompanied by the specification, and drawings, where necessary.
An application, if filed by the inventor's employer, assignee or heir, shall state the name of the inventor, and be accompanied by the documentary evidence of employment, transfer or inheritance.

A filing date shall be obtained when the application form, specification and necessary drawings have been submitted to the Patent Office.

Whenever the specification and drawings referred to in the preceding paragraph are submitted in a foreign language and a Chinese translation thereof is supplemented within a period of time designated by the Patent Office, the date on which the specification and drawings in the foreign language are filed shall be deemed to be the filing date. The application shall be dismissed if the Chinese translation is not filed within the designated period of time. In the event that the designated deadline is not met but the Chinese translation is submitted before issuance of a decision to dismiss the application, the date on which the Chinese translation is filed shall serve as the filing date.

The specification referred to in the preceding Article shall contain the title of the invention, a detailed description of the invention, an abstract, and claims.

In the detailed description of the invention, the invention shall be disclosed in such precise and sufficient manner as to enable any person with ordinary skill in the art to which it pertains to understand and practice the invention.

The claims shall precisely point out the subject matter which the applicant regards as his invention, with each claim defined in a clear and concise manner, and supported by the description and drawings.

The formats of description, claims and drawings shall be prescribed in the Enforcement Rules of this Law.

Where a patent application for an invention was first filed by any entity in a WTO member country or in a foreign country which reciprocally affords the nationals of the Republic of China the right of priority in the country, a patent application for the same invention subsequently filed by the same entity in this country within twelve months of the date on which the foreign application was filed may claim the right of priority.

Where an applicant claims two or more priority dates in a single application in accordance with the provision of the preceding paragraph, the priority period shall be calculated from the next day of the earlier or earliest priority date.

Where the country of origin of a foreign applicant is not a WTO member and also does not reciprocally afford the right of priority to the nationals of this country, priority may still be claimed pursuant to the provision of the first paragraph in the event that the foreign applicant has a domicile or a place of business within the territory of a WTO member or a country that reciprocally affords the right of priority to the nationals of this country.

In the event of a patent application entitled to the right of priority, examination of the patentability of the invention as claimed shall be made on the basis of the state of the art before the priority date.

Any person who claims the right of priority in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Article shall make such claim at the time of filing and shall also state in the application form the country in which the corresponding foreign application was filed and the filing date.

The applicant shall submit within four months from the date of filing in this country a certified document issued by the foreign government concerning the corresponding foreign patent application.

Failure to meet the provisions set forth in the preceding two paragraphs will result in loss of the right of priority.

An applicant who files a further patent application based upon his own prior invention or utility model patent application filed in the Republic of China may claim the right of priority with respect to the invention or creation disclosed in the specification or drawings of the prior patent application. The right of priority shall however not be claimed under any of the following circumstances:

1. twelve months have elapsed from the filing date of the prior application;

2. a claim for priority has been made for the invention or creation disclosed in the prior application according to the provisions of Article 27 or this Article;

3. the prior application is a divisional application filed according to the first paragraph of Article 33 or a converted application filed according to Article 102; and

4. the final rejection or the notice of allowance has been rendered in the prior application.

The prior application as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be deemed withdrawn fifteen months after the date of filing thereof.

Withdrawal of priority claim is not permitted where fifteen months have elapsed from the filing date of the prior application.

Where the later application filed with a priority claim according to the first paragraph is withdrawn within fifteen months of the filing date of the prior application, the priority claim shall be deemed withdrawn concurrently therewith.

Where the applicant claims two or more priorities in a single application, the priority period shall be calculated from the day following the earlier or earliest priority date.

In the case of a patent application claiming the right of priority, examination of the patentability of the invention for which the application was filed shall be based on the priority date.

Any person who claims the right of priority in accordance with the provisions of the first paragraph shall make such claim at the time of filing and shall also state in the application form the filing date and the application number of the prior application. Failure to make such claim at the time of filing, or failure to state the filing date and the application number of the prior application shall result in loss of the right of priority.

The date of priority as claimed in accordance with this Article shall not precede October 26, 2001.

The applicant of an invention patent application for an invention concerning biological material or use of biological material shall deposit the biological material concerned, no later than the date of filing of the application, in a domestic depository institution designated by the Patent Office. In addition thereto, the name of the depository institution, the deposit date and the deposit number should be stated in the application form. The deposit requirement may, however, be exempted if the biological material concerned can be easily obtained by those having ordinary skill in the art to which it pertains.

The applicant should submit a certificate of deposit within three months of the date of filing the application. In the event of failure to submit the certificate within the time limit, it shall be deemed that no deposit was made.

In the event that a deposit has been made in a foreign depository institution recognized by the Patent Office prior to filing, and the fact has been so stated at the time of filing, with a certificate of deposit from the domestic depository institution designated by the Patent Office and a certificate of deposit issued by the foreign depository institution submitted within the time limit provided in the preceding paragraph, the requirement for domestic deposit no later than the filing date as set forth in the first paragraph shall not apply.

Regulations governing the acceptance requirements, types, forms, quantities and rate of charges of biological material deposits, and other matters in connection with the conduct of deposit shall be prescribed by the supervisory authority.

Where two or more patent applications are filed for the same invention, only the applicant whose application is filed first shall be accorded the priority of being granted an invention patent. This provision shall, however, not apply if the priority date claimed in the latter application foregoes the filing date of the first filed application.

If the filing date and priority date referred to in the preceding paragraph are the same, the applicants shall be ordered to compromise among themselves. If no compromise is reached, none of the applications shall be granted an invention patent. In the case where the applications are filed by the same applicant, the applicant shall be ordered to elect one of the applications within a time limit. In the event of failure to do so, none of the applications shall be granted an invention patent.

While the negotiation amongst the applicants is ongoing, the Patent Office shall notify them to report the results of the negotiation within a designated period of time. In the event of failure to do so, it shall be deemed that no compromise was reached.

Whenever an invention patent application and a utility model patent application are filed for the same invention or utility model, the preceding three paragraphs shall apply.

An applicant shall file an individual invention patent application for each independent invention.

When two or more inventions are so linked as to form a single general inventive concept, they may be claimed in a single application.

Whenever a single patent application is substantially comprised of two or more inventions, the Patent Office may notify the applicant to file, or the applicant may voluntarily file, a divisional application(s) for the other invention(s).

The divisional application(s) as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be filed before the Patent Office has rendered a final decision on the re-examination of the parent application. If accepted, the divisional application(s) shall be entitled to the benefit of the original filing date and the priority date (if any) claimed in the parent application. The Patent Office shall examine such divisional application(s) from the procedure completed in the parent application.

Whenever a patent granted on an invention patent application filed by a party not entitled thereto has been revoked upon an invalidation petition initiated by an entitled party within two years from the publication date of the application and a patent application is later filed by the party entitled thereto within sixty days from the date of conclusive revocation, the filing date of the former application shall serve as the filing date of the latter legitimate application.

An invention patent application filed pursuant to the preceding paragraph by the person entitled thereto is not subject to further publication.

The Patent Office shall designate examiners to handle the substantive examination of Invention patent applications.

Qualifications of the examiners shall be prescribed by law.

Whenever the Patent Office, after examining documents received in an invention patent application, deems that the application does not contravene the stipulated formalities and is not exempted from being laid open, the application shall be laid open to the public after the expiry of a period of eighteen months from the filing date of the application.

The Patent Office may lay open an application before the expiry of the period referred to above at the request of the applicant.

An invention patent application shall be exempted from being laid open under any of the following circumstances:

1. the application was withdrawn within fifteen months from the filing date;

2. the invention involves national defense secrets or secrets relating to the security of any other nation; and

3. the invention is detrimental to public order or morality.

Whenever priority is claimed, the periods of time referred to in the first and the preceding paragraphs shall be calculated from the day following the priority date. Where two or more priorities are claimed, the periods of time shall be calculated from the next day of the earlier or earliest priority date.

Any person may file a request with the Patent Office for substantive examination of an invention patent application within three years from the filing date.

In the event of a divisional application filed in accordance with the provision of the first paragraph of Article 33 or an invention patent application converted from a utility model patent application in accordance with the provision of Article 102, where the time limit as referred to in the preceding paragraph has expired, a request for substantive examination may still be filed with the Patent Office within thirty days from the date of division or conversion.

The request for substantive examination filed according to the provisions of the preceding two paragraphs shall not be withdrawn.

An invention patent application shall be deemed to have been withdrawn where a request for substantive examination of the application is not made within the time limit prescribed in the first or second paragraph.

A request for examination as referred to in the preceding Article shall be made by submitting an application form.

The Patent Office shall publish in the Patent Gazette facts relating to requests for examination.

Where a request for examination of an invention patent application is made by a person other than the applicant, the Patent Office shall notify the applicant of the invention patent application of such fact.

Where an invention relates to biological material or use of biological material, the applicant of the invention patent application shall, upon requesting examination, submit a certificate of viability issued by a depository institution. Where the request for examination is made by a person other than the applicant of the invention patent application, the Patent Office shall notify the applicant of the invention patent application to submit the certificate of viability within three months.

After an invention patent application has been laid open, in case a person other than the applicant of the patent application practices the invention for commercial purposes, the Patent Office may prioritize examination of the patent application upon request.

Where a request is made according to the preceding paragraph, relevant documentary evidence shall be submitted.

Where the applicant of an invention patent application has notified a person of the contents of the invention patent application in writing after laying-open of the application, the applicant may, upon grant of patent right to the invention patent application, claim appropriate damages from said person who continues to practice the invention commercially after receiving the notification and prior to publication of the granted application.

The applicant may also make the claim for damages as referred to in the preceding paragraph from a person who was well aware of the laying-open of the invention patent application but still continued with the commercial practice of the invention prior to the publication of the granted application.

The right to make the claim as provided in the preceding two paragraphs shall not affect the enforcement of any other rights.

The right to claim damages set forth in the first and second paragraphs shall lapse in the event of non-enforcement within two years from the date of publication.

The provisions of the preceding five articles shall apply only to invention patent applications filed on or after October 26, 2002.

Under any of the following circumstances, an examiner shall excuse himself/herself from examining a patent application:

1. where the examiner or the examiner's spouse is the applicant or the patent attorney therefor or the patent attorney's partner, or has employment relationship with the patent attorney;

2. where the examiner is related to the applicant or the applicant's patent attorney by consanguinity up to and including the fourth degree or by affinity up to and including the third degree;

3. where the examiner or the examiner's spouse stands in relation to the applicant as a joint obligee, joint-obligor, or as a debtor;

4. where the examiner is or has been the head or a member of the applicant's family or serves or has served as the applicant's legal representative;

5. where the examiner is or has served as an attorney or guardian ad litem to the applicant; and

6. where the examiner is or has been a witness, an expert witness, an opposer or an invalidator in the patent case to be examined.

Whenever an examiner who is disqualified under any of the above circumstances has unduly taken up an application for examination, the Patent Office may, ex officio or upon request, cancel the decision released by such examiner and render another appropriate decision.

Upon completion of examination of a patent application, a written decision shall be rendered and served on the applicant or his patent attorney.

Whenever the granting of a patent is denied, the Decision shall contain the reasons therefor.

The patent examiner's name shall be specified in the Decision. The foregoing shall also apply to any written decisions rendered in relation to reexamination of patent applications and to examination of invalidation petitions and requests for patent term extension.

Any invention patent application in violation of the provisions of Articles 21 through 24, Article 26, the first or second paragraphs of Article 30, Article 31, Article 32, or the fourth paragraph of Article 49 shall not be granted a patent.

Where an invention claimed in a patent application is deemed patentable upon examination, a patent shall be granted and in addition thereto, the claims and drawings shall be published.

Any party may apply to inspect, transcribe, photograph, or make copies of the Decisions, specification, drawings, and all related papers in the file of a published patent application. The foregoing shall, however, not apply to files of patent applications that must be kept confidential by the Patent Office as prescribed by law.

Whenever an applicant for an invention patent is dissatisfied with an Office Action, a request for reexamination along with the reasons therefor may be filed with the Patent Office within sixty days from receipt of the Office Action. If, however, a patent application has been dismissed or rejected by the Patent Office on the grounds that the legal application procedures were not followed or that the applicant is not legally entitled to file the application, the applicant may in accordance with the applicable law initiate administrative remedial proceedings.

Whenever an invention is deemed unpatentable upon reexamination, the Patent Office shall notify the applicant of the decision in advance and specify a time limit within which a response shall be submitted.

The Patent Office shall designate a patent examiner other than the one responsible for the previous examination of a patent application to undertake reexamination of the application and to render a written decision.

The decision of reexamination as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be delivered to the applicant.

During the examination procedure, the Patent Office may notify, at request or ex officio, the applicant to conduct the following acts within the specified time limit:

l. to appear at the Patent Office for an interview; and

2. to conduct necessary experiments or submit models or specimens.

If deemed necessary, the Patent Office may send an examiner to inspect on the spot or at the specified location the experiments, models or specimens as referred to in Item 2 of the preceding paragraph.

During the examination procedure, the Patent Office may, ex officio, notify an applicant to submit a supplement or amendment to the specification or drawings within a specified time limit.

An applicant may file a request for supplement or amendment to the specification or drawings within fifteen months from the filing date of an invention patent application. Where the request for supplement or amendment to the specification or drawings is filed after the fifteen-month time limit, the patent application shall be published as originally filed.

An applicant may submit a supplement or amendment to the specification or drawings fifteen months after the filing date of an invention patent application but only within the period of time or on the dates specified below:

1. at the time of requesting substantive examination;

2. where a person other than the applicant has requested substantive examination of the application, within three months upon receipt of an official notification regarding commencement of substantive examination of the application;

3. within the period of time set for responding to an Official Letter from the Patent Office;

4. at the time of filing a request for reexamination or within an extended period of time set for filing a response for the reexamination;

The supplement or amendment as referred to in the preceding three paragraphs shall be supportable by the disclosure of the specification or drawings as originally filed.

Whenever priority is claimed, the period of time as referred to in the second and third paragraphs shall be calculated from the day following the priority date.

Whenever an invention, upon examination, is deemed likely to be detrimental to the national security, the Patent Office shall make the specification available for inspection to the Ministry of National Defense or other authorities concerned with national security. If it is deemed by the aforesaid authorities that such invention shall be kept secret, the Patent Office shall withhold publication of the invention, maintain all application documents in a sealed condition and excluded from public inspection, and serve a written decision to that effect on the applicant, his patent attorney and the inventor.

The applicant, his patent attorney or the inventor shall keep secret the invention referred to in the preceding paragraph. Violation of this provision shall result in abandonment of the right derived from the patent application.

The secrecy of such invention shall be maintained for a period of one year from the applicant's receipt of the decision and may be renewed for additional periods of one year, if deemed necessary. The Patent Office shall, within one month prior to the expiration of the period thereof, consult the Ministry of National Defense or other authorities concerned with national security for the necessity to maintain the secrecy. If secrecy is not deemed necessary to remain in effect, the invention shall thereupon be published.

The Government shall appropriately compensate the applicant for any loss during the period of secrecy.

Where a Notice of Allowance has been issued on an invention patent application, the applicant shall pay the issue fee and the first annuity within three months upon his receipt of the Notice of Allowance. The invention shall be published only upon payment of the fees. In the event that payment is not timely attended to, the invention shall not be published and the patent right shall be nullified ab initio.

The invention patent right shall be afforded from the date of publication and the Letters Patent shall be issued.

The duration term of an invention patent shall be twenty years, calculated from the filing date.

Where practice of an invention patent relating to pharmaceutical or pesticide composition or the manufacturing method therefor is subject to regulatory approval pursuant to other law and where it takes more than two years after the publication of the patent application to acquire such approval, the patent owner may apply for an extension of the patent term for a period of two to five years. Only one extension of the patent term shall be granted. The term of the patent shall, however, not be extended for a period in excess of the time needed for acquiring such approval from the authority concerned. If the time needed for acquiring such approval is over five years, the period of extension shall still not exceed five years.

The application for extension of patent term as set forth in the preceding paragraph shall be made by submitting, within three months from the date of issuance of the first certificate of approval, to the Patent Office an application form accompanied by documentary evidence. Such application shall, however, not be filed within six months prior to the expiry date of the patent term.

With respect to the application as referred to in the preceding paragraph, in determining the period of extension, the supervisory authority shall take into account the public health effects and prescribe relevant regulations in conjunction with the authority concerned.

The Patent Office shall appoint a patent examiner to examine the application for extension of the term of an invention patent and the decision rendered shall be served on the patent owner or his patent attorney.

During the period of extension of the term of an invention patent, any party may file with the Patent Office a revocation request accompanied by documentary evidence under any of the following circumstances:

1. where practice of the invention patent is not subject to regulatory approval;

2. where the patentee or his licensee has not acquired the approval;

3. where the period of extension exceeds the length of time within which the patented invention was incapable of being put into practice;

4. where the application for patent term extension was not filed by the patentee;

5. where, regardless of a jointly owned patent, the application for patent term extension was not jointly filed by all co-patentees;

6. where the application for patent term extension is made on the basis of the elapsed period required by the trial toward obtaining the approval in a foreign country and which is also recognized in the regulatory approval process, the patent term has been extended for a period in excess of that granted by the foreign Patent Office; and

7. where the time for acquiring the approval is less than two years.

Whenever the revocation request against the extension of patent term has been deemed well-grounded conclusively, the extended patent right shall be nullified ab initio. If the revocation request was, however, based on Item 3 or 6 of the preceding paragraph, only the exceeding term shall be deemed void.

In the event of any of the circumstances set forth in the first paragraph of the preceding Article, the Patent Office may, ex officio, cancel the extension of the term of an invention patent.

Where the extension of a patent term has been conclusively cancelled, the originally extended patent right shall be nullified ab initio. If such cancellation was based on Item 3 or 6 of the first paragraph of the preceding Article, only the exceeding term shall be deemed void.

Unless otherwise prescribed in this Law, the owner of a patent in relation to an article shall have the exclusive right to prevent others from making, offering for sale, selling, using, or importing for these purposes that article without his consent.

Unless otherwise prescribed in this Law, the owner of a patent in relation to a process shall have the exclusive right to prevent others not having his consent from using the process and using, offering for sale, selling, or importing for these purposes the product obtained directly by that process.

The scope of an invention patent shall be defined by the claims contained in the specification. In construing the claims, reference may be made to the description and drawings.

The right conferred by an invention patent shall not apply in any of the following cases:

1. where the practice of the invention is for research, education and experimental purposes, and is not intended to make profit;

2. where, prior to its filing date, the invention has been used or the necessary preparations involved in using the invention have been made by a third party in this country. This exception shall not apply, however, where the third party learned, within six months prior to the filing date of the patent application, the manufacturing process from the applicant who has announced his desire to reserve his right to apply for a patent;

3. where an article which is covered by a patent has been in existence in this country prior to the filing date of the application;

4. where an article which is covered by a patent is in the form of a transportation vehicle, or equipment or other accessories used therein, which is merely in transit through this country;

5. where, prior to the date a patent granted to a party not entitled thereto is invalidated by the entitled party, the illegitimate patentee's licensee has, in good faith, made use of the invention or has completed all necessary preparations for such use in this country; and

6. where, after a patented article made by the patentee or made with his consent has been sold, the article is used or re-sold. The said acts of making and selling shall not be limited to those conducted in this country.

The use of a patented invention as referred to in Items 2 and 5 of the preceding paragraph shall be confined to the use for the purpose of its business. The territory of sale referred to in Item 6 shall be determined by the court according to the facts involved.

Where the licensee as referred to in Item 5 of the first paragraph continues to practice the invention after cancellation of the patent right, it shall pay the legitimate patentee a reasonable royalty as of the date of receipt of a written notification from the legitimate patentee.

Whenever a patent is directed to a pharmaceutical composition or process combining two or more pharmaceutical products, the right afforded by said patent shall not extend to cover physicians' prescriptions or the medicine formulated according to the prescriptions.

Where the owner of an invention patent has assigned his invention patent right, trusted his invention patent, or granted a license to practice his invention to another person, or deposited his invention patent right as the subject of a pledge, such assignment, trust, license, or pledge shall have no locus standi against a third party, unless it has been recorded in the Patent Office.

The assignment or license of invention patent right shall be of no effect whenever the controlling contract contains either of the following provisions thereby giving rise to unfair competition:

1. prohibiting or restricting the assignee or licensee from using any specific article or any process not furnished by the assignor or licensor; and

2. requiring the assignee to purchase from the assignor any product or raw material not protected by the patent.

Whenever an invention patent is jointly owned, it shall not be assigned or licensed to a third party without the unanimous consent of all the joint owners. If, however, a contract contradictory to this Article has been concluded, such contract shall prevail.

No joint owner of an invention patent shall assign to, entrust, or pledge his share in favor of a third party without the unanimous consent of the other joint owners.

The owner of an invention patent who has suffered losses as a result of war between this country and any other country may apply for a patent term extension of five to ten years, but only one extension shall be granted. However, if the patentee is a national of a hostile country, the term of his patent shall not be extended.

The owner of an invention patent may apply to the Patent Office for amendment of the specification or drawings only for the following purposes:

1. restriction of claims;
2. correction of misstatements; and
3. clarification of obscurity.

The amendment referred to in the preceding paragraph shall not go beyond the disclosure of the specification or drawings as originally filed and shall not substantially broaden or alter the scope of the claims.

The Patent Office shall publish the amendments in the Patent Gazette upon approval.

Whenever the amendment to the specification and/or drawings has been published, such amendment shall be retroactively effective as of the filing date.

The owner of an invention patent shall not allow his patent right to go abandoned, or make any amendments referred to in the preceding Article without first obtaining the consent of his licensee or pledgee.

An invention patent right shall extinguish:

1. on the day following the expiry date of the patent term;

2. if the patentee is deceased and no one claims to be his heir, on the date the patent right is taken over by the national treasury in accordance with Article 1,185 of the Civil Law;

3. if the patentee fails to pay the second annuity or any annuity due thereafter prior to the expiration of the grace period, on the day following the original deadline for payment. This provision, however, shall not apply if the patent has been restored in accordance with the provision of the second paragraph of Article 17; or

4. on the date the patentee's written statement expressing the abandonment of his patent right is submitted.

Under any of the following circumstances, the Patent Office shall, at request or ex officio, cancel an invention patent and recall the Letters Patent within a prescribed period of time; if the Letters Patent cannot be recalled, an announcement which nullifies the certificate shall be published:

1. where a patented invention is found to be in violation of the provisions of the first paragraph of Article 12, Articles 21 through 24, Article 26, Article 31 or the fourth paragraph of Article 49;

2. where the country of origin of an invention patent owner refuses acceptance of patent applications filed by nationals of the Republic of China; and

3. where an invention patent owner is other than the person entitled to file the invention patent application.

Only an interested party may initiate invalidation proceedings against a patent based on the first paragraph of Article 12 or Item 3 of the preceding paragraph. Any party may initiate invalidation proceedings against a patent for violation of the other provisions by submitting documentary evidence.

The invalidation petitioner shall submit reasons and evidence within one month from the date the invalidation proceedings were initiated. However, any reasons and evidence submitted before a decision is rendered by the Patent Office on the invalidation proceedings shall still be considered.

After the invalidation proceedings have been deemed groundless, no one shall initiate further proceedings based on the same grounds and evidence

Any person with a retroactive legal interest may still initiate invalidation proceedings against a patent after the expiration or extinguishment of the patent right.

Upon receipt of an invalidation petition, the Patent Office shall send a copy thereof to the invention patent owner.

The invention patent owner shall submit a counterstatement within one month upon receipt of the copy. If no counterstatement is filed within the specified time limit, the Patent Office will examine the invalidation proceedings ex officio, unless a request for a time extension accompanied by reasons therefor has been filed and granted.

The Patent Office shall designate a patent examiner other than the one(s) assigned to the previous examination of a patent application to undertake examination of the invalidation proceedings against the patented invention and to render a written decision which shall be served on the invention patent owner and the invalidation petitioner respectively.

During the examination of invalidation proceedings, the Patent Office may, at request or ex officio, notify the invention patent owner to conduct the following acts within the specified time limit:

1. to appear at the Patent Office for an interview;

2. to conduct necessary experiments or submit models or specimens; and

3. to make an amendment to the specification or drawings in accordance with the first or second paragraph of Article 64.

If deemed necessary, the Patent Office may delegate an examiner to inspect on the spot or at the specified location the experiments, models or specimens as referred to in Item 2 of the preceding paragraph.

The Patent Office shall notify the invalidation petitioner of any amendment to the specification or drawings performed in accordance with Item 3 of the first paragraph.

The provisions of the third and fourth paragraphs of Article 67 and the preceding four Articles shall apply mutatis mutandis to invalidation proceedings initiated pursuant to Article 54 against the extension of an invention patent term.

The provisions of the preceding three Articles shall apply mutatis mutandis to ex officio cancellation of a patent right pursuant to Article 67.

Whenever an invention patent right has been cancelled by the Patent Office, such decision shall be considered conclusive under either of the following circumstances:

1. where the patentee fails to initiate administrative remedial proceedings in accordance with the relevant law; and

2. where the administrative remedial proceedings initiated by the patentee have been dismissed conclusively.

The invention patent right shall be nullified ab initio upon finalization of the cancellation.

The grant, alteration, extension, transfer, trust, grant of license, grant of compulsory license, cancellation, lapse, and establishment of pledge in relation to an invention patent and other relevant matters shall be published in the Patent Gazette.

The Patent Office shall establish and maintain a Register of patents, which shall record the particulars of each of the granted patents, any changes concerning patent right, and other particulars as may be prescribed by applicable laws.

The Register of patents as referred to in the preceding paragraph may be established and maintained by electronic means, and shall be open to the public for inspection, transcription, photography or photocopying.

In the case of non-commercial use for the purpose of meeting the needs of a national emergency or promoting the public welfare, or in case no licensing agreement can be reached within a considerable period of time notwithstanding the offer of reasonable commercial terms and conditions to the patentee, the Patent Office may grant a compulsory license in response to the request of an applicant who intends to use the patent. Use of the patent by the licensee shall be restricted to supplying largely the need of the domestic market. However, compulsory license of a semiconductor-related patent shall be granted on