On November 16, 2022, the Taiwan IP Office announced that, from January 2023 onwards, patent/trademark applicants will be offered the option to receive electronic Patent/Trademark Certificates instead of paper copies. This marks another important step for TIPO towards going green and paperless.
According to TIPO’s announcement, since January 1, 2023, applicants need to choose between a paper certificate or an electronic certificate when paying the requisite fee to complete the grant phase.
Applicants choosing to receive an electronic certificate will be allowed to later apply for a paper certificate with payment of an additional official fee. Proceeding the other way around will not be an option available.
The electronic Certificate will be issued in PDF-format and downloadable within 6 months after the applicant receives TIPO’s notice of issuance of the Certificate. It will bear fraud proof designs along with an authentication QR code which links to TIPO’s webpage showing the most updated information of the patent/trademark registration.
It is unclear how long this two-track system will last, although many believe that TIPO’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the paper copy option altogether.