經通國際智慧產權事務所

On July 13, 2004 The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) issued an official notification of granting the invention patent with the title of “The Composition of the Coating of High Refractive Index Balls”. The said notification was delivered to the patentee on July 15, 2005 but the patentee only attended to the issuance fee and first annuity on October 19, 2005 and did not meet the “three months period” set forth in Article 51-1 of Patent Act. Therefore, the TIPO made the decision noting the patent right for the said invention shall not exist ab initio. The patentee then appealed the said decision to the Committee of Appeal of the Ministry of Economic Affairs but the Committee of Appeal dismissed the said appeal with the reason of that the said decision made by the TIPO was a notification of concept instead of an administrative disciplinary action. Nevertheless, the patentee then filed an administrative lawsuit with the Taipei High Administrative Court.

After reviewing the submitted evidence, the Court provided that the said decision by the TIPO was in fact an action made by an administrative organ based on its authority with consideration of concrete matters, and thus had legal effect. Consequently, the said decision by the TIPO was an administrative disciplinary action.

The Court further noted that the application of Article 51-1 of Patent Act was not of procedural matter but of substantial matter examined by the TIPO. Thus, the Committee of Appeal’s decision of categorizing the said decision by the TIPO as merely a notification of concept was deemed invalid by the Court.

Based on the reasons above, the Court ordered the Committee of Appeal to reexamine the rejected appeal on January 25, 2007.

Organized and translated by Eunice Yang

International Affairs