In order to provide more diverse and flexible examinations for design patent applications, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (“TIPO” hereinafter) formulated the "Design Patent Accelerated Examination Pilot Program" (“program” hereinafter). By means of the program, the TIPO accepts the requests for accelerated substantive examination of design patent applications.
During the trial period of the program, the TIPO accepted the requests for the program from September 1, 2023, and the trial period ended on December 31, 2026. After evaluation, the TIPO decided to continue the program until December 31, 2026; and the evaluation of the program will also be continued to decide whether to further continue or revise the program.
Contents of the program
A design patent application requesting the program will receive the first Office Action within two months.

1. Timing for requesting the program

The request should be submitted between the notification for substantive examination and receiving the first Examination Report application.

2. Filing the request

The request for the program shall be filed electronically according to the TIPO’s regulations and the relevant supporting documents shall be submitted; during the trial period, the official fees will be waived.

3. Conditions for requesting the program

If the design patent applications meet one of the following three conditions, the applications are eligible for the program.

Condition 1: Third-party commercial exploitation
Applicants who request for accelerated examination based on Condition 1 should provide details regarding the third party’s information, implementation behaviors (such as product catalogs, newspapers, magazines, etc.) and the starting period.
Condition 2: Receipt of prestigious international or national design awards
The TIPO recognizes the following design awards as prestigious:
(1) Golden Pin Design Award (Taiwan)
(2) iF Design Award (Germany)
(3) Red Dot Design Award (Germany)
(4) Good Design Award (Germany)
(5) International Design Excellence Awards (IDEA, U.S.)
Applicants who request accelerated examination based on condition 2 and whose design has won a famous domestic and foreign design award should provide the certificate of the awards and the relevant supporting documents.
Condition 3: Design patent applications from start-up enterprises
Applicants who request for accelerated examination based on condition 3 are limited to three applications for each new startup in the same year.
The eligible start-up companies are companies that have been registered and established for less than eight years.