The Taiwan Fair Trade Commission (hereinafter referred to as the “FTC”) decided at its 1735th Commissioners’ Meeting on January 15, 2025, that the patentee of the patent titled “Eyeglass Frame Components” violated Article 25 of the Fair Trade Act by issuing patent infringement warning letters to eyeglass vendors. As a result, the FTC imposed an administrative penalty of NT$100,000.
 
The FTC received a complaint stating that Mr. Huang, the patentee of the design patent “Eyeglass Frame Components,” issued warning letters to downstream vendors in 2023, alleging that the eyeglass frames sold by these vendors were suspected of infringing on his patent rights. He demanded that the vendors remove the allegedly infringing frames from their shelves and engage in settlement negotiations.
 
Upon investigation, the FTC found that the patentee had not fulfilled his due diligence obligations to verify and notify potential infringing vendors before issuing the warning letters. Additionally, he did not request cease of infringement either prior to or simultaneously with the issuance of the warning letters. The warning letters were issued directly to the eyeglass vendors but did not clearly specify the concrete facts of the alleged infringement. The recipients of the warning letters reported that, based on the contents, they were unable to determine whether an infringement had occurred and were forced to hire lawyers or patent attorneys to obtain an infringement analysis.
 
The patentee’s actions not only failed to notify the vendors in advance about the potentially infringing frames but also caused confusion among them. As a result, vendors who received the warning letters were compelled to remove the allegedly infringing frames from their shelves, return them to suppliers, and, in some cases, even agree to purchase the patentee’s frames as a condition for settlement. To avoid disrupting their relationships with downstream vendors, frame suppliers had to provide full guarantees, thereby ensuring continued business opportunities. Consequently, the inappropriate issuance of warning letters by the patentee was deemed obviously unfair conduct that could affect trading order, violating Article 25 of the Fair Trade Act. The FTC thus imposed the administrative penalty and ordered the patentee to cease the illegal conduct.
 
The FTC emphasized that intellectual property rights holders may notify alleged infringers under the relevant intellectual property laws and request cease of infringement. However, such rights must not be abused. The FTC has developed the “Fair Trade Commission Disposal Directions (Guidelines) on the Reviewing of Cases Involving Enterprises Issuing Warning Letters for Infringement on Copyright, Trademark, and Patent Rights,” which serves as a reference for businesses. Patentees who intend to assert their intellectual property rights should be mindful of the relevant provisions of the Fair Trade Act to avoid violating the law.
 
(Translated and summarized from the Press Release announced on the FTC website)