IPO-JPO Cooperative Program on Mutual Recognition of Deposit of Biological Materials for the Purpose of Patent Procedure Officially Launched on June 18TIPO-JPO Cooperative Program on Mutual Recognition of Deposit of Biological Materials for the Purpose of Patent Procedure Officially Launched on June 18Taiwan and Japan announced to officially launch the “Cooperative Program on Mutual Recognition of Deposit of Biological Materials for the Purpose of Patent Procedure” on June 18, 2015 after the Association of East Asian Relations and Interchange Association, Japan signed a cooperative memorandum of understanding in this regard in November, 2014. 

This cooperative program on mutual recognition of deposit of biological materials is the first one that Taiwan has ever had with a foreign country, which also makes Taiwan the first non-member state of the Budapest Treaty that Japan has ever signed such a program with. After the implementation of this cooperative program on mutual recognition of deposit of biological materials, any Taiwanese applicants who intend to file patent applications relating to biological materials with JPO or any Japanese applicants who plan to file patent applications relating to biological materials with TIPO are able to deposit their biological materials in nearby designated depository institutions. Under the program, JPO recognizes the deposit effect of TIPO’s designated depository institution (the Food Industry Research and Development Institute or also called “FIRDI”) while TIPO recognizes the deposit effect of JPO’s designated depository institutions (International Patent Organism Depositary, NITE, also called “NITE-IPOD”; and NITE Patent Microorganisms Depositary, also called “NPMD”). 

Moreover, both sides also recognize the fact of biological material deposits in nearby designated depository institutions before the implementation of this cooperative program in a conditional manner. Any patent applicants on both sides who meet the following two conditions will no longer need to make repeated deposits on both sides: 1) their patent applications filed on and after the implementation date of this cooperative program; and 2) their patent applications filed along with copies of the deposit certificates submitted before the corresponding deadlines.