TWfiling code

Taiwan

TIPO · Intellectual Property Office

The most common hole in a global trademark portfolio, because Taiwan cannot be reached through the route most companies use for everywhere else.

Trademarks
System
First to file
Madrid Protocol
Not available
To registration
~6–10 months
Term
10 years, renewable
Patents & designs
PCT
Not available
Utility model
Utility model
Hague (designs)
Not available
Design term
15 years

Taiwan sits outside both PCT and Hague. Every patent and every design must be filed nationally, and the Paris Convention priority year is the only window you get. This is the jurisdiction most often missed entirely.

What to watch in Taiwan

Four things that decide whether the filing holds

  • Madrid does not reach Taiwan

    There is no international-registration shortcut. A national filing is the only route in, which is exactly why so many portfolios show a gap here.

  • A mainland China registration covers nothing here

    Taiwan keeps its own register. Treat it as a separate market decision, not an extension of a China filing.

  • Chinese-character marks matter

    Same logic as the mainland: register the characters your customers will actually use.

  • Examination is quick

    One of the faster registers in the region, which makes an early filing cheap insurance.

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