Taiwan region of China passes draft amendments to the "Patent Act": design patent grace period proposed to be extended from 6 months to 12 months

On 2026, 10, 22, the "Executive Yuan" of the Taiwan region of China passed at its 4026th meeting a draft amendment to certain provisions of the "Patent Act" prepared by the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" of the Taiwan region, which will be sent to the legislative body of the Taiwan region for deliberation. The "Ministry of Economic Affairs" of the Taiwan region stated that once the draft completes the legislative process, it can align with international practice and simplify applicants' filing procedures. The structure of this amendment is "1 amendments, 1 additions, 3 relaxations", with five key points in total.

In mainland terminology, the Taiwan region's "design patent" corresponds to an appearance design patent, and the "grace period" corresponds to the grace period for non-loss of novelty.

First, the current restriction that a design must be applied to an "article" (such as a display device) is relaxed, and "computer-generated images" and "graphical user interfaces" are amended to be protectable independently as subject matter of design patents, in order to respond to the diversification of digital technology designs such as virtual reality and augmented reality.

Second, with reference to legislative examples such as the Hague Agreement, the European Union and the United States, the current principle of "one design, one application" is relaxed, allowing "two or more similar designs to be filed in one application", with corresponding amendments to relevant provisions on correction and invalidation.

Third, the design patent grace period is extended from the current 6 months to 12 months (amending Article 122 and Article 142), so that after an applicant publicly discloses or displays a product, the applicant does not lose novelty or creativeness due to that public disclosure.

Fourth, the time point for filing a divisional design patent application is relaxed: from the current requirement that it be filed before the reexamination and approval of the original application, it is relaxed so that it may also be filed within 3 months after the approval and issuance decision of the original application or the reexamination is served, with corresponding amendments to the grounds for non-patentability and the grounds for invalidation.

Fifth, the circumstances in which an application to change the name of the right holder may be made in disputes over ownership of rights are relaxed. In practice, patent ownership disputes are not limited to employment relationships and may also arise in situations such as contracting, filing under another's name, or commissioning research and development with funding; after the relaxation, a true right holder that resolves a dispute through civil channels may apply to the patent authority to change the name of the right holder.

The draft also adds transitional provisions, specifying the handling of invalidation of patent rights before the amended provisions take effect, as well as the applicable circumstances of the grace period, the system of combined filing of similar designs, and the time limit for divisional applications. ——————————————————————————————————————————————————— Source: Press release of the "Intellectual Property Office, Ministry of Economic Affairs" of the Taiwan region, "The 4026th Executive Yuan Meeting Passes the 'Draft Amendment to Certain Provisions of the Patent Act'", 2026, 10, 22.

Note: This article is compiled based on public information and is for informational reference only; it does not constitute legal or other professional advice. For specific conclusions, please refer to official publications and the actual circumstances of individual cases.