In 2022, a total of 72,059 patent applications were filed. Invention patents account for 50,242 of the applications, indicating a 2% annual growth to hit the peak for the last decade. In addition, 14,622 applications were filed for utility models and 7,155 were filed for designs, representing a 7% decrease for both in the past year. Furthermore, there had been 94,778 trademark applications filed for registration of 122,320 classes. As regards examination efficiency, the first office actions for invention patent examinations were issued 8.8 months after filing in average, while those for trademarks took approximately 5.2 months. .

  There was no significant change in the number of filings made by domestic applicants in 2022. Local applicants filed 19,400 invention patent applications, an insignificant total decrease of 0.8%, reflecting an equilibrium between an increase in filings by corporates and a decrease in filings by individuals and research institutes. There was a continued trend of fewer investments in utility models and designs, even though the rate of decrease was lower. Local applicants filed 13,669 utility model applications, down by 6%, and 3,411 design applications, down by 3%.

  On the other hand, international applicants filed overwhelmingly for invention patents rather than utility models and designs. They filed 30,842 invention patent applications (an increase of 4%), whereas the numbers of utility models and designs were only 993 and 3,744, respectively.

  The top filer—local or international—of invention patents was TSMC; indeed, TSMC has been in first place for seven straight years. Its number of filings (1,534) in 2022 was even greater than those of Applied Materials (847) and Qualcomm (763) put together. However, it is worth noting that Applied Materials was for the first time the leading international filer, followed by Qualcomm, Samsung Electronics (675), Tokyo Electron (487), Nitto Denko (445), Kioxia (436), META (293), Sing-Etsu Chemical (275), Fujifilm (270) and DISCO (266). Looking at the top-ten list, it is clearly evident that the majority of influential foreign applicants were engaged in or related to the fabrication and design of chips. The list also reflects the fact of Taiwan’s importance in the global supply chain for the semiconductor industry.

  In terms of the source jurisdictions of patent applications, the top five are Japan (-1%), USA (7%), Mainland China (4%), South Korea (16%) and Germany (-4%). Japan was the largest foreign source of both incoming invention and design patents, whereas applicants from Mainland China filed the most utility models of all jurisdictions.

  The trends for trademarks remained positive. The number of applications filed—94,778 for 122,320 classes—was the second highest in the past 20 years. Local applicants filed 74,326 applications (up by 1%) in comparison to a total of 20,452 applications filed by international applicants (down by 9%). As regards the source jurisdictions, the top five were Mainland China (-12%), USA (-11%), Japan (+3%), South Korea (+0.1%) and Hong Kong (-28%).

  Uni-President (567 classes; food) was the number one filer domestically, while Taiwan Family Mart (180 classes; retail grocery), King Car (147 classes; food) and Wowprime (138; restaurant) come after in order. The most popular classes were Class 35 (advertising, business management, etc.), Class 30 (coffee, tea and pastries, etc.) and Class 43 (restaurants, lodging, etc.). Notably, due to the pandemic, people have spent a great deal of time indoors, stimulating a demand for video gaming. Notably, Class 41 (education, entertainment, etc.) and Class 9 (computers, technology products, etc.) have grown by 7.5% and 2.0%, respectively.

  Examination efficiency saw a similar upward trend, according to the data released for 2022. For invention patents, the first office action pendency was 8.8 months, while the period from filing to case closed was 14.3 months. For trademarks, on the other hand, first office actions took 5.2 months on average, while the period from filing to case closed was approximately 6.5 months.

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