萬國法律事務所

Even as the US announced it is keeping Taiwan on its “Special 301” watch list of countries that need to enhance their protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, Taiwan’s Judicial Yuan was taking steps to strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in Taiwan by approving the draft Intellectual Property Court Organizational Act and the draft Act for the Hearing of Intellectual Property Cases.  The Judicial Yuan has also requested that the Executive Yuan jointly send these bills for deliberation and enactment by the Legislative Yuan.   Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Court could be established as early as March 2007 if the legislature reviews and passes the same in an expeditious manner.

These two bills are viewed by many as vital measures that will substantially strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights in Taiwan.  These draft bills come on the heels of prior steps, such as the revision of Taiwan’s Copyright Law in a way that increased criminal sanctions for counterfeiting, the establishment of Taiwan’s Intellectual Property Rights Police, and the increase in the amount of reward monies given for tips that result in the conviction of those selling counterfeit products on-line.

The Judicial Yuan explains that the proper resolution of intellectual property disputes often requires an understanding of specialized high technology and that trade secrets must be protected during the litigation process.  Moreover, the market cycle of many products that are protected by various intellectual property laws is relatively brief and legitimate owners of intellectual property rights need timely relief.

As such, the international trend is for the founding of specialized courts and special litigation procedures.  The two draft intellectual property laws are expected to facilitate expeditious resolutions to patent, trademark, copyright, and other cases involving intellectual property rights initiated in Taiwan by domestic and foreign entities.

The draft Intellectual Property Court Organizational Act is divided into eight chapters containing a total of 46 articles.  The chapters are titled: general provisions; judges and appointment qualifications; technology investigators and their allocation; the allocation of law clerks and other personnel; the judicial year and distribution of business; court opening, closing, and order; monitoring of judicial administration, and supplementary rules.

Because disputes regarding intellectual property rights often involve very specialized technology issues, special investigators will be appointed to assist judges in making decisions.  If necessary, the draft provides that the Judicial Yuan can engage the services of experts with professional understanding of intellectual property matters to serve as technology investigators.  In order to staff the new Court with appropriately trained judges, the Judicial Yuan will hold an IP Judge Training Seminar from March 6 to July 7 2006.

Meanwhile, the draft Act for the Hearing of Intellectual Property Cases is divided into five chapters containing a total of 39 articles.  The five chapters are entitled: general provisions, civil actions, criminal actions, administrative actions, and supplementary rules.  The draft act provides that cases may be heard via videoconferencing.