To shorten the time for the applicants to wait for the examination results of invention applications, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) has implemented a trial Accelerated Examination Program (AEP) of invention patent applications for one year from January 1, 2009.

Based on the latest statistics regarding the period ending in June, 218 applications for AEP have been requested, of which 138 cases are from overseas applicants and 61 cases were handled by Tai E. In terms of the nationalities of the applicants, 80 cases are from domestic applicants, 36 cases are from applicants of the United States, then 30 from Japanese, 15 from German, and 14 from Singaporean applicants. The number of cases from overseas applicants increased significantly from April to June.

In terms of the nationalities/regions of the allowed foreign corresponding applications, 52% of which originate in the United States, 13% from Europe, 10% for both Japan and China and 7% for Korea.

Furthermore, in terms of the technical areas of the invention applications in the primary examination stage, electric power, measuring, optics and storage devices account for 33 cases, mechanics accounts for 28 cases, human necessities account for 25 cases, optoelectronics account for 23 cases, and semiconductors account for 23 cases, which total 71.7% of all cases AEP applications.

TIPO has rendered examination results for 109 cases, on average rendering an examination result in 41.7 days from the receipt of the application for AEP.