An amendment to the Patent Act of Taiwan concerning the grace period was promulgated on January 18, 2017. Major revisions include:

 

 

(1) The grace period for invention and utility model patent applications is extended from 6 to 12 months preceding the date of domestic filing date;

(2) The disclosures that may be qualified for grace period will no longer be limited to certain types;

(3) The requirement of claiming grace period at the time of filing the application is removed.

 

 

The amendment has come into effect on May 1, 2017, and will apply to applications filed on and after that day.