If a trademark application has any unregistrable condition, TIPO will notify the applicant in writing to state his/her opinions. In response, the applicant may provide facts and evidence explaining the unlikelihood of confusion or the nonexistence of such unregistrable condition.

After a trademark application is rejected by TIPO, the applicant may file for an administrative appeal with the Ministry of Economic Affairs through TIPO. With respect to the reasons of appeal, TIPO will first re-examine the rejected application to see if the decision is legal. If the administrative appeal is dismissed, the applicant may first file an administrative suit with the Intellectual Property Court. A subsequent final suit may be filed with the Supreme Administrative Court.

The filing date of a trademark application shall be the date on which the application indicating the applicant, the trademark representation and the designated goods or services is filed.

Those who have filed a trademark application in a country mutually recognizing priority with the ROC, may claim priority within six months following the date on which their trademark application was first filed in the given country. The filing date of the trademark in the ROC shall be the date when the trademark was first filed in that foreign country (i.e. priority date). However, the claim of priority shall be made at the same time as the application is filed, and the application shall clearly indicate the filing date of the basic foreign application and the name of the foreign country accepting the basic application. In addition, the applicant shall submit, within three months from the date following the filing of the trademark application in the ROC, a certified copy of the basic application as accepted by the government of the particular foreign country in order not to forfeit the priority right.

Since our accession to the WTO on January 1, 2002, all member states of the WTO are entitled to claim priority in the ROC.

A business name such as the name of a company or a firm represents the business entity itself, equivalent to the name of a natural person, while a trademark is used for identifying the source of goods or services provided by the business entity. A business name such as the name of a company or a firm may also serve as a trademark for identifying certain trade source. The main difference, however, lies within the method of indication if such method suffices in allowing consumers to identify the source of goods or services, rather than simply signifying the name of the company or firm.

"R" is generally used in trade to refer to a registered trademark and "TM" is a sign which signifies the subject as a trademark. Any trademark right holder or a registered user may show either of them in his/her trademark. Thus, they have no distinctiveness and exclusivity. In consequence, neither of them can be used as part of a trademark sought to be registered.

Yes. Most countries recognize that where goods or services applying an identical trademark or similar trademarks are unlikely to cause confusion in the market and will not cause unfair competition, they may be registered or used by different people or business entities. In general, if the use of trademarks that are not well-known or are not of high originality for dissimilar goods by different manufacturers, they are unlikely to confuse consumers about the source of goods, thus may be filed separately.

After a trademark application has been approved, the trademark registration shall not be published until after payment of the registration fee has been completed. The payment should be made within two months from the date following the approval decision. The trademark rights related thereto are accorded on the date when the trademark registration is published, and the registration certificate is delivered by postal service immediately after the publication of the registration. Where the required fee for an approved trademark remains unpaid by the end of the stipulated period, a trademark shall not be published for registration.

Where an applicant has unintentionally failed to pay the fee within two months, the applicant may pay double within six months from the day following the date on which the prescribed period expires, in which case the Registrar’s Office will publish the registration. However, this shall not be applied if an application for trademark registration filed or rights of a trademark obtained by a third party during such period would be affected.

Except for "the trademark" and "the designated goods or services" which cannot be changed, any changes to the trademark right holder's contact information or the information of its representative may be updated at any time in a written letter stating such change. If any changes to the name of the trademark right holder, the trademark agent or the seal, an application for recordation of the change shall be filed.

A trademark registered by a business entity or firm belongs to the natural person who owns the business entity or firm. If the responsible person of a business entity or firm changes, even if the name of the business entity or firm remains unchanged, an application for recordation of the assignment shall be filed because of change of ownership.