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Accelerated Examination Program for Reexamination (AEPRe) Came into Effect on September 1, 2024



To expedite the reexamination of invention patent applications, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) implemented the Accelerated Examination Program for Reexamination (AEPRe) on September 1, 2024, with probationary period of one year. The AEPRe involves the following regulations: 

1.     Requirements for applying for the AEPRe:

(1)  Qualified applications: invention patent applications under reexamination with a rejection decision issued at the previous examination stage in which not all claims are rejected.

(2)  Timing: Upon receipt of the TIPO's notice of commencement of reexamination and before receipt of the first reexamination office action.

(3)  Amendments for the AEPRe are limited to:

(A) cancellation of claim(s) that have been rejected or objected to; and/or

(B) rewriting the allowable dependent claim(s) into independent claim(s).

When effecting the above amendments, the applicant is allowed to rearrange the sequence and/or dependency of the amended claims or add new dependent claim(s). 

2.     The procedure: The applicant should apply for reexamination and make amendments in accordance with Article 49 of the Patent Act first, and then apply for the AEPRe using the AEPRe application form. The applicant should not apply for reexamination and the AEPRe at the same time. No official fee will be charged for applying for the AEPRe. 

3.     If the AEPRe application meets the above requirements, the TIPO will directly proceed with the accelerated examination of the invention patent application without notifying the applicant. A reexamination office action or allowance decision will be issued within six (6) months from the filing date of the AEPRe application. 

However, if any of the above requirements are not satisfied, the applicant will be notified by the TIPO and is allowed to reapply for the AEPRe by the deadline. 

4.     If the applicant applies for the AEPRe and the AEP at the same time, the TIPO will prioritize the AEPRe application unless the applicant has expressed a preference otherwise. 

Acceptance of the AEPRe application means that the TIPO will expedite the reexamination of the invention patent application, but does not guarantee the grant of the patent application. The TIPO still will evaluate the novelty and inventive step of the amended claims over the prior art references. However, the TIPO will not typically check the unity of the invention patent application.

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