Taiwan Patent Office launches pilot program for accelerated examination of invention patent applications by women

To encourage women to participate in innovation and invention, the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) launched a "Pilot Program for Accelerated Examination of Invention Patent Applications Submitted by Female Applicants" on July 1, 2025. The program will run for one year. The program involves the following provisions:

Applicable cases

• Applicable only to invention patent applications
• The applicant must be a natural person (applications submitted by legal persons are not eligible)
• The applicant or at least one of the co-applicants must be a female natural person, who must also be one of the inventors in the application.
• Applications must be submitted in person by eligible female applicants.

Require

• Applicants are required to provide their national identification number in the electronic application form
• Applicants with foreign nationality must submit relevant documents that can verify their female identity
• Requests must be submitted through the IPO electronic application system

Submission period:

• After receiving the notice of commencement of substantive examination from TIPO
• Before the first office action notice is issued

quota limits

• Total quota: limited to 50 cases during the trial period
• First two months: up to 5 items per month
• From the third month onwards: up to 4 items per month
• For each female applicant: a maximum of 5 requests may be submitted under this program
• If the monthly limit is reached, applicants can resubmit their request in the following month

Review

• For eligible applications: IPO will conduct an accelerated review within 6 months of submitting the request for accelerated review and issue an office opinion or a decision to allow/reject the application.
• For applications that do not meet the requirements: IPO will notify the applicant and review the application according to normal procedures

Women's participation in innovation and invention has always been a focus of global attention, and this new program led by TIPO will undoubtedly open up a path for female inventors to quickly enter the market.