Alibaba Overtakes TSMC in Taiwan Patent Filings in Q1

On April 26, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs announced that Chinese internet giant Alibaba had overtaken Taiwan semiconductor foundry TSMC in Taiwan invention patent filings in Q1 of 2017. Alibaba filed for 372 invention patents in the first quarter of this year, year-on-year growth of 879%, far outpacing TMSC, with just 132. This is the first time that Alibaba has made it to the top spot.

The ministry published its statistics for Q1 on the same day. New filings for invention patents, utility model patents and design patents stood at 17,670, a year-on-year increase of 6%, with respective increases of 8%, 2% and 3%; Trademark registrations totaled 18,976, a year-on-year increase of 5%.

TSMC was in the top spot in terms of domestic filings by corporation with 132, followed by MediaTek, Hon Hai Precision Instruments (Foxconn), Acer and AU Optronics.

Alibaba led the rankings in terms of foreign corporations, followed by Intel, Qualcomm, Tokyo Electron and Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co.

The head of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) Sherry Hong, was quoted by CNA News as stating that Alibaba has been filing invention patent applications relating to e-commerce, ID authentication, data processing and extraction, image and audio processing, cyber-attack prevention and Internet of Things.

Applications from domestic applicants in the first quarter totaled 3,769, growth of 8%, while those from foreign applicants numbered 7,405, growth of 9%. Applications from Japanese applicants were the most numerous, totaling 3,540, followed by US applicants with 1,604 applications, Chinese applicants with 425 applications, Hong Kong applicants with 417 applications and South Korean applicants with 401 applications.

Taiwanese Youtuber Sued for Copyright Infringement

Taiwanese Youtuber Amogood is being sued for copyright infringement for his series of videos following the format "Watch <Movie Title> in <Number> Minutes", in which he gives his satirical take on the plots of movies and series using original footage but his own voiceover (without sound) - e.g. "Watch Fifty Shades Darker in 5 Minutes. Eschewing media interviews, the Youtuber took to his own platform to communicate the situation to his fans.

In the video he stated his personal belief that his activity qualifies under the fair use provisions of Taiwan’s copyright law, which state the four factors on which fair use is to be judged as follows:

1. The purposes and nature of the exploitation, including whether such exploitation is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
2. The nature of the work.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion exploited in relation to the work as a whole.
4. Effect of the exploitation on the work's current and potential market value.

In a previous article for our Chinese-language sister newsletter, Quincey Chen, an assistant professor at the Graduate Institute of Technology of National Chengchi University, assessed the chances of AMoGood in asserting a fair use defense, stating that although each individual case has to be judged on its own merits, the outlook is not good for AMoGood should he be sued for copyright infringement, given that he likely profits from videos through advertising revenue or due to the fame it earned him (Factor 1), that the original work is creative (Factor 2), that AMoGood essentially provides an abridged version of the film (Factor 3) and that the videos can be seen as replacements for the original work given that they give details of the major characters and plot twists and could put people off actually seeing the original film (Factor 4).

Beijing Patent Applications Hit Record 190,000 in 2016

The number of patent applications in Beijing hit nearly 190,000 in 2016, up 21% year on year, according to local authorities cited by the Chinese state media agency Xinhua.

Among the applications, more than 100,000 were for invention patents, an increase of around 17% from the previous year, said Pan Xinsheng, spokesperson of the Beijing Intellectual Property Bureau, according to Xinhua.

More than 40,000 invention patents were granted in 2016, up 15% year on year.

The Beijing Intellectual Property Court handled over 10,600 intellectual property rights (IPR) cases in 2016, according to the agency.

Specialized IPR courts were established in 2014 in Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai, and in Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuhan and Chengdu in 2017.

Taiwan IP Office Repeals Audiovisual Export Certificate Requirements

From March 1, 2017, people in Taiwan no longer need to apply for a copyright inspection certificate when they export audiovisual works, such as audio CDs, after the Taiwan Intellectual Property repealed related guidelines.

However, when customs officers discover import or export goods that are suspect in the course of executing their duties, they can still ex officio request the importer or exporter to provide the relevant licensing papers for inspection, in accordance with the Copyright Act, according to the office.

The office warned importers and exporters not to violate any intellectual property rights protected by the laws of Taiwan or other countries, however, stating that infringers would receive a warning, an administrative fine of not less than NT$30,000 (US$997) and not more than NT$300,000 (US$9,967), or be banned from importing, exporting, or importing and exporting goods for not less than one month and not more than one year.

Taiwan Sees Spike in FinTech and InsurTech related Trademark Registrations

FinTech and InsurTech trademark registrations in Taiwan's finance and insurance sectors saw a year-on-year increase of 66% in the first quarter of 2017, with 99 new categories.

This rise in applications is closely tied to the government's policy of promoting InsurTech and FinTech solutions, according to Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) head Sherry Hong, as cited by CNA.

Banks applied for FinTech trademarks across 36 categories, with Huanan Bank applying for 7 categories and Mega International Commercial Bank applying for 6 categories. Most were related to online payment services, biometric authentication of transactions and cardless ATM withdrawals.

The major applicants in the insurance field were Nan Shan Life Insurance Co. in nine categories and Cathay Life Insurance in three. The categories included online underwriting services, risk factor calculators and reinforced management systems.

Additionally, related firms in the tech sector were also among applicants, including Financial Information Co, which applied in 16 categories, and Taiwan Mobile Payment Company, which applied in 14 categories. They both applied for trademarks relating to debit card mobile payment services, cross-border transactions, online payment systems and e-wallet services.

Philippines IP Office Launches Campaign Against Movie Piracy in ‘National IP Rights Month’

The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) recently spearheaded a campaign promoting new initiatives to combat piracy, illegal recordings and similar intellectual property (IP) rights violations on films and movies during a news conference organized by the Motion Pictures Association. Director general Josephine R. Santiago said that IPOPHL continuously collaborates with the government as well as major industry players to uphold IP rights in the country, particularly in the filmmaking sector. Observing that illegal copies of movies are still available in digital formats and online, Santiago emphasized the importance of IP rights education and awareness on the existing measures and laws to protect the IP system. She added IP violations have serious and adverse economic implications to the country that might possibly hamper the growth of creativity and innovation. The director general encouraged everyone to join IPOPHL’s advocacy of defending the rights of creators, innovators and inventors, as well as in fighting infringement, piracy and other forms of IP rights violations. The government’s recognition of the important role of IP was underscored when Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte signed Proclamation No.190, declaring April as National IP Rights Month.

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