Taiwan, Israel sign MOUs on intellectual property and patent review

Taipei, Nov. 18 (CNA) Taiwan and Israel on Monday signed two memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to strengthen cooperation on intellectual property and speed up patent reviews during a bilateral economic and technological discussion held via videoconference.

The agreements aim to streamline patent examination procedures and enhance intellectual property protection between the two sides, the International Trade Administration under the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said in a news release.

According to the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), the patent prosecution highway (PPH) agreement with Israel will allow an applicant to request accelerated examination of a patent application in one country after a corresponding application has been approved in the other.

The program will take effect on Jan. 2 next year, TIPO said, adding that Israel is the eighth country - after the United States, Japan, Spain, South Korea, Poland, Canada and France - to establish such a framework with Taiwan.

TIPO said Taiwan and Israel also signed a separate MOU on intellectual property cooperation, which focuses on information sharing, professional exchanges, and efforts to raise public awareness of intellectual property.

The MOUs were signed remotely by Taiwan's representative to Israel, Abby Lee (李雅萍), and Maya Yaron, representative of the Israeli Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (ISECO).

During the event, Deputy Economics Minister Cynthia Kiang (江文若) said countries worldwide are reassessing how to build secure, resilient and comprehensive supply chains amid fast-changing global economic and trade conditions.

She noted that Israel has a high concentration of startups and attracts multinational companies to establish R&D centers, while Taiwan is home to some of the world's most advanced manufacturing technologies. Their complementary strengths, she said, could help deepen supply chain cooperation in emerging technology sectors.

According to MOEA statistics, bilateral trade between Taiwan and Israel reached US$2.72 billion from January to October this year, up 38 percent from the same period last year. Israel is currently Taiwan's 28th-largest trading partner.