Japan, Taiwan sign off on e-commerce, patent protection

TAIPEI - Taiwan and Japan have signed off on five agreements to co-operate in areas such as electronic commerce and protection of patent applicants in what is seen as an expansion of an investment pact implemented in 2011. The agreements on electronic commerce and patent protection are the first of their kind that Taiwan has secured with another country.

The patent protection pact seeks to expedite the processing of patent applications in Taiwan and Japan to ensure that applicants are not pre-empted by their rivals. Among foreign countries, Japan files the highest number of patent applications in Taiwan, recording 13,978 last year, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The other three agreements signed between Taiwan and Japan cover co-operation in pharmaceutical codes, railway services, and maritime and airborne search and rescue. Taiwan and Japan also hope to sign agreements on financial supervision, taxation, customs affairs, and trade in services, in the next step toward a free trade agreement (ATI).