Is Taiwan’s NT$6,000 Accelerated Trademark Examination Worth It? Three Questions First

Accelerated examination costs NT$6,000 per class, and the fee is generally not refunded once filed. Whether that is money well spent depends less on how fast you want a result than on whether your application fits what TIPO's accelerated route is designed for. The points below follow TIPO's official Q&A on the accelerated mechanism.

Question 1: Is fast-track already enough?

Fast-track needs no request and no extra official fee. It applies automatically when the application is filed electronically, uses TIPO's standard goods and services names exactly, pays the fee at filing and, if an agent is appointed, submits the power of attorney within 20 days. TIPO says fast-track first actions arrive about 1.5 months earlier than regular ones, currently around 5 months after filing.

Accelerated examination aims for a first office action within two months of docketing the request, and docketing is decided 10 to 15 working days after the request. TIPO nonetheless says that, for an ordinary applicant, the present fast-track timeline is not far from accelerated examination, and recommends fast-track where there is no urgent need to obtain registration early. It also advises against applying for acceleration lightly, to avoid wasting the fee.

Question 2: Can you show use, or real preparation to use, in Taiwan?

Evidence of use is required under both types of accelerated examination. Type I applies when the mark is used, or substantially prepared for use, on all designated goods or services. Type II applies when only some are, and a recognised commercial urgency exists.

• Overseas use does not count. TIPO states that goods sold overseas but not yet in Taiwan do not qualify; use or preparation must be within Taiwan.
• Contracts must be signed by both sides. Agreements with manufacturers, distributors, packaging or logistics firms and similar partners are accepted as evidence of preparation only when both parties have actually signed.
• The evidence must match the application. The mark in use must be identical to the mark applied for, and the evidence should correspond to the designated goods or services item by item.
• Not every reason is an urgency. TIPO treats reasons such as listing on an online platform, applying for drug testing or accommodation registration, joining a selection programme, applying for brand subsidies, or recruiting staff as ordinary business planning rather than a Type II urgency. An exhibition that has already taken place does not qualify either. Forgetting to renew an expired registration is not an urgency.

Question 3: Does the whole application qualify?

A multi-class application cannot be accelerated for only some classes. All classes must be requested together, and the fee is NT$6,000 multiplied by the number of classes. If only some classes qualify, the application must first be divided or narrowed. When a division is made because the conditions were not met, the qualifying divisional application does not pay the acceleration fee again.

The same logic applies inside a class. Under Type I, all designated goods and services must be in use or in real preparation: if 16 of 20 items are in use and 4 are not, TIPO suggests narrowing or dividing first, or showing preparation for the remaining 4.

When it is worth paying

Acceleration tends to make sense when there is a documented reason that waiting is costly: an infringement warning, a third party using the mark without consent, a licensing request, or a launch or exhibition that is backed by signed contracts. It is much harder to justify when the brand has so far been sold only overseas, when the evidence is still a draft, or when the main aim is to get ahead of someone else's earlier filing. Examination speed does not change the filing date or any valid priority date.

For the full comparison of the three routes, with conditions and official fees, see our Taiwan trademark examination routes guide. Taiwan trademark examination: regular, fast-track or accelerated