The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) announced on September 1, 2026, that effective immediately, the payment deadline for patent annual fees, trademark official fees, and trademark registration fees has been extended from 3:30 PM to 12:00 AM midnight on the due date, provided that payments are made via the designated virtual accounts printed on the payment notices.
While businesses often associate fee deadlines with bank closing hours, this measure essentially pushes the final cutoff back. However, its scope is narrow: it applies only to transfers made to the specified virtual accounts. Traditional over-the-counter payments remain restricted by bank operating hours. For companies that already delegate deadline management and payments to external IP firms, this change will have no impact, and existing workflows require no adjustment.
For finance and legal managers who handle patent and trademark renewals internally, two actions are recommended. First, update internal payment schedules from 3:30 PM to the end of the business day on the due date to improve cash flow flexibility. Second, ensure that treasury staff are aware of this virtual account transfer option to avoid unnecessary manual bank visits. Despite the midnight deadline, operations after 11:00 PM should be avoided to mitigate potential system transmission delays.