Taiwan trademark examination: regular, fast-track or acceleratedwhich route fits a foreign applicant

The short answer: three routes, one decision

Every Taiwan application goes through formality review and then substantive examination. What differs is the queue. TIPO describes a regular route, an automatic fast-track route that is available when the application is filed in a particular way, and, since 1 May 2024, a paid accelerated route available on request.

The routes are not interchangeable in cost, eligibility or risk, so the choice should be made before filing, not after the first office action.

Regular, fast-track and accelerated compared

The two-month figure for accelerated examination is the time to the first office action, not to registration.

Regular examination

For a baseline, TIPO's 2025 statistics report an average of about 5.6 months to the first office action and 7.1 months to final disposal. These are averages across all applications, including fast-track ones, so they are not a pure regular-route figure. First notice, final disposal and actual registration are three different points in time.

Our guide to foreign applicants quotes roughly 10–12 months from filing to registration when there are no objections; that longer figure includes publication and issue of the certificate.

Regular examination is the right route when your goods and services need wording that is not on TIPO's list, when the mark is not a standard flat mark, or when there is no launch pressure.

Fast-track: what qualifies, what it saves

Fast-track has been permanent since 1 May 2021, after a pilot that began on 1 May 2020. An application qualifies when:

• it is filed through TIPO's electronic filing system;
• every designated good or service exactly matches a name in the system list;
• it is an ordinary flat trademark application, not a non-traditional, certification or collective mark;
• the filing fee is paid at filing, through a linked bank account or an eATM or counter payment slip generated by the system;
• if an agent is appointed, the power of attorney is submitted within 20 days of filing.

How much time fast-track saves

There is no additional official fee. TIPO's November 2025 FAQ says fast-track first actions arrive about 1.5 months earlier than regular ones, currently around 5 months after filing. Earlier TIPO material gave 1.4 to 1.6 months. Treat it as an average that can change.

Two practical points for foreign applicants. First, a power of attorney only needs a signature; notarization and legalization are not required, so the 20-day window is workable. Second, the standard-name condition is the real constraint: an exact match is required, so a goods list drafted for another jurisdiction usually cannot be pasted in.

Accelerated examination: what you must show

Accelerated examination was added by Article 19, paragraph 8 of the Trademark Act, effective 1 May 2024. The request is filed separately for each application, after filing and before TIPO issues the first office action, with a fee of NT$6,000 per class. It is not available once TIPO has already issued a notice requiring correction or a refusal ground.

The test is whether there is a need to obtain rights immediately (Enforcement Rules of the Trademark Act, Article 19-2). It takes two forms:

• Type I: the mark is already used, or substantial preparations to use it have been made, for all designated goods or services. A separate showing of urgency is not required.
• Type II: only some designated goods or services are in use or prepared, and a recognised urgency exists, such as unauthorised third-party use, an infringement warning, a third-party licensing request, a planned launch backed by sales or distribution contracts, an upcoming exhibition backed by agreements, or a comparable circumstance. Where it applies, acceleration can cover the whole class for which some goods are in use.

Evidence, timing and limits

Use evidence is required for both types. Where preparation rather than use is claimed, the applicant states when, where and through which channels the mark will be used, with supporting material such as product samples or design drafts, a business plan or signed contracts.

The mark in the evidence must be identical to the mark applied for, evidence must show a date and the user (the applicant or a licensee), and it should match the designated goods or services item by item. Contracts with manufacturers, distributors, packaging or logistics firms and similar partners must be fully signed by both parties. If documents are incomplete, TIPO notifies the applicant to supplement them; if the applicant does not do so in time, the request is not accepted and the application stays in the regular queue.

Use or preparation must be in Taiwan: goods sold only overseas do not qualify.

Certification marks, collective marks and collective trademarks are excluded. Non-traditional marks such as shape and sound marks may apply, but they are more likely to receive office actions and need evidence of distinctiveness, so they usually cannot be decided quickly.

Each request covers one application. For a multi-class application, all classes must be accelerated together; if only some classes qualify, divide or narrow the application first. The fee is NT$6,000 multiplied by the number of classes, and a division made because conditions were not met does not require paying the acceleration fee again for the qualifying divisional.

TIPO's target is a first office action within two months of docketing the request, not registration within two months, and acceleration does not guarantee that the mark will be approved.

Which route should a foreign applicant choose?

Speed does not replace filing early

Taiwan generally follows a first-to-file system. Fast-track and accelerated examination do not change an application's filing date, nor do they defeat an earlier valid filing or priority claim.

A qualifying foreign applicant may claim priority from an earlier application filed within the preceding six months. The claim is made when filing in Taiwan, and the priority document is due within three months of the Taiwan filing date, otherwise the claim may be deemed not made. Examination speed affects when TIPO reviews your application, not the legal basis for filing priority.

If your brand is already on the Taiwan market or about to be, the first step is still to file, and to check for conflicting earlier applications.

What it costs

Filing is NT$3,000 per class for classes 1–34 with up to 20 goods (NT$200 per additional item). Electronic filing takes NT$300 off per application, plus a further NT$300 per class where the goods or services match the TIPO reference list. Registration is NT$2,500 per class after allowance. Accelerated examination adds NT$6,000 per class, calculated on all classes of the application, and is generally not refunded once filed (exceptions include a request refused because TIPO had already issued its first office action, and overpayment).

Official fees are the same for every applicant; associate fees are quoted separately per case.

How WISECODE helps

• Check TIPO's standard names against your goods and services before filing, so fast-track is available where it fits.
• Prepare an accelerated request with the evidence TIPO asks for, when a launch or an infringement makes speed worth paying for.
• Run a clearance search before filing, and monitor for conflicting applications.
• Report in English; Japanese reports available through our Japan Desk.