Taiwan trademark filings hit a record in 2025— 97,411 applications, with Korea the fastest-growing source
Taiwan received 97,411 trademark registration applications in 2025, an 8% increase over 2024 and the highest annual total on record. Counted by class, filings reached 124,242 classes, up 10%, also a record. Domestic applicants filed 75,573 (up 9%) and foreign applicants 21,838 (up 4%). Among the top five foreign sources, Korea grew 25% — faster than any other — while Hong Kong fell 13%, the only one to decline. Class 35 was busiest for domestic filers, Class 9 for foreign filers. Average time to first office action fell to 5.6 months. All figures come from the TIPO press release of 26 February 2026.
A record year by both measures
Filings had fallen for three consecutive years: 95,917 in 2021, then 94,778, 91,535, and 90,341 in 2024. 2025 reversed that with 97,411. Class counts moved the same way and moved further, reaching 124,242 against 112,534 the year before.
That difference is worth noticing. When class growth runs ahead of application growth, applicants are covering more classes per mark rather than simply filing more marks.
| Year | Applications | Classes |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 / 110 | 95,917 | 123,217 |
| 2022 / 111 | 94,778 | 122,320 |
| 2023 / 112 | 91,535 | 114,680 |
| 2024 / 113 | 90,341 | 112,534 |
| 2025 / 114 | 97,411 | 124,242 |
Domestic and foreign filing trends
Domestic applicants filed 75,573, up 9% and a record in itself. Foreign applicants filed 21,838, up 4%. Both grew against 2024.
| Year | Domestic | Foreign |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 73,374 | 22,543 |
| 2022 | 74,326 | 20,452 |
| 2023 | 71,960 | 19,575 |
| 2024 | 69,386 | 20,955 |
| 2025 | 75,573 | 21,838 |
Where foreign filings come from
By volume, mainland China remains the largest source. By growth, Korea at 25% is well ahead of the rest of the top five. Hong Kong is the only top-five source that shrank.
| Country / region | Applications | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland China | 5,802 | +3% |
| Japan | 3,435 | +1% |
| United States | 3,014 | +7% |
| Korea | 2,394 | +25% |
| Hong Kong | 1,070 | -13% |
Which classes are crowded
Domestic filers concentrated in Class 35 (advertising, business management, retail and wholesale services). The fastest-growing class among domestic filers was Class 42 (scientific and technological services) at 31.6%, pointing to activity in technology services and the creative and entertainment sectors.
Foreign filers concentrated in Class 9 (computers and technology products). The fastest-growing class among foreign filers was Class 28 (toys and games) at 16.6%.
| Rank | Class | Sector | Applications | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 35 | Advertising, business management, retail and wholesale | 14,913 | 10.9% |
| 2 | 43 | Restaurants, accommodation | 6,905 | 3.5% |
| 3 | 41 | Education, entertainment | 6,237 | 24.0% |
| 4 | 30 | Coffee, tea, baked goods | 6,108 | 2.1% |
| 5 | 5 | Pharmaceuticals | 5,553 | 9.0% |
| 6 | 9 | Computers and technology products | 4,670 | 17.6% |
| 7 | 3 | Cosmetics, cleaning preparations | 4,384 | 6.7% |
| 8 | 42 | Scientific and technological services | 3,707 | 31.6% |
| 9 | 29 | Meat, preserved fruit and vegetables | 3,303 | -0.6% |
| 10 | 25 | Clothing, footwear | 3,081 | 11.8% |
Top ten classes, foreign applicants, 2025
| Rank | Class | Sector | Applications | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | Computers and technology products | 4,063 | 4.1% |
| 2 | 35 | Advertising, business management, retail and wholesale | 2,681 | 4.9% |
| 3 | 3 | Cosmetics, cleaning preparations | 2,363 | 1.8% |
| 4 | 5 | Pharmaceuticals | 2,260 | 7.9% |
| 5 | 25 | Clothing, footwear | 1,712 | 5.9% |
| 6 | 42 | Scientific and technological services | 1,701 | 2.4% |
| 7 | 41 | Education, entertainment | 1,462 | 3.5% |
| 8 | 30 | Coffee, tea, baked goods | 1,156 | -4.3% |
| 9 | 28 | Toys and games | 1,076 | 16.6% |
| 10 | 18 | Leather, imitation leather, bags | 1,067 | 8.7% |
Examination is getting faster
TIPO continued to improve throughput. Average time to first office action fell to 5.6 months in 2025, half a month faster than 2024, which lets applicants secure rights and plan around them sooner.
| Year | Months |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 4.9 |
| 2022 | 5.2 |
| 2023 | 6.2 |
| 2024 | 6.1 |
| 2025 | 5.6 |
Easy ways to misread this data
- Reading "record volume" as "registration is now harder". The roughly 8.76% refusal rate is an average across all classes; difficulty concentrated in the crowded ones (35, 9, 41), not necessarily elsewhere.
- Watching applications and ignoring classes. Class growth of 10% against application growth of 8% means the competition is mostly in how many classes each mark covers.
- Treating 5.6 months as time to registration. First office action is only the first examination result; if a refusal has to be answered, the full timeline is longer.
How Wisecode helps
The statistics tell you how crowded the market is. They do not tell you which classes your brand belongs in, or whether it collides with a mark already on file. That is a case-by-case question.
- Pre-filing clearance: comparing a name or logo against registered and pending marks to assess conflict risk.
- Class and specification planning: matching the class combination to what the business actually does, so protection does not drift from operations.
- Refusal responses: in crowded classes most refusals turn on similarity, where the response strategy and the distinctiveness argument decide the outcome.
- Local representation for foreign applicants, including priority-period sequencing and the appointment requirement.
Related resources
FAQ
Does rising volume mean filing is now more competitive?
In the crowded classes, yes. At 124,242 classes filed, more brands are taking positions in the common ones, particularly 35, 9 and 41. Taiwan applies the first-to-file principle: if someone else files an identical or similar mark first, having used the brand beforehand does not by itself secure registration. Filing earlier lowers the odds of colliding with a confusingly similar mark already on file.
Why do applications get refused?
TIPO published 8,532 refusals in 2025, a refusal rate of about 8.76%. Refusals cluster in the high-volume classes, where similar marks are more likely to exist already. The two things that move this rate are a search before filing and careful drafting of the goods and services specification.
Should a foreign applicant file directly or through an agent?
Applicants without a domicile or business establishment in Taiwan must appoint a local trademark agent. Past that requirement, what decides the outcome is class selection, how the specification is worded, and how a refusal is answered. Note also the six-month Paris Convention priority period running from a home-country filing. Missing it does not bar a later filing, but the earlier effective date is gone.
What was the busiest class for foreign filers?
Class 9, with 4,063 applications, up 4.1%. Technology and consumer electronics brands make up most of that volume.
Want a read on how crowded your class is?
Wisecode advises on Taiwan trademark clearance, filing strategy, and refusal responses for domestic and foreign applicants alike. If you want a preliminary read on where your brand falls in the Nice classification, or on how crowded the class you are heading into really is, get in touch — the initial assessment is free. Before you file, you can also try our free Taiwan trademark search tool to check for similar marks already on record.
Request a free preliminary assessmentLast updated: August 2026