智慧財產及商業法院組織法

This Act is enacted to protect intellectual property rights, optimize the commercial environment, properly handle intellectual property and commercial cases, and further the nation's technological and economic development.

1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court is in charge of the following affairs in accordance with the law:

21. Civil, criminal, and administrative actions concerning intellectual property.

32. Civil actions and non-litigation matters concerning commerce.

1Jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court includes the following:

21. First instance and second instance civil actions for the protection of intellectual property rights and interests arising under the Patent Act, the Trademark Act, the Copyright Act, the Optical Disk Act, the Trade Secrets Act, the Integrated Circuit Layout Protection Act, the Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act, or the Fair Trade Act as well as commercial actions under the Commercial Case Adjudication Act.

32. Offenses under Articles 253, 254, 317, and 318 of the Criminal Code, violation of the Trademark Act, the Copyright Act, and cases under Articles 72 to 74 of the Intellectual Property Case Adjudication Act, and appeals or interlocutory appeals against the decisions on criminal actions rendered by district courts in the first instance in an ordinary, summary, or plea bargain proceeding; first instance criminal actions under Article 13-1, 13-2, Paragraph 3 of Article 13-3 and Article 13-4 of the Trade Secrets Act; second instance criminal actions under the Trade Secrets Act; first instance criminal actions under Paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 8 of the National Security Act. Criminal actions involving juveniles shall be excluded.

43. First instance administrative actions and compulsory enforcement matters concerning intellectual property rights arising under the Patent Act, the Trademark Act, the Copyright Act, the Copyright Collective Management Organization Act, the Optical Disk Act, the Integrated Circuit Layout Protection Act, the Plant Variety and Plant Seed Act, or the Fair Trade Act.

54. Other cases prescribed by law or determined by the Judicial Yuan to be within the jurisdiction of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court.

1Judge of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall satisfy one of the criteria set forth below to qualify for the position:

21. Has served as a judge on the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court;

32. Has served as a tenured judge or tenured prosecutor;

43. Has served in the position of judge or prosecutor and has served with a recommendation rank as a civil servant for over 8 years in total;

54. Has been substantially engaged in the practice of law as an attorney in intellectual property or commercial litigation for at least 8 years and possesses the qualifications for the proposed appointment;

65. Graduated from the department of law, political science, public administration, or its graduate school in a public or private university, or independent college, and served as a full-time professor, associate professor, or assistant professor in a university or independent college certified by the Ministry of Education for over eight years in total, teaching intellectual property rights or commercial law related courses for over five years, with the professional works related to the above-mentioned topics, and possesses the qualifications for the proposed appointment;

76. Graduated from the department of law, political science, public administration, or its graduate school of a public or private university, independent college, and has served as a distinguished research fellow, research fellow, associate research fellow, or assistant research fellow of the Academia Sinica for over eight years in total, with intellectual property rights or commercial law related specialized legal works, and possesses the qualifications for the proposed appointment;

1The reassignment and selection of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court judges who meet the qualifications in Paragraph 1 of the preceding Article shall be based on a review of their integrity, capabilities, physical and mental status, work ethics, experience, and accomplishment in the legal profession.

2The Judicial Yuan shall conduct on-the-job training for personnel of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court every year to promote their legal professionalism and improve their judicative quality.

1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall have a Technical Examination Officers' Office and a Commercial Investigation Officers' Office consisting of Technical Examination Officers and Commercial Investigation Officers with a recommendation rank between the 8th and 9th grade, half of whom may have a selection rank of the 10th grade. If there are two or more Officers of a respective type, then there may be a Chief Technical Examination Officer or a Chief Commercial Investigation Officer with a selection rank of the 10th to 11th grade.

2If necessary, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court may hire or transfer various professionals to serve as the Technical Examination Officers or Commercial Investigation Officers in the preceding Paragraph in accordance with related personnel hiring laws and regulations. The rules governing such recruitment shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.

3The Technical Examination Officers' Office and Commercial Investigation Officers' Office may be divided into teams if necessary. The leader of each team is concurrently assumed by the Technical Examination Officer and the Commercial Investigation Officer. Neither duties will have separate positions established.

4The Technical Examination Officer and the Commercial Investigation Officer are ordered by the judges to handle the following affairs:

51. The determination regarding the technical or commercial issues of a case, data collection, analysis, and providing opinions.

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1A Technical Examination Officer shall satisfy one of the criteria set forth below and possess the qualifications for the proposed appointment:

21. Has served as a Patent Examiner or Trademark Examiner for over 3 years in total with a good track record and possesses proof of qualifications; or has graduated with a Master's Degree or above from a relevant department or a graduate school of a public or private university or an independent college, or a foreign institution of higher education recognized by the Ministry of Education, and served as a Patent Examiner or Trademark Examiner or Assistant Examiner for over 6 years in total with a good track record and possesses proof of qualifications; or has graduated with a diploma in a relevant field from a public or private college or a foreign institution of higher education recognized by the Ministry of Education, and served as a Patent Examiner or Trademark Examiner or Assistant Examiner for over 8 years in total with a good track record and possesses proof of qualifications;

32. Is or was a lecturer in a relevant department or a graduate school of a public or private university or independent college for over 6 years or an assistant professor, associate professor, or a professor in a relevant department or a graduate school of a public or private university or independent college for over 3 years in total, or a research fellow at a public or a private professional research institute for over 6 years; and has specialized publications on intellectual properties and possesses proof of qualifications.

4A Commercial Investigation Officer shall satisfy one of the criteria set forth below and possess the qualifications for the proposed appointment:

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1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall set up a Department of Clerks consisting of a Chief Clerk with a recommendation rank of the 9th grade to a selection rank of the 11th grade, to take charge of administrative affairs according to the instruction of the President; 1st class Clerks with a recommendation rank between the 8th and the 9th grade, 2nd class Clerks with a recommendation rank between the 6th and the 7th grade, and 3rd class Clerks with an elementary rank between the 4th and the 5th grade. The Clerks are responsible for recordation, secretarial affairs, research and evaluation, general affairs, information, and litigation assistance affairs. The Department of Clerks may be divided into sections and units. The Section Chief shall be served by a 1st class Clerk, and the Unit Chief by either a 1st class Clerk or a 2nd class Clerk, on a concurrent basis and all with no particular ranking; the Section Chief may be served by a 2nd class Clerk concurrently when the number of 1st class Clerks is fewer than the number of sections established and there is a business need for such service.

2The total number of 1st class and 2nd class Clerks in the preceding Paragraph combined shall not exceed half of the total number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class Clerks in the same Intellectual Property and Commercial Court.

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court may set up a Lodgment Office consisting of a Chief Officer with a selection rank of the 10th grade, 2nd class Clerks with a recommendation rank between the 6th and the 7th grade, and 3rd class Clerks with an elementary rank between the 4th and the 5th grade.

1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall have 1st class Interpreters with a recommendation rank between the 8th and 9th grade; 2nd class Interpreters with a recommendation rank between the 6th and 7th grade; 3rd class Interpreters with an elementary rank between the 4th and 5th grade; Technical Specialists with an elementary rank of the 5th grade or a recommendation rank between the 6th and 7th grade; Process Servers with an elementary rank between the 3rd and 5th grade; and Clerk Assistants and Court Attendants with an elementary rank between the 1st and 3rd grade.

2The number of 1st and 2nd class Interpreters in the preceding paragraph shall not exceed half of the total number of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd class Interpreters in the same Intellectual Property and Commercial Court.

3If interpretation is required, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall contract specially arranged interpreters for Taiwan aboriginal or other languages on a case-by-case basis. The rules governing such personnel contracting will be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall have Bailiffs: a Chief Bailiff with an elementary rank of the 5th grade or a recommendation rank between the 6th and 7th grade, a Deputy Bailiff with an elementary rank between the 4th and 5th grade or a recommendation rank of the 6th grade, and Bailiffs with an elementary rank between the 3rd and 5th grade.

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court will set up a Personnel Office consisting of a Chief Officer with a recommendation rank of the 9th grade to a selection rank of the 10th grade and may be staffed with Specialists with a recommendation rank between the 7th and the 8th grade and Officers with an elementary rank of the 5th grade or a recommendation rank between the 6th and the 7th grade. The Chief Officer, Specialists, and Officers administer personnel matters pursuant to the law.

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall set up an Accounting Office and a Statistics Office. Each consists of a Chief Officer with a recommendation rank of the 9th grade to a selection rank of the 10th grade. The two offices may be staffed with Specialists with a recommendation rank between the 7th and the 8th grade and Officers with an elementary rank of the 5th grade or a recommendation rank grade between the 6th and the 7th grade. The Chief Officers, Specialists, and Officers administer matters relating to annual calculation, accounting, and statistics pursuant to the law.

The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall set up a Government Ethics Office consisting of a Chief Officer with a recommendation rank of the 9th grade to a selection rank of the 10th grade and may be staffed with Specialists with a recommendation rank between the 7th and the 8th grade and Officers with an elementary rank of the 5th grade or a recommendation rank between the 6th and the 7th grade. The Chief Officer, Specialists, and Officers administer matters relating to government ethics pursuant to the law.

1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall set up an Information Management Office consisting of a Chief Officer with a recommendation rank of the 9th grade to a selection rank of the 10th grade, Programmers and Management Information System Officers, all with a recommendation rank between the 6th and 8th grade, and Assistant Programmers with an elementary rank between the 4th and 5th grade or a recommendation rank of the 6th grade. Information Management Office personnel administer matters related to information technology.

2The number of Assistant Programmers with a recommendation rank in the preceding paragraph may not exceed half of the total number of Assistant Programmers in the same Intellectual Property and Commercial Court.

A judicial year starts on January 1 and ends on December 31 of a year.

1The administrative procedures and rules for the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.

2The administrative procedures and rules of the Taiwan High Prosecutors Office, Intellectual Property Branch, shall be prescribed by the Ministry of Justice.

1The Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall set up a Council of Judges.

2The composition, time of meetings, matters for resolution and resolution procedures, etc. of a Council of Judges are governed by Chapter 4 of the Judges Act unless otherwise stipulated.

1Unless otherwise prescribed by law, trials of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall be held within the court.

2The rules governing court seats and auditing matters of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.

1If necessary, the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court may hold a temporary trial at a designated location of its jurisdiction.

2The rules governing the temporary trial in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.

The Presiding Judge has the authority to direct the commencement, closure, and proceeding of a trial.

The Presiding Judge has the authority to maintain court order in a trial.

1The Presiding Judge may bar a person who is disrupting court order or engaging in other inappropriate behavior from entering the courtroom or order such person to leave the courtroom. If necessary, the Presiding Judge may arrange to have the person detained until the court session is adjourned.

2An order given pursuant to the preceding paragraph may not be appealed.

3The provision in the preceding two paragraphs shall apply mutatis mutandis where the Presiding Judge is performing duties outside of court.

In the event an agent ad litem or a defense attorney acts or speaks inappropriately during the course of a trial, the Presiding Judge may give warnings or restrain him from representation on the trial day.

When giving an order pursuant to the preceding two articles, the Presiding Judge shall provide grounds in the record.

Rules governing the Presiding Judge in this Chapter shall apply mutatis mutandis to the Commissioned Judge or Assigned Judge.

Anyone who violates an order given by the Presiding Judge, Commissioned Judge or Assigned Judge intending to maintain court order, thereby obstructing the court proceeding and who continues to refuse to comply upon warning, shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, detention, or a fine not exceeding thirty thousand New Taiwan dollars.

1Those who hold court audio recordings and video recordings may not distribute, broadcast, or use the recordings and video recordings obtained for other improper purposes.

2Violators of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be fined from thirty thousand to three hundred thousand New Taiwan dollars by the local court of the location of domicile or residence or the place of business or office of the perpetrator. However, other special laws shall apply if any such exist.

3The procedures for punishment and relief in the preceding paragraph shall be governed mutatis mutandis by the relevant laws and regulations.

1Administrative supervision of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court is as follows:

21. The President of the Judicial Yuan supervises the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court and its branches.

32. The President of the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court supervises his or her court and its branches.

1Persons with the supervisory powers in the preceding article may impose the following restrictions on the supervised personnel:

21. Issue orders to urge attention to matters concerning job duties.

32. Impose penalties or disciplinary actions according to the law on persons performing poorly, acting ultra vires, or misbehaving.

Provisions in Chapter Seven will not affect the independence of the exercise of judicial powers.

Decisions given by the Intellectual Property and Commercial Court shall be subject to time limits prescribed by the Judicial Yuan.