The digital data processing technology sector filed the highest number of applications for invention patents in Taiwan last year, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) said yesterday.
About 2,722 applications were filed by the sector last year, an increase of 1.15 percent from the 2,691 recorded in 2008, the IPO said, citing a report it had commissioned on trends in domestic industrial development.
The increase was a reflection of the booming business in the touch panel manufacturing sector as Apple’s iPhones hit the market, boosting global demand, the report said.
The semiconductor industry, on the other hand, recorded a decline in invention patent applications as the integrated circuit (IC) sector has reached a development peak, the IPO report showed.
The number of applications for invention patents filed by the IC business last year fell 14.6 percent to 1,796, which made the sector the second-largest applicant.
However, the strength of the local IC sector has paved the way for Taiwan’s development in solar energy technology, in particular solar cell production, the report said.
Last year, the number of the applications for invention patents filed by the solar cell manufacturing sector rose to 125, which was a 105 percent increase from 2007 when Taiwan replaced the US as the fourth-largest solar battery producer in the world, the report said.
Under Taiwanese law, there are three categories of patents — invention patents, utility model patents and design patents.
In terms of overall invention patent applications, the number last year fell 1 percent from 2008 to 22,698, the report said.
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