Taiwan is planning to set up an intellectual property bank as -Taiwan-based companies are constantly sued by foreign firms for patent infringement, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said yesterday.
Accusing competitors of stealing patents has become a way for international companies to compete with each other these days and large-scale Taiwan-based firms have become constant targets of foreign competitors, the ministry said.
The intellectual property bank is scheduled to be established in June under the supervision of Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院). The bank will provide a “protective shield” for Taiwan-based firms by building patent portfolios and providing -legal advice, the ministry said.
The goal is to attract total capital of NT$500 million (US$17.24 million) from venture capital firms and various companies like Taiwan smartphone maker HTC Corp (宏達電), and personal computer makers Acer Inc (宏碁) and Asustek Computer Inc (華碩), among others, the ministry said.
The bank will be privately owned as it will receive less than 30 percent funding from the government, while membership fees will be set at around NT$1 million each, ITRI said
The bank will seek to purchase patents that are likely to be beneficial to Taiwan-based firms in the international market, it said. Local companies will then have the option to buy the patents from the bank in order to gain a much-needed competitive edge, the ITRI said.
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