The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to the Copyright Act (著作權法), Trademark Act (商標法) and Patent Act (專利法) as part of the nation’s push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The amendments — drafted by the Executive Yuan to bring the country’s intellectual property protections up to international standards — were taken to the floor without being negotiated in party caucuses after the parties voiced their agreement to the bills.
The bills now go to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who is expected to sign them into law.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
The amendments to the Copyright Act are mainly aimed at closing a legal loophole that prevents criminal charges from being filed for acts of piracy that utilize a technology other than optical disks, the Ministry of Economic Affairs wrote in a report.
The amended law explicitly authorizes the prosecution of copyright infringements regardless of the medium or technology utilized in the replication or distribution of the material, the report said.
Non-digital copyright infringements — including those involving optical discs — are to be prosecuted only if there is an exact replication of commercially valued content and if the copyright owner suffers losses of more than NT$1 million (US$34,343), it said.
The limitations on the prosecution of copyright infringements are mandated by CPTPP rules, it said.
The Trademark Act amendments would no longer require a trademark infringement to be knowingly committed for civil or criminal liability, with negligence being a sufficient cause for civil compensation, it said.
According to the amendments, trademark infringements that occur in connection to the packaging of a product is a crime that carries a sentence of no more than one year in prison, which is commutable to a fine of less than NT$50,000, it said.
The penalties apply to unauthorized use of trademarks in advertisements on digital media or the Internet, it said.
The Patent Act amendments would allow the filing of patent claims for drugs still under patent evaluation, it said.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS