Any person who is interested in obtaining trademark rights for the purpose of distinguishing goods or services which such person provides, shall apply for registration in accordance with this Law.

An application for trademark registration filed by a foreign applicant may be refused for processing, where the country of origin of the applicant has not entered into a reciprocity treaty or agreement with the Republic of China in relation to protection of trademarks, or in accordance with the laws and decrees of the foreign country, an application for trademark registration filed by a national of the Republic of China is not entertained.

Where a trademark application was first filed by any entity organized in a WTO member, or in a country which reciprocally affords the nationals of the Republic of China the right of priority, a trademark application for the same mark subsequently filed by the same entity in the Republic of China within six months from the date on which the foreign application was filed may claim the right of priority.

Any person claiming priority in accordance with the preceding paragraph shall make such claim at the time of filing and shall specify in the application form the name of the WTO member, or the country in which the first filed corresponding application was filed, together with the filing date.

Within three months from the day following the date of filing, the applicant shall submit the priority document issued in the WTO member, or in the country which reciprocally affords the nationals of the Republic of China the right of priority.

Failure to meet the provisions set forth in the preceding two paragraphs will result in loss of the right of priority.

Any application claiming priority shall be accorded a filing date based upon the claimed priority date.

A trademark may consist of word, character, device, symbol, color, sound, three-dimensional shape, or any combination thereof.
The trademark referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be capable of enabling the related goods or services consumers to recognize the mark as an indication of the applicant's goods or services, thereby distinguishing such goods or services from those of others.

"Trademark use" as referred to in this Law means the use of a trademark for marketing purposes on goods, services or pertinent articles, or by means of two-dimensional graphic, digital image and sound, electronic media, or any other media to an extent sufficient to enable the related consumers to recognize the trademark.

The competent authority referred to in this Law shall be the Ministry of Economic Affairs.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs shall appoint an organization (hereinafter referred to as the Trademark Office) to administer trademark-related matters.

A trademark agent may be appointed to handle applications for trademark registration and matters connected with trademarks. However, any person having no domicile or place of business in the Republic of China shall appoint a trademark agent to deal with such matters on his behalf.
A trademark agent shall have a domicile in this country. In the event of a professional practitioner, unless it is otherwise prescribed by the law, only a registered trademark agent can render such service. An additional law shall be enacted to regulate the qualifications and transactions of registered trademark agents.

Prosecution of applications and other procedures in connection with trademarks shall be refused, where the applicant fails to meet any statutory time limit, follow legal procedures, or remedy formality deficiency within the designated time limit after a notification has been served.
In the event of failure to meet statutory time limit owing to force majeure or other factors not attributable to the applicant, within thirty days from the day following the elimination of the cause for delay, a written report specifying the cause for delay shall be submitted to the Trademark Office with a request to restore the application or procedure at issue. This provision, however, shall not apply if the delay of the statutory time limit has exceeded one year.

At the time of filing a request for restoration, the delayed procedures shall be executed simultaneously.

The filing date of an application and other procedures in connection with trademarks shall be the date on which relevant documents or articles are delivered to the Trademark Office, or the mailing date on the postmark if the documents or articles are dispatched by mail.
Where the date on the postmark is blurred, unless the party concerned can prove it, the date of receipt by the Trademark Office shall otherwise serve such purposes.

With regard to applications for trademark registration and other applications filed in connection with trademarks, government fees shall be paid.
The scale of trademark-related government fees shall be prescribed by the Trademark Office by way of a decree.

The Trademark Office shall issue an official gazette in which registered trademarks and all matters concerning trademarks shall be published.

The Trademark Office shall maintain for public inspection a register of trademarks, in which particulars of trademark registrations and changes in trademark rights, as well as all other matters prescribed by laws and decrees relating to trademarks, shall be entered.
The register of trademarks as referred to in the preceding paragraph may take the electronic form.

Applications and other procedures in connection with trademarks may be handled in electronic form. The implementation date, application procedures, and other related regulations shall be prescribed by the Trademark Office.

The Trademark Office shall appoint examiners to handle applications for trademark registration, as well as opposition, invalidation and cancellation proceedings.
The qualifications of the examiners referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by law.

Upon completion of review of the application or matter referred to in the first paragraph of the preceding Article, a written decision specifying the reasons therefor shall be served upon the applicant.
The examiner's name shall be indicated in the decision referred to in the preceding paragraph.