TIPLO continues to sit comfortably in the first Tier of the prosecution rankings and moves up a Tier in patent contentious work. With a liaison office in Tokyo, the firm boasts a large Japanese client base. Commentators acknowledge its strong patent litigation capacity with a well-balanced team of legal and technical professionals in the firm; its 20-lawyer team is one of the largest among Taiwan IP firms.
One of the outstanding matters of the past year saw the firm advise an IC designer and manufacturer listed on Nasdaq and in Hong Kong that sued a rival and a notebook manufacturer for jointly infringing its patent. The case deals with the principle of contributory infringement and what determines whether an infringer is the chief instigator or has an accomplice or assisting role. These are all areas seldom touched upon in Taiwan patent law and the case is now pending before the Taipei District Court.
Another patent infringement litigation of note is TIPLO's representation of a Japanese printing ink manufacturer in suing a competitor for infringement and defending the client from a counterclaim of patent invalidation. The invalidation claim has been dismissed by TIPO and the two sides are in the process of reaching a settlement.