Taiwan is planning to set up an intellectual property bank in June to help its companies defend themselves from accusations of patent infringement, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA).
The intellectual property bank is to be set up with NT$500m ($17m) from venture capital firms and local equipment companies HTC, Acer and Asustek Computer under the supervision of Taiwan’s semi-official Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI).
The bank will be privately-owned as it will receive less than 30% of its funding from the government, while membership fees will be set at around NT$1m each, according to the ITRI.
The bank will provide a "protective shield" for Taiwan-based firms by building patent portfolios and providing legal advice, the MOEA said. The bank will seek to purchase patents in the international market and local companies will then have the option to buy the patents, the ITRI said.
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 been the constant targets of foreign competitors, the MOEA said to news provider CNA.