The Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO) and the Spanish
Patent and Trademark Office (SPTO), hereinafter referred to as
“ the Offices ”,

Recognizing the importance of patent protection in fostering
technological innovation and economic development;

Taking into consideration the increasing necessity of coping
with the ever-growing number of internationally filed patent
applications, which have arisen from a growing need for patent
protection in the context of globalization of the world economy;

Striving to ensure the benefits of expeditious, inexpensive and
high-quality examination for applicants and the benefits of
avoiding duplicative work and reducing the examination workload;
and

Desirous of promoting inter-office cooperation and enhancing
leadership in cooperative worldwide efforts in the patent field,

have reached an understanding on the following:

1. The Offices will start a pilot program of the Patent
Prosecution Highway (PPH) Mottainai for the patent
applications filed with the Offices.
2. The basic concept underlying the PPH-Mottainai is that where
the office of earlier examination (OEE) has assessed the
patentability of a patent application, the office of later
examination (OLE) ensures that the applicant enjoys the
benefit of an accelerated examination for the corresponding
application, provided that certain conditions are met. One
condition is that the claims of the two applications must
have sufficient correspondence. Another condition is that the
search and examination results of the OEE must be made
available to the OLE.
3. The PPH-Mottainai Pilot Program will commence on October 1,
2013 and end on September 30, 2015.The pilot program may be
extended with the mutual written consent of the Offices.
4. The Offices will prepare guidelines for the pilot program
before the program starts. The guidelines will include the
conditions outlined in paragraph 2 as well as the
requirements and procedures for participating in the pilot
program.
5. This Memorandum of Understanding will come into effect on the
date of signature by the Offices, and may be amended at any
time with the mutual written consent of the Offices.

Signed at Madrid, in duplicate in the English language, on the
20 of September 2013.

Taiwan Intellectual Property Spanish Patent and Trademark
Office Office

Wang, Mei-hua Patricia Garcia-Escudero Marquez
Director General Director General