Patent Act Article 28

Priority claim under WTO membership, etc.Where an applicant has first applied for a patent in a foreign country, which reciprocally allows ROC nationals to claim patent priority, or with any member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the applicant may claim priority in respect of a ROC patent application for the same invention if the ROC patent application for the same invention is filed within twelve (12) months after the filing date of the said first patent application.Where an applicant claims two or more priorities in respect of a patent application, the period referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be based on the earliest priority date.If a foreign applicant is a citizen of a non-member of the WTO and whose home country does not mutually recognize priority with the ROC, but the applicant has domicile or business establishment in any member of the WTO or in the territory of a reciprocal country, the applicant shall also be entitled to claim priority in accordance with the provisions set forth in Paragraph 1.For a patent application filed with priority, examination of its patentability shall be based on the priority date.