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Among the requirements for a patent, inventive step (non-obviousness) is the most difficult to be evaluated, as it involves subjective opinion. The Intellectual Property Office ("IPO") publishes Guidelines regarding how to determine whether a patent can be easily accomplished, and how to determine whether it is easy for persons with ordinary acknowledge to combine the prior art references. The Guidelines and other standards published by the IPO are meant as internal administrative directions, but are sometimes adopted by courts. Compared with the practice in Taiwan, the U.S. courts have provided several principles or tests for judging the obvious issue, thereby providing a consistent standard in this regard. Said principles include those disclosed in the Graham and KSR cases, and the TSM (Teaching, Suggestion or Motivation) test. The standard disclosed in the IPO's Guidelines is highly similar to that adopted by the U.S. practice. This research shows that the Taiwanese Supreme Court dismisses second-instance judgments at a higher rate than the Taiwanese Supreme Administrative Court. In addition, decisions rendered by the Taiwanese courts are normally based solely on the provision of the Patent Act, without reciting other principles or standards that are considered. Though some judgments mention the principles/rules based on which the decisions are issued, the judgments do not explain how they reach the decision based on said principles/rules. For instance, in some cases, the Supreme Court has confirmed the importance of whether the prior art references teach "problems to be solved by the patent"; however, the Supreme Court makes its conclusion based merely on the reason that the prior art references disclose the technical features of the patent. In order to avoid hindsight, the standard adopted in determining whether a patent has an inventive step should be disclosed clearly, and the reasons based on which the conclusion is made should also be clearly explained. The standards and reasons disclosed in the U.S. cases may be helpful as reference in this regard.
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