Page 15 - 2024 BRAVO! TAIWAN_en
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Sound Intellectual Property                       environment for fundraising and financing. Policies to
             Protection                                        attract foreign investment include relaxing restrictions
                                                               on foreign enterprises that seek to raise capital and
             Taiwan's intellectual property laws are open and   simplifying fundraising administrative procedures.
             transparent. Not only do they meet the basic guidelines
             established under international treaties, they have   In terms of direct financing, the cost of listing on an
             also undergone revisions in response to business and   exchange or over-the-counter market is lower in Taiwan   Business Climate
            international intellectual property law developments.   than in Hong Kong or China. The price-earnings ratio
            Furthermore, Taiwan continues to strengthen the    and price-to-book ratio of shares are fair, and liquidity
             efficiency and quality of the patent and trademark   is good. As of the end of 2023, there were 79 foreign
             application review process while also optimizing online   companies holding primary listings in Taiwan, and 30
             application and status tracking systems to provide   foreign companies with a primary OTC listing. The
            companies with even better service.                promotion of Go Incubation Board for Startup and
                                                               Acceleration Firms (GISA) and the opening of equity
             Taiwan has established an intellectual property and   funding, as well as the inception of Taiwan Innovation
            commercial court, for the adjudication of intellectual   Board (TIB) in July 2021, will further diversify Taiwan's
            property cases, and an IPR police force dedicated to   financing channels.
            counterfeit and piracy investigations. In response to
             technological advancements and in order to bolster   In terms of indirect financing, Taiwan's high savings rate
            protection of trade secrets, Taiwan has focused    is a source of abundant capital and its low interest rates
             especially on enhancing professional training for   reduce the cost of financing. Incentives offered to banks
            relevant law enforcement. As such, Taiwan has a    that provide loans to SMEs and key startup firms make
            comprehensive system for IPR protection, and the   bank financing services further available to businesses
             overall climate is friendly towards IP holders. In this   of all types and sizes.
            area, Taiwan has fielded praise from multinational
            corporations and IPR organizations.                A Diverse Culture of Innovation

            In 2010, Taiwan and Mainland China signed the "Cross-  Taiwan boasts a thriving R&D sector. Innovative
            Strait Agreement on Intellectual Property Rights   elements bring worldwide popularity to its high-tech
            Protection and Cooperation", which provides an official   consumer electronic products, chain store services,
            channel for Taiwanese to apply for and claim patents,   bicycles, pearl milk tea and Chinese-language music.
             trademarks and plant variety rights. An official working
            group and platform have been set up to ensure the   The World Economic Forum (WEF) has listed Taiwan as
            operation of the dispute resolution mechanism and help   an innovation-driven economy. In the 2019 WEF Global
             Taiwanese businesses protect their intellectual property   Competitiveness Report's innovation pillar, Taiwan
            rights in Mainland China.                          was ranked 4th globally and No.1 in Asia, in terms of
                                                               company R&D expenditure investment levels, Taiwan
             Taiwan is actively expanding international exchange and   was ranked 5th globally. In the Global Entrepreneurship
            cooperation in the area of intellectual property and has   Development Institute's Global Entrepreneurship
             signed separate Patent Prosecurition Highway (PPH)   Index report, Taiwan was ranked 11th in terms of
            agreements with the U.S., Japan, Spain, South Korea and   Entrepreneurial Aspirations. These rankings show that
            Poland starting from 2011. Also, Taiwan maintains close   whether in terms of actual company R&D expenditures
             ties with the various institutions, chambers of commerce   or entrepreneurial aspirations, Taiwan is among the
            and organizations representing intellectual property   countries leading the way forward. They also show that,
            rights holders. The government is also happy to receive   coupled with Taiwan's industry cluster development
            progressive and constructive feedback with regard to   and its long-term competitiveness (5th in the WEF
            intellectual property protection so that we may establish   global competitiveness index report), these factors
            a positive intellectual property environment and provide   have fostered a diverse and innovative local culture and
            businesses with safeguards with regard to their R&D and   excellent environment. Aside from this, Taiwan also has
            innovations, which in turn boosts business opportunities   more than 10 technology research institutions, including
            and economic development.                          Industrial Technology Research Institute and the Institute
                                                               for Information Industry, which are not only responsible
             A Friendly Fundraising and                        for leading the island's industrial development but also
             Financing Environment                             for cultivating a large number of science and technology
                                                               research and development talent, making them ideal
             Abundant capital, stable exchange rates, and relatively   partners for foreign companies seeking to enter the
            low interest rates and capital costs make Taiwan a friendly   Asia-Pacific and global markets.


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