About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

10 J. World Intell. Prop. 1 (2007)

handle is hein.journals/jwip10 and id is 1 raw text is: The Journal of World Intellectual Property (2007) Vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 1-21 Patent Protection for Chinese Herbal Medicine Product Invention in Taiwan Jerry I.-H. Hsiao Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute, University of London Taiwan has aimed to develop a local Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) industry targeting the global market. The main patent issues concern whether the inventions constitute patentable subject matter, and their patentability. Currently, it is difficult for CHM inventions to comply with patent standards developed in conjunction with the Western pharmaceutical industry. Despite its increasing prominence, thus far, Taiwan is the only country in the world to address specifically the characteristics of herbal medicines. Based on examining currently available literature and conducting interviews with patent examiners and CHM professors in Taiwan, this article compares CHM with Western and indigenous medicines. This article assesses the inefficiencies of the current patent law and explains the necessity for the new examination guideline. It is concluded that this new examination guideline will meet the needs of the CHM industry. Keywords Chinese herbal medicine; patent law; patent examination guideline; Taiwan As a subset of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the practice of Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has long flourished in East Asian countries like China, Korea, Japan2 and Taiwan before the advent of Western pharmaceuticals in the nineteenth century. Today, the practice of Western medicine has shifted from curative medicine to preventive medicine due to the rise of the aging population, especially in the developed world. Currently, over 130 countries in the world are using CHM; more than 120 countries have CHM research institutes studying the composition and effects of natural remedies (Chen). The popularity of CHM is due to the rise of many non-fatal chronic diseases among the elderly. It is vital to provide suitable drugs for the elderly, who require three to four times more medication than the younger generation. CHM appeals to the older people because TCM is renowned for maintaining the overall balance of the human body and increasing its natural defense against diseases. Nowadays, CHM has gained much popularity in the West. A study carried out from 1990 to 1997 in the United States suggests a substantial increase in the number of people seeking alternative medicine and the total amount of out-of-pocket expenditure for alternative medicines is comparable to the total US physician services in 1997 (Eisenberg et al., 1998). Today, 21.5% of the population uses CHM and the usage is likely to rise, as Taiwan is rapidly transcending into an aging society.3 In order to combat aging, the Taiwanese people have spent a considerable amount of money in purchasing health food products/dietary supplements-NT $20 billion in 1998 alone. According to a survey conducted by the Taiwan Economic © 2007 The Author. Journal Compilation © 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 1

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most