The 2026 Taiwan–Japan Intellectual Property Symposium was held on the afternoon of Monday, September 14, at the Tsai Lecture Hall of the College of Law, National Taiwan University. The event opened with remarks by Chien Chih-Yu, Director of the Economic Division of the Taiwan–Japan Relations Association, and Kawai Gen, Deputy Representative of the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association’s Taipei Office. Dr. Liao Cheng-wei, Director General of the Taiwan Intellectual Property Office (TIPO), and Kuroshima Keiko, Director of the Multilateral Policy Office of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), also delivered remarks, noting that the symposium provides a valuable platform for Taiwan–Japan exchange and is of great significance to industries on both sides.
Focusing on “Taiwan–Japan Anti-Counterfeiting Measures and Efforts to Enhance Enforcement Effectiveness,” the symposium featured Kawazoe Koichiro, Assistant Director of the Overseas Business Support Office of the JPO; Murayama Yohei, Deputy Chair of the Asia and Oceania Project Team of the International Intellectual Property Protection Forum (IIPPF); Yang Han-Chung, Legal Director of PChome eBay Co., Ltd.; and Chang Ting-Wei, Section Chief of the Copyright Promotion and Investigation Coordination Section of TIPO’s Copyright Division. From both public-sector and private-sector perspectives, the speakers shared anti-counterfeiting measures adopted in Taiwan and Japan, as well as the challenges businesses face and the strategies they employ in responding to counterfeit goods.
In the first half of the symposium, Assistant Director Kawazoe introduced the JPO’s anti-counterfeiting initiatives, including its overseas support framework, interagency cooperation within the Japanese government, and related activities undertaken in collaboration with external partners. On behalf of Taiwan, Section Chief Chang explained Taiwan’s “Action Plan for Protecting Intellectual Property Rights," outlining the plan and the new initiatives to be implemented from 2027. He also shared enforcement cases involving TIPO’s practical cooperation with law-enforcement authorities, including the police and the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance.
In the second half, Deputy Chair Murayama shared IIPPF’s concrete initiatives and achievements in preventing the distribution of counterfeit goods through public-private collaboration. Mr. Yang then discussed IP protection and related challenges on C2C online auction platforms. He examined the circulation of counterfeit goods on e-commerce platforms, with particular attention to the impact of user-generated content (UGC) on product listings. He also shared how online auction platforms and brand owners can work together to establish mechanisms for verifying product authenticity, as well as the current implementation and outcomes of existing takedown measures.
More than 137 participants from industry, government, and academia attended the symposium. Experts from Taiwan and Japan engaged in extensive exchanges of views and experiences, generating lively discussion throughout the event. The exchanges provided participants with a more comprehensive understanding of anti-counterfeiting measures and business practices for combating counterfeiting in Taiwan and Japan, and will serve as a useful reference for both sides in further refining IP protection policies and practices.