Publication and Invention Verification Regulations

Dates of Promulgation

Establishment of the complete text of 14 articles, promulgated on April 1, 1987 as per Examination Yuan (76) Kao-Tai-Mi-Yi-Zi Order No. 0784.
Amendments to the complete text of 14 articles, promulgated on August 1, 1990 as per Examination Yuan (79) Kao-Tai-Mi-Yi-Zi Order No. 2292.
Amendments to the complete text of 16 articles, promulgated on May 24, 1996 as per Examination Yuan (85) Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 02758.
Amendments to the complete text of 15 articles, promulgated on August 28, 2002 as per Examination Yuan Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 0910006626.
Amendments to Articles 1 to 5, 8 to 11, and 13, Appendix 1 and 2; deletion of Article 6, promulgated on April 2, 2012 as per Examination Yuan Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 10100028121.
Amendments to Articles 1, 12, and 13, promulgated on August 7, 2015 as per Examination Yuan Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 10400046691.
Amendments to Articles 3, 4, 5, 8,10, and 13; and Appendixes 1 and 2 to Article 10, promulgated on June 24, 2016 as per Examination Yuan Kao-Tai-Zu-(1)-Yi-Zi Order No. 10500022961.

The text of these Regulations is as follows:

Article 1
These Regulations are established as per Article 14, Paragraph 2 of the Examination Affairs Act.

Article 2
For exams requiring verification of publications or inventions, candidates shall submit their publications or inventions with five copies of specifications and necessary illustrations. 
If the invention is a tangible object, the exam administration agency may request candidates to submit a sample or model.
If more than two publications or inventions are submitted, candidates shall specify one as a representative publication or invention. Once a representative work has been submitted, no changes will be allowed.

Article 3
Publications submitted for review shall comply with the following:
1. Publications may be books, scientific or technical reports, or treatises on culture or art published in domestic or foreign academic or professional publications with an official review procedure. Submissions must have been published no more than five years prior to the announcement of first stage (written) exam results for staged exams, or the first registration day for non-staged exams. 
2. Submissions must include a complete description in the national language of the publication, research period, and research process.
Publications in a foreign language must include a complete description of the publication in the national language.
If there is a difficulty submitting a publication in a foreign language for verification, the exam administration agency may request the candidate to submit a version in the national language or English.
If a publication has more than two authors, only the first author with a contribution of at least 40% or the corresponding author may submit for review.
Candidates shall provide a written statement outlining their involvement, percentage of contribution, and a written statement with coauthors’ signatures waiving their right to use the invention as a representative invention.

Article 4
Inventions and specifications submitted for review shall comply with the following:
1. Inventions must have been patented no more than five years prior to the announcement of first stage (written) exam results for staged exams, or the first registration day for non-staged exams.
2. Specifications should be in the national language and state of the invention’s name as well as descriptions of processes and times, technical field, prior technologies, an invention summary, drawings, applications, and symbols.
If inventions are patented in a foreign country, patent specifications in the original language should also be submitted.
3. Specifications shall include enough information to give members of the field an understanding of submitted content. 
Mechanical structures, electrical circuits, or chemical compositions must be provided for concrete invented objects. For invented methods, steps must be provided.
4. Schematic drawings shall be provided to supplement text when necessary.
Drawings shall be clear, follow technical drawing conventions, and indicate drawing numbers and component symbols.
If the invention cannot be represented schematically, photos may be provided. 
5. Patent certificates or utility models must be provided. If a utility model is submitted, a utility model certificate and utility model technical report must be provided.
If a third party has filed a complaint with the patent authority, relevant documents shall be provided.
For inventions with two or more creators, only the inventor with a contribution of  40% or more may submit for verification. 
Candidates shall provide written statements about their involvement and contribution percentage, and a written statement with co-inventors’ signatures as a declaration waiving their right to use the invention as a representative invention. 

Article 5
Publications or inventions that fall into the following categories may not be submitted for verification: 
1. Publications or inventions irrelevant to the exam category.
2. Textbooks
3. Publications for general audiences
4. Records or reports
5. Speech transcripts
6. Compilations or translations
7. Edited works
8. Dictionaries or reference books

Article 6
(Deleted)

Article 7
Photos and schematic drawings submitted for verification will not be returned.
Certificates, samples, or models submitted for verification may be returned.

Article 8
Under any of the following circumstances, representative publications or inventions shall not be delivered for verification: 
1. Submissions made after the deadline.
2. Incomplete Submissions. 
The examination administration agency may request candidates submit corrections within a time limit. 
Reference publications or inventions falling under the preceding paragraph will not be scored. 

Article 9
Before publications or inventions are delivered for review, the Board of Examiners shall call a meeting of conveners, board members, and experts to review conditions prescribed in Articles 3 to 5.
Publications or inventions will be reviewed by three reviewers. The final score will be the average of their scores.
If publications or inventions do not meet conditions prescribed in Articles 3 to 4 or fall into conditions set out in Articles 5 and 8, the publication or invention will not be reviewed and will receive a score of zero.

Article 10
Scoring components and weights for publication or invention review:
1. Inventions:
(1) Research subject and content: 30 points
(2) Research method and references: 20 points
(3) Research ability and results: 40 points
(4) Publications must have been published no more than 5 years prior the announcement of first stage (written) exam results for staged exams, or 5 years prior to the first day of registration for non-staged exams. A maximum of 3 publications may be submitted for 10 points.  
2. Inventions:
(1) Creation subject and content: 30 points
(2) Creation design and theoretical basis: 20 points
(3) Creativity and achievements: 40 points
(4) Inventions proving a candidate’s academic competence must have been made public no more than 5 years prior to the announcement of exam results for first stage (written) exams, or no more than 5 years prior to the first day of registration for non-staged exams. A maximum of 3 inventions may be submitted for 10 points.  
The review committee shall score each item on the publication or invention score sheet, calculate the total score, and provide specific remarks in the comment section.
Sample publication and invention review sheets are provided in Appendixes 1 and 2.

Article 11
Examinees whose publication or invention score is less than 60 points will not pass the exam even if the total score of the exams meets the passing threshold.
Any false statements or concealment of information about the publication or invention submitted for review which violate Articles 3 to 5 will not be delivered for review if the violation is discovered before the review begins. 
The publication or invention will not be reviewed if the violation is discovered during review.
If a violation is discovered after the review and before the announcement of exam results, candidates will not pass.
If a violation is discovered after the announcement of exam results and during training, passing candidates will be disqualified.
If a violation is discovered after the candidates complete training, the candidate will be disqualified and the qualification certificate revoked.

Article 12
Members of the Board of Examiners, publication or invention reviewers, and examination staff members, whose spouse, blood relative, or relative through marriage within three degrees of relation happens to take the exam, or those who happen to be the head in the examinee’s workplace, or the examinee’s direct superior at work, or thesis supervisor should recuse themselves.
A violation of the preceding paragraph will lead to disqualification from the Board of Examiners or from the position of reviewer or examination staff member.

Article 13
Members of the Board of Examiners, reviewers, and examination staff members shall, in accordance with the law, keep information confidential, including candidates’ identities, titles of the publications or invention contents submitted for review, and specific details of the review process.
Disclosure is prohibited and subject to Article 31 of the Examination Affairs Act.

Article 14
Publications or inventions submitted by passing candidates will be displayed at the National Central Library.

Article 15
These Regulations shall come into effect upon promulgation

In case of any discrepancy between the English version and the Chinese version, the latter shall prevail.