The Taiwan Legislature has passed a number of amendments to the Patent Law to ensure conformity with the TRIPS Agreement. Implementation of the new law will, however, be delayed until Taiwan becomes a member of the WTO. An agreement was reached some years ago that Taiwan would join the WTO at the same time as the People's Republic of China, which was then expected to be imminent. Political difficulties continue to delay the admission of the People's Republic of China and it is therefore still uncertain when Taiwan will become a member and when the patent law amendments will come into effect.