In the USPTO, the requirement that a design include an icon is not quite as strict as in the JPO. Computer-Generated Icons are eligible for design patent protection as long as the design patent applications comply with the “article of…
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“I found an error in the PCT application! What can I do about it in the Japan national phase?” As we say in Japan, “Even monkeys fall from trees.” Even expert inventors, applicants, writers, and agents can make mistakes in…
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Japan is known for not only technological prowess but also aging and declining populations, and concerns for its economic future as China, South Korea, and other Asian states grow economically. The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has…
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Recently Keisen Associates ran a popular article on how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) is concerned over complicated arbitration concerning the Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) that are so widespread in today’s “connected” products through artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet…
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In Japan, an applicant may file a divisional patent application (in accordance with Patent Act Art. 44). This is possible from the filing of the application until prescribed deadlines. When is the latest I may file a divisional application after…
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* Updated March 10, 2020 to reflect revised rules and practice. A patent’s duration is fairly standard in Japan: 20 years from the filing date. (For a PCT international application that enters the national phase in Japan, that is 20…
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Happy New Year for 2018, again! Last year saw a spate of copyright-related conflicts between the large Japanese music copyright institution, JASRAC, and various private music schools, businesses (where copyrighted BGM was being played), and even musicians. Japan’s legal treatment…
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Japanese translations of technical patent documents can be very costly. Are they necessary? Here are some possible ideas applicants may have to save money–and the risks associated with them. Can I cut translation costs if I prepare the translation myself?…
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Applicants wonder about filing pre-examination amendments (for example, to delete claims) for the Japanese national stage of their Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) international applications. Filing international phase amendments (under Article 19 or Article 34 of the Patent Cooperation Treaty [PCT])…
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In 2016, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) issued a patent for a “system” of serving steak meals to fast food chain Ikinari! Steak. The method was fairly simple, and caused a stir because it seemed hardly worthy of a patent….
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