Representatives for a number of major music schools, particularly those (like Yamaha) involved in sale of musical instruments, and JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers) spoke at initial hearings in the Tokyo District Court on September…
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JASRAC, Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, is again facing criticism. Recently it has received pushback from music schools and other establishments that use music, but now complaints from a musician supposed to benefit from JASRAC’s monitoring…
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On May 23, 2017, the Japanese Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC) ruled in favor of Keisen’s client Garmin in a patent infringement claim brought by Pioneer (Case No H28(2016)(NE)10096). The IPHC not only unanimously rejected all of Pioneer’s infringement claims…
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Chapter 1 of the 2017 Annual Report by the JPO does not surprise in too many ways. Quantity tends to be stable or declining, but the speed is up. The patent filings to the JPO have continued to decline over…
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An old trademark associated with a failed business’s old products, such as tape cassettes, seems like a hard sell. However, Japanese brand “aiwa” is reincarnating under a venture to use the Japanese trademark, purchased from Sony by one of Sony’s…
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The JPO is making its procedures for examining trademark applications that have been preceded by defectively filed applications more transparent after some confusion that caught up the media in Japan. Defective (often, with official fees unpaid) applications frequently are attempts…
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Reuters has published its ranking of the 2017 Asia Pacific’s Most Innovative Universities listing 75 schools for technology and intellectual property. The ranking placed 19 Japanese universities, including Tokyo University, Tohoku University, Kyoto University, and Osaka University, but South Korean…
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In a possibly consequential decision, the IP High Court overturned the Tokyo District Court’s infringement case decision against Debiopharm International S.A., judging that plaintiff Nichi-Iko’s patent No. 4430229 was not infringed. What was important about the decision was that the…
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The JPO recently issued the JPO Status Report 2017 (in Japanese and English) to give the public a better idea of how the JPO is working to improve its services. Commissioner Yoshinori Komiya expressed the prospects of the JPO in…
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The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) is known for being strict, even (some would say) overbearing with those who perform music that is covered by their copyrighting policies. JASRAC recently announced plans to charge 2.5%…
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