Sushi is big business in Japan, of course, and two major rivals on the conveyor belt sushi market are the Kappa Sushi and Hama Zushi (Sushi) chains. Recently, these two restaurants came into the news as a former executive from…
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The Japan Patent Office Annual Report (特許行政年次報告書) of 2022 (JPOAR 2022), issued late last month, sums up trends through 2021 in particular with a variety of data (including comparisons with other patent offices). The JPOAR 2022 is quite detailed, so…
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In 2021, the Japanese Diet (parliament) passed various amendments to intellectual property law. Two major changes were made, and this month, Prime Minister Kishida’s Cabinet issued executive ordinances to implement the amendments. Here is a summary of the two major…
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If you are hoping to get quick patent results and have Japan in mind, keep in mind that applicants from a number of states are able to have the Japan Patent Office (JPO) examine their PCT international patent applications. Saudi…
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Korean litigants keep wrestling over how to put to rest the accounting for past colonial wrongs done to forced laborers. The collateral: intellectual property. As reported last year, the regional Daejeon Court tried to wrest reparations…
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Japan has allowed such “multi-multi claims” (described as “any dependent claim that refers to more than one other claim in the alternative (“multiple dependent claim”) which depends from any other multiple dependent claim”).[1] However, beware that if you were intending…
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We published an article in August 2021 and a followup newsflash in December regarding the Japanese government’s move toward a legal framework for a new secret patent system. The task force considering aspects of economic security for Japan presented their…
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In short order after our update from last week, another update to an intellectual property issue found in our archives has come up. Cloudflare, having complied with Japanese courts before, now is hit with a new accusation of accountability for…
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Late last year, news came out that Nippon Steel, one of Japan’s great steel manufacturers, was suing Toyota and Toyota’s new supplier of non-oriented magnetic steel sheets, Baosteel, for patent infringement. Later, Nippon Steel even set its sights on longstanding…
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The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and Japan Patent Office (JPO) made a joint statement posting their goals to issue office actions in response to Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) requests, making it easier for applicants to plan a…
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