Dr. Honjo Tasuku, a winner of the 2018 Nobel Prize for his research on cancer-fighting technologies, is making good on his threats to fight Ono Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of the treatment drug Opdivo, which signed a contract to use his…
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The Japan Patent Office published its annual Status Report in April. Here are a few of the things we noted. Patent Prosecution in Japan -Steady decline in domestic and international patent filings (under 345,000 in 2010 and nearly 308,000 in…
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The Japanese Prime Minister’s Cabinet Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters issued its annual Intellectual Property Strategic Program 2020 in early June. This year, the 160-document acts as a manifesto for the Japanese government to boost Japan’s financial and economic future through…
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The Japan Patent Office had never given itself a patent . . . until now. It awarded itself a patent for an invention by seven of its own examiners, who had programming skills, a patent for a multilingual patent searching…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) decided, on April 3, 2020, to provide a wide range of remedies for most of the missed deadlines for those who have been affected by the COVID-19 related restrictions. It is still recommended for our…
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Entering May, a number of major Japanese corporations like Toyota, Canon, and Shimadzu have been announcing their declaration not to assert IP rights for ideas used to fight the novel coronavirus that is impacting the world so heavily now. This…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) began to accept online submission of priority documents for Design registrations from January 1, 2020. This makes filing of Design applications (in addition to patent applications) from abroad into Japan simpler (though note our warnings…
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* Please see our up-to-date summary on the Japan Patent Office’s covid policies, including late filing remedies when COVID-19 caused a delay in filing. The Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced April 24, 2020 further remedies to allow applicants who were…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) decided, on April 3, 2020, to provide a wide range of remedies for most of the missed deadlines for those who have been affected by the COVID-19 related restrictions. It is still recommended for our…
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We reported last year that the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) was considering enacting measures against export of genetic resources for wagyu (Japanese breeds of beef cattle). Now, it has made news that such a proposal has…
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