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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Japan does not have a “fair use” doctrine such as is employed by the United States regarding using copyrighted materials for nonprofit, educational purposes. However, its Copyright Act has been revised and its new provisions are going into effect in…
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First and foremost, we hope you and your families are in good health. We have a couple of updates for you as of the April 10 situation. 1. Courts on Rescheduling of Hearings Although the courts have not issued an…
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* Original: March 20, 2020. Update: April 7, 2020. Interviews with examiners are a vital tool during patent prosecution in Japan–able to make the difference between moving toward allowance and receiving a rejection. They have not always, however, been easily…
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A few years ago, we reported that music schools were suing the Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC). Since then, we produced updates in 2018 and last month. Finally, the decision of the Tokyo District Court…
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Recently, clients have been asking us about reinstatement or other procedures to save cases that were delayed due to restrictions brought about by the novel coronavirus COVID-19. We want to share information on this pressing matter. As you may know,…
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Like you, we continue to be concerned about the COVID-19 outbreak. The Japan Patent Office continues to be open and has not extended deadlines. We are regularly monitoring the situation and assessing the best way for our team to avoid…
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March 10, 2020 marked the implementation of revised rules that allow for new Japanese patents in any field to be given extensions in protection, if they are allowed and registered unduly late. New filers may want to keep this change…
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Hello! We hope and pray for the swift calming of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 spread globally. Our offices are functioning fine. Currently our Tokyo Office is working with partial telework in place. About half of our Tokyo staff is working…
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How will a Japanese patent infringement pay off in damages if the infringement is recognized by the courts? A new decision by the Intellectual Property (IP) High Court of Japan on February 28, 2020 gives some idea of the formula…
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