Japan is not an easy place to drive a car, but Mari Mobility Development Inc. has built a popular tourist-oriented business partly on its “MariCAR” go-cart tours. The “MariCAR” tours offer superhero outfits, including for Nintendo Co.’s classic video game…
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Japanese business paper Nikkei Shimbun shared the results of an analysis of relative (competitive) patent strength for autonomous driving in cars, done by Patent Result Co., Ltd (Tokyo). The results, reported September 13, 2018, show Japan’s strong showing overall in…
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As reported recently, Japanese leaders are giving greater attention to industrial designs and their usefulness to businesses for promoting the image and attractiveness of products and services. The Japan Patent Office is preparing a proposal for revision of the Design…
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News about intellectual property litigation comes at us frequently. Of these, the significant cases can dramatically alter the course of an enterprise, so firms may want to verify the facts about a reported litigation. For example, has an infringement trial…
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Japan is like the United Kingdom a constitutional monarchy with an emperor residing in the palace at the heart of Tokyo. And to this day, the imperial era names selected for each successive emperor (empress) are used to date many…
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Japanese tire company Bridgestone (headquartered in Tokyo) announced a victory over patent infringement by a Chinese tire maker in China’s Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. The victory came in May 2018 and Bridgestone announced it online on July 31. The court…
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When Might the Japan Patent Office Reject a Recovered Priority Claim in a PCT Application? A client recently asked about reinstating (restoring priority right in a patent application, so we summarized some points below. When an applicant wants to file…
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Consulting and auditing firm PwC Japan released a 2018 analysis of economic crimes such as fraud and cyber attacks in Japanese corporations July 31, 2018, based on its Economic Crime and Fraud Survey 2018. The report’s results hint at improvement…
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Kyocera Corporation (based in Kyoto, Japan), a major producer of various components and electronics, has begun to present some of its technologies more aggressively as it seeks to expand business. What once was earned in patent offices but kept hidden…
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The Study Group for Industrial Competitiveness and Designs, a project particularly of the JPO’s Design Division, ended with a “Declaration” published on May 23, 2018, after meetings stretched out over ten months. The JPO recently published a report and interview…
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