This is our latest update from April 21, 2023 (Japan time). We regularly check for substantial changes to JPO policy regarding COVID-19 and let you know here if there are such. The most recent major policy changes as far as…
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* Please refer to: our updated summary of the Japan Patent Office’s COVID-19 policies The Japan Patent Office announced, in accordance with the Japanese government’s new stance toward wearing of masks outside and in public places, that it will make…
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Greetings! Today we look back on 2022 and bring up some items that may have greatest impact for the future of IP prosecution and protection in the years to come. Policy and Program Changes April 1 The end of “multi-multi”…
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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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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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Goldfish, bred for centuries in Japan, are a major business in Nara Prefecture’s Yamato-Koriyama city. Barely used telephone booths are common around Japan. Modern artist Yamamoto Nobuki combined the two to promote water protection in his work “Message” in 2000,…
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How excited to you get about the grain you eat? Rice is central to traditional Japanese cuisine, and many Japanese farmers and famous rice-growing regions take great pride in their produce. One family company in Fukushima Prefecture, MIINE PRIMAL Co.,Ltd.,…
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The Japan Patent Office Annual Report (特許行政年次報告書) of 2021, with a wealth of data of intellectual property trends in Japan and worldwide, came out with much we can expect from Japan: fast examination results, continuing declines in patent filings domestically…
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The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan reported on March 2 that the Cabinet of Prime Minister Suga had approved various proposals to amend intellectual property laws in Japan. The main aims of the revisions would be to…
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Japanese sometimes see China and Korea as the great infringers of intellectual property, but the Japan Patent Office sees the buying and selling of counterfeit and other infringing items in Japan as a problem that cannot be ignored. Fearing increases…
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