Many Japanese people love to eat sea urchins. They also hate food that looks less-than-excellent. So when Kanagawa Prefecture (capital: Yokohama) faced a glut of starved sea urchins and reject-quality cabbages, what did it do? It filed for a trademark….
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On January 7, 2021, parts of the Tokyo metropolitan area were declared under a state of emergency by the Japanese government. The following day, the Japan Patent Office announced it would close its main entrance from January 12 and generally…
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Greetings for the new year of 2021! 2020’s difficulties carry over into this year, but we are hopeful. Society and culture are shifting due to COVID-19 and global changes. Japan, often technologically advanced while administratively reactive, has been adjusting in…
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This past winter and spring, people in Japan took the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) threat in stride with the stock of surgical masks they would have worn anyway. Then supplies ran extremely low and queues formed outside of drug stores. In…
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The Japanese government’s Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is involved in satellite launches, missions to the International Space Station, and more. It recently clarified its intellectual property stance by issuing an Intellectual Property Policy on June 12, 2020, taken up…
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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 (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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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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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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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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