What’s New
New Trademark Policy, April 2024: Personal Names Easier to Register in Japan
If you do not want to search through databases and lists of names of residents of Japan to get a trademark, you can breathe a sigh of relief–if you file from April of this year. What’s the Matter with the…
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Indonesia, Thailand Continuing Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) Pilot Program with Japan Patent Office beyond 2024
Indonesia’s Directorate General of Intellectual Property (DGIP) and Thailand’s Department of Intellectual Property in Thailand (DIP) are extending their Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) trial arrangements with the Japan Patent Office 3 years and 2 years, respectively, from the start of…
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Q&A: Multi-Multi Claims in Japanese Patent Applications
1. What is a “Multi-Multi Claim”? “Multi-multi claim” means “any dependent claim that refers to more than one other claim in the alternative (‘multiple dependent claim’) which depends from any other multiple dependent claim”.[1] A multi-multi claim hence exponentially increases…
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“GODZILLA”(r) Chomps Up Demolition Cutter Trademark “GUZZILLA” in Japan IP High Court
Japan’s famous monster “Godzilla,” that is, its trademark, rampages again. On July 19, 2023, Japan’s IP High Court judged in favor of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) Invalidation of Registration for another trademark, “GUZZILLA.” What’s GUZZILLA? GUZZILLA is the name…
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DWANGO Vs. FC2 Decision by IP High Court, Japan, Means Protection for Patented Programs “Imported” from Foreign Servers
Japan’s IP High Court (IPHC) is setting a trend to deny patented programs even if sent from servers outside of Japan, with its May 26, 2023 case DWANGO v. FC2. The IPHC rejects immunity to FC2 simply on grounds that…
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Latest Summary of COVID-19 Responses by the Japan Patent Office and IP High Court
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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New Policy, April 2023: Japan Patent Office Allows Suspension of Examination for Divisional Application, Where Parent Application is Pending Appeal
Worried what to do about a divisional patent application while the parent application appeal is pending in Japan? How to handle the fork in the road? Starting from April 1, 2023, for divisional applications filed in conjunction with a Request…
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Faces Seizure of More Patents & Trademarks in Korea
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) is again on the defensive trying to avoid loss of multiple patents and trademarks in the Republic of Korea (South Korea), against victims of MHI’s forced labor up to 1945 Korean Daejeon District Court approved seizure…
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New Rule, April 2023: Reinstatement for Patent Applications to Meet “Unintentional” Instead of “Due Care” Standards
April 1, 2023 marks an important shift for those who might realize, with dread, that a key patent deadline in Japan has been missed. The standard for Reinstatement (Revival with a late filing) is softening from “Justifiable” to “Unintentional” Delay….
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