In 2016, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) issued a patent for a “system” of serving steak meals to fast food chain Ikinari! Steak. The method was fairly simple, and caused a stir because it seemed hardly worthy of a patent….
Read more
IDC Japan published its findings and estimates for the growth of Artificial Intelligence (AI) investment by users in Japan over the next several years. There should be massive opportunities for investment there. In 2016, Japanese users spent nearly 16 trillion…
Read more
Following the departure of the United States of America from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement discussion, Japan and other nations have made progress in Da Nang, Vietnam moving toward an adjusted version of the agreement, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement…
Read more
Japan has been trying to promote its agricultural products for foreign markets even as many farmers are aging and dying. It has also been importing a great proportion of its food for decades. How are its prospects for feeding itself…
Read more
Now JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers) has formally begun a further step in its mission to enforce copyright in a range of public space. On September 25, 2017, the Sapporo District Court in Hokkaido began…
Read more
Biotechnology venture company MYTECH of Kobe, Japan filed a patent application for early detection technology for cancer. However, one of the listed co-applicants and researchers, Associate Professor Hiroaki Ito of Showa University Koto Toyosu Hospital (Tokyo), has accused MYTECH of…
Read more
Representatives for a number of major music schools, particularly those (like Yamaha) involved in sale of musical instruments, and JASRAC (Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers) spoke at initial hearings in the Tokyo District Court on September…
Read more
JASRAC, Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers, is again facing criticism. Recently it has received pushback from music schools and other establishments that use music, but now complaints from a musician supposed to benefit from JASRAC’s monitoring…
Read more
On May 23, 2017, the Japanese Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC) ruled in favor of Keisen’s client Garmin in a patent infringement claim brought by Pioneer (Case No H28(2016)(NE)10096). The IPHC not only unanimously rejected all of Pioneer’s infringement claims…
Read more
Chapter 1 of the 2017 Annual Report by the JPO does not surprise in too many ways. Quantity tends to be stable or declining, but the speed is up. The patent filings to the JPO have continued to decline over…
Read more