Japan plans to open a synergistic court this October—the Business Court. The new Business Court, a little further away from Tokyo Station (Nakameguro), is to house the IP High Court and intellectual property matters with other business-related legal courts together…
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In 2021, the Japanese Diet (parliament) passed various amendments to intellectual property law. Two major changes were made, and this month, Prime Minister Kishida’s Cabinet issued executive ordinances to implement the amendments. Here is a summary of the two major…
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Although the Japan Patent Office (JPO) generally has one of the world’s fastest patent examination rates (average in 2020: First Action within 10.2 months, total pendency from Request for Examination 15.0 months–see JPO Status Report 2022, p. 4, 47), sometimes…
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If you are hoping to get quick patent results and have Japan in mind, keep in mind that applicants from a number of states are able to have the Japan Patent Office (JPO) examine their PCT international patent applications. Saudi…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) is following the Japanese government and much of the world, it seems, to punish Russian economic power. Applicants in the Russian Federation and EAPO party states will need to go through the standard patent examination…
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Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Korean litigants keep wrestling over how to put to rest the accounting for past colonial wrongs done to forced laborers. The collateral: intellectual property. As reported last year, the regional Daejeon Court tried to wrest reparations…
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Japan has allowed such “multi-multi claims” (described as “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] However, beware that if you were intending…
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Unless a patent was filed in Japan a while ago (before April 1, 2004), the Japan Patent Office (JPO) will be charging more for many of the Japanese patent (including for PCT filings) and trademark fees, effective April 1, 2022….
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In the past couple of years, Japan’s government has been trying to reform the work environment and make it more conducive to remote work and easier (digital) procedures. One of its trumpeted changes has been the removal of requirements for…
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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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