Kawasaki City, an industrial core for the Tokyo metropolitan area, has been promoting wider licensing and use of patents released by big corporate owners, by small and medium-sized companies in Kawasaki. The municipal effort has gained national attention for connecting…
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News about intellectual property litigation comes at us frequently. Of these, the significant cases can dramatically alter the course of an enterprise, so firms may want to verify the facts about a reported litigation. For example, has an infringement trial…
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Japanese tire company Bridgestone (headquartered in Tokyo) announced a victory over patent infringement by a Chinese tire maker in China’s Shanghai Intellectual Property Court. The victory came in May 2018 and Bridgestone announced it online on July 31. The court…
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When Might the Japan Patent Office Reject a Recovered Priority Claim in a PCT Application? A client recently asked about reinstating (restoring priority right in a patent application, so we summarized some points below. When an applicant wants to file…
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In another article, we discussed how to fix various substantive errors in the description of a PCT application when entering the Japanese national phase. This time we will shed some light on what an applicant who wants to enter Japan’s national phase…
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We have been asked what to do about recording a new applicant for a patent application that started in the PCT international phase but will be entering Japan. This may particularly take place after the original applicant(s) assign rights to…
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A while back, the “Ikinari! Steak” steak service patent was revoked. Now a patent that the JPO refused to invalidate in a challenge has gone up to the Supreme Court. On June 27, 2018, the Supreme Court concurred with the…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has now published its initial edition of the Guide to Licensing Negotiations Involving Standard Essential Patents (issue date: June 5, 2018). This is a guide meant to help international and Japanese parties to arrange for…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced on June 6 that it has begun to make available its multi-category classifications for patent inventions directed toward Internet of Things (IoT) technology in various sectors. This is to enable more precise searching and…
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There has been some guessing among patent commentators that the Japan Patent Office (JPO) will make it easier for small venture businesses to put their patent applications on the “Super Accelerated Examination” (Super souki shinsa) track, making First Action pendency…
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