The Japan Patent Office (JPO) reopened its doors to the public with limitations and precautions on June 1, 2020. It further announced on its website (update June 10) that it is allowing oral examination proceedings, with a long list of precautions and procedures to avoid any spread of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 at the meetings of such proceedings.
The precautions are fairly standard: those in attendence, including justices, should wear masks and use sanitizing means; refusal to people with suspect symptoms or who have been in close contact in the past 14 days with people infected with COVID-19; limits of up to three people for the two sides represented in an oral proceeding; and more.
Japan has been abuzz with the “new lifestyle” being accelerated by the novel coronavirus, and of course the JPO is trying to maintain its integrity with the necessary precautions. You can see more statistics on the novel coronavirus findings in Japan here: Japan COVID-19 Coronavirus Tracker.
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Taro Yaguchi.
Sources
Japan Patent Office. “口頭審理期日における新型コロナウイルス感染症の感染拡大防止へご協力のお願い [Requests for cooperation to prevent spread of novel coronavirus on days of oral examination proceedings].”
https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/trial_appeal/general-koto/covid19_koto.html Updated June 10, 2020. Accessed June 23, 2020.
