Earlier this year Professor Tasuku Honjo, Nobel Laureate, publicly criticized his development partner Ono Pharmaceuticals, claiming their renumeration (2.6 billion yen, about US$24 million) was far below what he and other researchers should receive, considering the value of the programmed…
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In June of 2019, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission (kousei torihiki iinkai, FTC) reported that in its survey results from about 16,000 small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing (the Commissioned surveyed 30,000), there were over 700 reported cases of larger client…
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Under the “Act to Revise a part of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (May 30, 2018 Article 33)”, the JPO has greatly simplified the existing procedure to reduce fees, for the purpose of helping small and micro entities. As previously,…
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As mentioned in an earlier article, the imperial period name may not be trademarked on its own but may only be registered in a trademark when combined with other elements in a way that can be distinctive. The new imperial…
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The Japanese government’s Subcommittee on the Patent Act System has been working on revisions to the patent litigation system in Japan since October last year. The Japanese patent system does not have a requirement like the United States power of…
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In a possibly consequential decision, the IP High Court overturned the Tokyo District Court’s infringement case decision against Debiopharm International S.A., judging that plaintiff Nichi-Iko’s patent No. 4430229 was not infringed. What was important about the decision was that the…
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The JPO recently issued the JPO Status Report 2017 (in Japanese and English) to give the public a better idea of how the JPO is working to improve its services. Commissioner Yoshinori Komiya expressed the prospects of the JPO in…
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The Japanese Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC) is known for being strict, even (some would say) overbearing with those who perform music that is covered by their copyrighting policies. JASRAC recently announced plans to charge 2.5%…
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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) continues to expand its Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) network with pilot programs initiated with the National Institutes of Industrial Property (INPI) of Brazil and Argentina, respectively, from April 1, 2017. The JPO plans to start…
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The options and implications for post-issuance/grant proceedings and oppositions in Japan can be complicated, and you will need to take various factors into consideration. Our presentation gives you background and ideas for protecting or challenging issued patents. We would be…
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