Updates on legal revisions, developments in practice, noteworthy court decisions, etc.
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Osaka District Court Does Not Recognize Copyright of Record of Shogi
Case number: 2022(Wa)11394Type: Request for Injunction against Unfair CompetitionPlaintiff: YouTuberDefendant: Igo & Shogi Channel Inc.Relevant Law: Anti-Competition Act, Article 3(1), Request for InjunctionThe above court case concerns whether deletion of a video clip replicating “kifu” (shogi
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Revised Patent Examination Fee Reduction/Exemption Program
The JPO announced that a limit has been set on the number of cases for which an applicant can apply for the examination fee reduction/exemption system. The revised program has been applied to cases for which a request for patent examination was filed on or after April 1, 2024.Under the revision, sma
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Trademark Law, Article 4 (1) (xi): Letters of Consent
Introduction of Letters of ConsentIf an applied-for trademark is identical with or similar to prior marks and designates goods/services identical with or similar to goods/services designated in the prior marks, the applied-for trademark will be rejected. Because letters of consent were not acceptabl
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Nippon Steel Terminated Patent Infringement Litigation against Toyota and Mitsui while Continues Litigation against Baosteel
In November 2023, Nippon Steel announced that it had waived claims in the patent infringement litigation against Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”), and Mitsui & Co., Ltd. and Mitsui & Co. Steel Ltd. (“Mitsui”). “Waive of claim” means the plaintiff terminates the litigation and same effect
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Implication of Patent Non-Disclosure System to Overseas Applicants
A non-disclosure system for patent applications will be introduced in Japan on May 1, 2024. This article outlines the new system and its impacts on filing activities of overseas applicants.The Outline of the New SystemSystem for non-disclosure of selected patent applications is stipulated in Chapte
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Key Changes in Japanese IP Law, Act, and Practice: Design and Trademark
i. A consent letter system is introduced (effective April 1, 2024)The Revised Trademark Act, which includes a consent letter system, came into effect on April 1, 2024. If an applied-for trademark is identical or similar to an earlier registered trademark and its designated goods or services are iden
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Recent Trends in Business-Related Inventions
The Japanese Patent Office (JPO) updated its annual report on “Recent Trends in Business-Related Inventions” in November 2023. The report has summarized patent filings and examination trends in business-related inventions between 1997 and 2021. As for the 2020 updates, please refer to our past new
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Japanese Companies Shifting from Competition to Co-Creation: Disclosure of Their Patents to Promote Open Innovation
Amid an environment of high-speed technical innovation, it is necessary for companies to work hand in hand in taking approaches to “co-create” their values to tackle diversified social problems, knowing that a single company cannot solve such problems alone. In this regard, it is worth noting that
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Sharp Finalizes Patent Cross-Licensing Agreements over 4G-5G SEPs with Huawei and Motorola
Sharp has engaged in licensing activity of standard essential patents (SEPs) for wireless communication technologies to global companies in the telecommunication field. Sharp holds more than 6,000 patents related to 5G SEPs.On November 27, 2023, Sharp and Huawei Technologies, a Chinese telecom gian
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Tokyo District Court Orders Compensation for Damages to “Fast Movie” Uploader Whose Whereabouts are Unknown
Major Japanese movie companies, such as Toho, Shochiku and Toei (plaintiff), filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against three uploaders (defendants) who edited the full-length version of the original movie and uploaded it without the permission of the copyright holders. On August 24, 2023, the T
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JPO Patent Filing Trends in Green Transformation Technologies
The JPO conducted a comprehensive survey in May 2023 to summarize and analyze patent filing trends in green transformation (GX) technologies among respective regions and countries for the first time, referring to the JPO’s Green Transformation Technologies Inventory (GXTI). Green Transformation, ak
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Preliminary Injunction against Generic Manufacturer Allegedly Infringing BMS Patent
On November 29, 2023, the Japanese subsidiary biopharmaceutical corporation, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), announced that the Tokyo District Court issued a preliminary injunction order against Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Japanese generic drug manufacturer, that prohibits sales and manufacture of
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Analysis of the Outcome of Japanese Patent Infringement Litigation in 2022
Trends in patent infringement litigation disposed of by the Tokyo District Court (TDC) and Osaka District Court (ODC) between 2014 and 2022Under Japanese judicial procedures, the first instance of patent infringement litigation is the TDC or ODC. According to statistics released by the IP High Cour
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JPAA Discussed Copyright Issues amid Rising Attention to the Breakout of Generative AI
On August 4, 2023, Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA) reportedly held a briefing session to media to review recent issues and questions of copyright which are increasingly highlighted by the breakout of generative AI, and also to explain their stands. This article is a summary of what the JP
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JPO Dramatically Increases Number of Experts to Support Examination of AI-related Inventions
AI experts assigned to all examination teamsThe Japanese Patent Office (JPO) has increased the number of officers with expertise in AI-related patents from 10 to 40. Accordingly, an officer with expert knowledge in AI has been dispatched to each examination team by technical field, ensuring the org
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IP High Court Finds a Trademark Registration Very Similar to “GODZILLA” Invalid
The Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC) judged on July 19, 2023 that a trademark registration of “GUZZILLA” (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6143667, as shown below) owned by a Japanese construction machinery component manufacturer, Taguchi Industrial Co. Ltd. (Appellant), could cause confus
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Japanese Patent Trends from the JPO Annual Report, summarized by SHIGA
Key NumbersThe number of patent applications slightly declined while the numbers of requests for examination and registrations remain unchanged.The number and ratio of patent applications from foreign countries are as follows.The number of requests for appeal against an Examiner’s decision of refusa
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Rapid Increase in Damage Caused by Piracy Has Led to Strengthening Countermeasures
According to the Content Overseas Distribution Association (CODA), the amount of annual damage caused by online piracy of Japanese manga, anime, games, etc. has reached two trillion JPY. This is a five times increase from the 2019 survey, revealing the reality of rapidly expanding damages.In recent
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Framework for Patent Non-Disclosure System will be Introduced in May 2024
Outline of the SystemThe Cabinet of Japan approved on April 28, 2023, a framework for a patent non-disclosure system which was stipulated in the Economic Security Bill enacted in May 2022. The operation of the system is scheduled to start in May 2024. The patent non-disclosure system aims to preve
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Patent Filing Trends in Hydrogen Technologies
The EPO (European Patent Office) and IEA (International Energy Agency) released a joint study titled “Hydrogen patents for a clean energy future -A global trend analysis of innovation along hydrogen value chain-“ in January 2023. The voluminous 70 page report contains patent filing trends on hydroge
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IP High Court Finds Patent Infringement on Cross-Border Network System
OutlineOn May 26, 2023, the Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC) made a landmark decision that finds patent infringement on an internet-related invention beyond a national border. In the lawsuit, DWANGO Co., Ltd., a Japanese web service company of which one of the major services is a video distr
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Cabinet Approved Bills to Strengthen Protection of Brand and Design
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IP NEWS Volume 66
In this Issue- 3.8 Million USD in Copyright Infringement Damages for “Fast Movies”- Supreme Court Decision: Does Patent Enforcement Cast Off the Stigma of Abuse of Right?- Recent Trends in Business-Related Inventions- Deep Learning Accounts for Approximately Half of AI-Related Inventions Filed at th
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IP NEWS Volume 65
In this Issue- Music School Student Performances Not Subject to Copyright Fees- Customs Act Prohibits Import of Private Use Counterfeit Products- Japanese Car Makers Enter Connected Car License Agreement- Panasonic First in Japan to Join Low-Carbon Patent Pledge- Infringement Found in Action via Ove
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IPHC Grand Panel Admitted High Compensation
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Patent linkage in Japan: the present situation and challenges
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IP NEWS Volume 64
In this Issue- Establishment of Guidelines for License Negotiations for Standard Essential Patents- New Guidelines for Co-Ownership of Patents- WIPO Report: Toyota has Most Active Patents related to Hydrogen Fuel Cells in Transportation- JPO Studying Easing of Registration Requirements of Name Trade
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Japanese Patents Trends in 2021
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IP NEWS Volume 63
In this Issue- Japan Likely to Consider Secret Patent Non-Disclosure System- Mitsubishi Electric Discloses Their Technology Assets Online Aiming for "Co-Creation" with Other Companies- Nippon Steel Files Patent Infringement Litigation against Toyota and others over Electromagnetic Steel Sheets- Pate
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Recent Patent Filing Trends in the Space Industry in Japan
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Analysis of AI-based drug discovery
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IP NEWS Volume 62
In this Issue- Three Signature Patterns of Costumes in “Demon Slayer” Registered as Trademarks in Japan- Patent Litigation over Smartphone Game Reaches Settlement for 29 Million Dollars (Nintendo vs. Colopl)- Release of Case Examples of Design Registrations of Related Designs Pertaining to “Partial
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Japanese Patents Trends in 2020
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A closer look at the arguments effective for inventive step in the JPO examination
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IP NEWS Volume 61
In this Issue- Bill for Revisions to Japanese Patent Law Approved- Good News for Patentees! Obtaining Consent from Non-Exclusive Licensees will No Longer be Required- Amicus Curiae Brief System to be Introduced- JPO Technical Trend Report: Self-Driving and MaaS
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Patent Application Trends of Next Generation Batteries
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The JPO released Status Report 2021
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IP NEWS Volume 60
In this Issue- Former Softbank Employee Arrested for Leaking Trade Secrets- Interior/Exterior Design of Buildings to be Protected as Designs- Recent Trends in Quantum Cryptography - Toshiba Venturing into the Field- Abolishment of Handwritten-Signature Requirements for Procedures at the JPO