Recently, we have observed a growing number of toilet rolls products with extended roll lengths without excessively increasing the roll diameter.  Consumers are drawn to the convenience of these products, which offer less frequent toilet roll changes and reduce storage space.  At present, such produ

The Japanese Trademark Act stipulates that a trademark must contain distinctive features for its registration.  Distinctiveness means that a certain trademark distinguishes the applicant’s goods or services from those of others.  This article discusses an appeal against a JPO (Japanese Patent Office

Summary of the JudgmentOn May 27, 2025, the IPHC ruled that the manufacturing and sales of "Nalfurafin Hydrochloride OD Tablets" by generic drug manufacturers Sawai and Fuso constitute infringement of the patent rights in question, and granted Toray a claim for damages. Sawai was ordered to pay appr

Date of Judgment: March 19, 2025Court: Intellectual Property High Court (Grand Panel)Case No.: 2023 (Ne) 10040Patent No.: 5186050Title of Invention: Composition for Promoting Increase of Subcutaneous Tissue and Subcutaneous Fatty TissueBackground of the CaseOn March 19, 2025, the Grand Panel of the

IntroductionInternet-of-Things (IoT) services will soon be based on standard-based wireless technologies, and implementers of IoT services will have to be careful of SEP (standard essential patent) holders, although it might have been fine if attention was paid only to cellular networks when it come

Case Number: 2024(Ne) 338 and 1217Type: Appeal in an Injunction Case under the Unfair Competition Prevention ActAppellant (Defendant at First Instance): Igo & Shogi Channel Inc.Appellee (Plaintiff in First Instance): (Individual) YouTuberRelevant Law: Unfair Competition Prevention ActOn January

On 3 March 2025, the Supreme Court of Japan handed down a landmark ruling in the Dwango vs. FC2 patent infringement case, ruling in favour of Dwango (dismissing the appeal). This decision is highly significant as it clarifies the extraterritorial application of Japanese patent rights to digital serv

Date of IPHC Decision: January 30, 2025IPHC Case Number: 2024(Gyo-ko)10006Tokyo District Court Case Number: 2023(Gyo-u)5001Date of Tokyo District Court Decision (original judgment): May 16, 2024Case Type: Suit for Revocation of Administrative Disposition Dismissing a Patent ApplicationPlaintiff/Pate

Meiji, a subsidiary of a major Japanese food company, Meiji Holdings, announced that they exercised their 3D trademark right of “Kinokonoyama” against its similar products produced by a confectionary company for the first time. The company terminated the production and sales of its products because

On September 19, 2024, Nintendo Co., Ltd. announced that the company and The Pokémon Company, its subsidiary, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair, Inc. in the Tokyo District Court, contending that “Palworld” infringes the following three patents related to Pokémon series, a well-k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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