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May 2012

1. Japan Patent Office Begins Trial of Patent Prosecution Highway with Portuguese Industrial Property Office
2. Web Design Subject to Design Right
3. Revised Trademark Law Enacted
4. Government Plans for IP Protection in International Standards: LEDs and Robotics Technologies
5. 2011 Reforms - Transfer Request System Established

Download(PDF 748KB)

April 2012

1. 2011 revisions - relief regulations in cases of deadline expiration
2. JPO: Japanese-language Searches of Chinese Utility Models Now Possible
3. First Compulsory License of Generic Drugs Effected in India
4. Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2012
5. WIPO: 2011 Had Most Patent Applications on Record

Download(PDF 966KB)

March 2012

1. U.S. Attorney-at-Law Mizuki Sally Hashiguchi Joins Our Firm
2. Start of Patent Prosecution Highway with Philippines Intellectual Property Office
3. Supreme Court refuses registration of 'Kitakata Ramen' as regional organization trademark
4. Supreme Court: Right of Publicity Formalized as Legal Right
5. Revision of Design Registration Fees and Fees Related to International Applications

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February 2012

1. Rapid Advances Made by Asian Enterprises in Acquiring U.S. Patents in 2011
2. Revision to Similar Products/Services Examination Standard for Trademarks
3. Japan Post loses trademark infringement lawsuit regarding "ゆうメール" (Yu-mail)
4. Proxy Book Digitizing - Proxy Firms Scanning Books Sued by Authors
5. End of Examination Payment Deferment System

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January 2012

1. Proposal to add sounds and logo movement to items protected by trademark law
2. Patent Prosecution Highway begins between Japan and Norway, Iceland from December 1, 2011
3. METI cooperates with BRICs regarding intellectual property
4. Comparative study of examination practice at JPO, SIPO and KIPO
5. Case regarding file-sharing software 'Winny' reaches not guilty verdict

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December 2011

1. Partial amendments to Patent Law will come into effect on April 1, 2012
2. WIPO and pharmaceutical companies to collaboratively share drug patents
3. Hitachi expands its patent search service to countries outside Japan
4. Employee invention compensation for label printer set at 56 million yen
5. Malaysia expresses interest in joining the Madrid Protocol

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November 2011

1. Eight countries sign Anti-counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA)
2. Expansion of cases eligible for Patent Prosecution Highway between the JPO and Danish Patent and Trademark Office and initiation of Patent Prosecution Highway with Nordic Patent Institute
3. The JPO revises examination criteria for "Description requirements for specifications and scope of claims"
4. JPRS decides to found "Prefecture-type JP domain names"
5. Patent Prosecution Highway Pilot Program between Japan and China to commence on November 1, 2011

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October 2011

1. Introduction of New Member,Former JPO Trial Examiner, Toshio Uchida
2. Enactment of U.S. Patent Act Reform Bill
3. State of injunctions against products which infringe intellectual property at the Japan Customs
4. Patent Infringement Lawsuit: Intellectual Property High Court recognizes Satosyokuhin Infringement
5. Japanese and Korean Governments reinforce collaboration in copyright field, conclude MOU
6. Publication of Guideline on Obtaining Eligibility for Exception to Loss of Novelty

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September 2011

1. Commencement of accelerated examination and trial examination as post-disaster reconstruction support
2. Sony and LG Electronics reach settlement over patent infringement lawsuits
3. 1.2 billion cases of illegal download according to RIAJ　investigation

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August 2011

1. The commencement of PPH MOTTAINAI trial program
2. The revision of examination request fees
3. Regarding the U.S. Patent Act Reform Bill
4. The JPO collects public comments－applicant's draft manual for eligibility for regulations concerning exception to loss of novelty

Download(PDF 911KB)

July 2011

1. Regarding the law partially amending the Japanese Patent Act, etc.
2. The JPO to revise design examination criteria
3. Regarding the commencement of Patent Prosecution Highway

Download(PDF 922KB)

June 2011

*. Thai attorney-at-law Chatdao SRISUPAPAK joins our firm
1. Patent Prosecution Highway Pre-pilot Program between Japan and China to be initiated
2. Brand Value Ranking: Apple overtakes Google, moves into first place
3. Results of “FY 2010 Field Survey of Intellectual Property Rights Infringement in China” announced
4. Japanese Supreme Court approves patent term extensions for drugs
5. Application and registration figures in Japan for fiscal 2010

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May 2011

1. International trademark applications in 2010 marked a 12% increase
2. Osaka High Court orders injunction against Hikonyan-similar goods
3. Taiwanese Patent Act amendment bill passes examination by the Economics Committee of the Legislative Yean

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April 2011

1. Japan Customs: Track record in import and export injunctions for 2010
2. Concerning the patent disputes between Sony and LG Electronics -- an injunction against import of PlayStation 3 in the Netherlands
3. U.S. Senate passed a bill to review patent examination: from “first-toinvent rule” to “first-to-file rule”
4. "Bill to partially amend the Japanese Patent Act etc." to be submitted to the Diet

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March 2011

1. Number of International Patent Applications by Country for 2010
2. Panasonic the Leader for Two Consecutive Years in Number of International Patent Applications by Company for 2010
3. A Settlement over the iPS Cell Patents Dispute
4. Applications for Publishing Information on Preparedness for Assignment and/or License in the Gazette


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February 2011

1. IBM awarded highest number of US patents in 2010 (over five thousand) for eighteenth year in a row
2. China to conclude a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) arrangement with Japan even this year
3. A first patent auction’s rate of contract formation reaches 40%
4. Regarding the International Comparative Research on Industrial Property Systems Report

Download(PDF 552KB)

January 2011

1. EPC Rule 141 revised regulation effective; new requirement and exemptions regarding submission of search results
2. “Kiri-mochi" Infringement lawsuit, Echigoseika appeals
3. Chinese Trademark Registration Applications expected to surpass 1 million in 2010
4. Registered Trademark for “Sanuki” Invalidated in Taiwan

Download(PDF 597KB)

December 2010

1. Japanese authors’ best-sellers available for sale on Apple website without authorization
2. Dutch court issues injunction against Sanrio
3. Apple and Motorola sue each other over mobile phone-related patents
4. Licensing agreement signed over therapeutic use of iPS cells
5. Four Office Statistics Report released by the JPO
6. JPO decision to reject Yakult’s bottle as a 3D trademark overturned by the IP High Court

Download(PDF 717KB)

November 2010

1. Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement between Japan, USA, Europe and others nearing finalization
2. Implementation of the Japan-Spain PPH
3. Apple ordered to pay damages in Cover Flow patent infringement case
4. Microsoft sues Motorola, claims that Android cell phone is infringing on its patents

Download(PDF 697KB)

October 2010

1. Microsoft co-founder takes eleven big names to court for patent infringement
2. Microsoft takes patent infringement case over Word to the US Supreme Court
3. “Sasebo Burger” makers unite to obtain regional brand protection
4. Japanese IP High Court rejects defendant’s appeal in video-sharing website copyright infringement case
5. New layout for JPO patent and trademark certificates

Download(PDF 580KB)

September 2010

1. Patent filings by China and India increase exponentially
2. NEC, Apple, etc. sued for patent infringement
3. Viacom files an appeal against the ruling of YouTube copyright lawsuit with Google
4. A first intellectual property fund in Japan is established

Download(PDF 563KB)

August 2010

1. Information on our new Chief of China Support Station
2. China ranks 5th in the world in the number of International Patent Applications filed in 2009
3. Salesforce.com files a patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft
4. US Supreme Court decides on software patent issue
5. Approximately half Japan’s companies sustain damage from counterfeits on the Internet

Download(PDF 630KB)

July 2010

1. Nichi-iko Pharmaceutical announced its cooperation with a major French company
2. Intellectual Property Promotion Plan 2010
3. China did not accept trademark registration of seven Japanese prefecture names
4. Revision of Examination Guidelines for“Amendments of the Specification, Claims, and Drawings (New Matter)
5. Enforcement date of a law revising a part of the Unfair Competition Prevention Law

Download(PDF 617KB)

June 2010

1. Nokia sues Apple, alleging that the iPad and iPhone infringe its patents
2. US company obtains a license for iPS Cells
3. US expresses concern about China in Annual Report
4. Map of Registered Designs

Download(PDF 536KB)

May 2010

1. China Compulsory Certification for IT Products, Japan and China agreed with exclusion of Chinese state enterprises from application
2. Taiwanese manufacturer files suit against Apple for violation of multi touch patent
3. Fujitsu Laboratories developed high accuracy translation technologies of English patent documents
4. JPO to act as International Searching Authority and International Preliminary Examining Authority for PCT applications filed in Thailand
5. JPO releases comparative reports on country-by-country IP policies
6. JPO releases a report on the latest trends in trademark applications for fiscal year 2009 - report on trademark applications, focusing in particular on the filing and management strategies adopted by companies for trademark and their relation with unused trademarks (summary)-

Download(PDF 599KB)

April 2010

1. The JPO’s proposal “iPAC” was agreed at the APEC-IPEG Meeting.
2. Registered Trademark “Chaku-Melo” Sold for JPY 25.5 Million.
3. The U.S. Court of Appeal Has Again Denied Microsoft’s Appeal against the Word Patent Infringement Ruling.
4. JPO publishes 18th edition of the clause by clause explanation of Industrial Property Law.

Download(PDF 677KB)

March 2010

1. The JPO issued a Draft Revision of the Design Examination Standard for Examination Procedures
2. Japan National Police Agency administering “P2P monitoring system”
3. Proposal of the JEPA on the e-Books distribution concept of the National Diet Library

Download(PDF 548KB)

February 2010

1. Downloading of illegal files prohibited(a revised copyright law took effect)
2. IBM tops the list of US patents granted in 2009 for the seventeenth successive year
3. Reinforcement of Intellectual property right protection for Shanghai Expo
4. Patent Prosecution Highway (PCT-PPH) between JPO and USPTO,JPO and EPO using PCT international results

Download(PDF 600KB)

January 2010

1. EU Patent System: a new step forward
2. China surpasses Europe, United States in patent filings growth rate
3. Two iPS cell-related patents are granted in Japan

Download(PDF 577KB)

December 2009

1. The JPO enhances cooperation with foreign countries
2. “Criteria for Examination of Similar Goods/Services” to be revised
3. Nissan licenses its painting technology related patent to NTT DoCoMo.

Download(PDF 668KB)

November 2009

1. JPO revises industrially applicable inventions and examination guidelines for medical inventions
2. “Green” applications become eligible for Accelerated examination
3. ITC to investigate an alleged car patent infringement by Toyota
4. Third revision of Chinese industrial property law on patent, utility model and design
5. Supreme Court of Japan orders a ban on the sales of budget Charlie Chaplin DVDs
6. China remains the world’s trademark powerhouse – 2009 filings exceed one million cases

Download(PDF 636KB)

October 2009

1. The JPO implements a prior art search support program for fiscal year 2009
2. The University of Tsukuba develops an automatic structure for a patent glossary in collaboration with NEDO
3. Japan and China agree to strengthen their cooperation regarding the protection of intellectual property rights in the field of trademark matters and counterfeiting control
4. Japan-Canada PPH program starts on a trial basis, while JPO establishes specialized PPH website
5. Expansion of the Super Accelerated Examination to PCT National Phases in Japan

Download(PDF 601KB)

September 2009

1. Japanese government is considering a reinforcement of the measures regarding unused trademarks
2. JPO publishes a draft revision of the Examination Guidelines regarding“industrially applicable inventions” and “medicinal inventions”

Download(PDF 580KB)

August 2009

1. Japanese government issues the 2009 Plan for the Promotion of Intellectual Property
2. Patent Prosecution Highway continues its worldwide expansion with the inclusion of Hungary
3. China tightens its trademark examination
4. Sony joins a defensive service against patent trolls

Download(PDF 604KB)

July 2009

1. Microsoft files a patent application for a Magic Wand
2. Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard renew patent cross-license agreement

Download(PDF 548KB)

June 2009

1. Japan holds over 70% of next-generation car patent applications, according to a JPO survey
2. EU Parliament extends copyright term for performing musicians
3. Video content: establishment of a centralized organization for copyright handling
4. McDonald's vs. McCurry : no trademark infringement, says Malaysian Court of Appeal

Download(PDF 786KB)

May 2009

1. ITC recognizes Funai's claims in TV patent infringement case
2. Patent Prosecution Highway: Japan secures an agreement with a sixth country while worldwide use of the program is on the rise
3. Spansion and Samsung settle a patent infringement dispute regarding flash memory technology
4. China tops world trademark rankings for the seventh consecutive year
5. Microsoft and TomTom settle a patent infringement litigation

Download(PDF 794KB)

April 2009

Regarding the revision of the Japanese Industrial Property Law to take effect on April 1, 2009

1. Introduction.
2. Reconsideration of the registration system for non-exclusive license.
3. Extension of the period for demanding an appeal.
4. Expansion to additional countries of the electronic exchange system of priority documents.

Download(PDF 696KB)

March 2009

1. The JPO releases a series of videos on its website to introduce the Japanese Design System
2. The Agency for Cultural Affairs discloses a draft government ordinance adding Blue-ray discs to the Compensatory payment system; gathers public feedback; implementation scheduled for April 1, 2009
3. The JPO releases a draft revision of the Handbook of Guidelines for the Formal Examination regarding provisional patent licensing and gathers public feedback
4. The JPO sets up a online database of specialists to support the use of intellectual property in the business strategies of local communities and medium-sized and small companies

Download(PDF 711KB)

February 2009

1. Determination of the date of enforcement of a number of revisions to Japanese Intellectual Property Law, including the reconsideration of the registration system for non-exclusive licenses
2. Revision of the Japan Copyright Law: download of pirated versions by using peer-to-peer software to become illegal
3. The National People's Congress of China adopts the revision of the Patent Law
4. Sounds and moving images may become registrable as trademarks

Download(PDF 763KB)

January 2009

1. New venture set up to protect companies against patent trolls
2. U.S. judicial precedent regarding the overcoming of a rejection through commercial success
3. A revision of the patent law brings an increase in the number of plant seed-related patent applications in Korea
4. The Japan Patent Office (JPO) publishes the results of a case study on inventive step as part of the comparative studies of examination practice conducted by the Trilateral Offices

Download(PDF 760KB)

December 2008

1. The JPO has started from October to accept applications for a revised registration system of non-exclusive license
2. Federal Appeals Court rejects a business model invention due to lack of patentability
3. The EPO takes a step towards unification regarding the patentability of computer programs
4. The JPO publishes a digest regarding the necessity of microorganism deposit, starts to gather opinions from the public

Download(PDF 757KB)

November 2008

1. The JPO starts the pilot program Super Accelerated Examination
2. Trademark registration: Japanese place name Sanuki, already registered in Taiwan, is now applied for in China
3. Microsoft wins a patent infringement suit connected to MP3 technology
4. Publication of the Japan Patent Office Annual Report 2008

Download(PDF 905KB)

October 2008

1. JPO starts a trial version of the Patent Strategy Portal Site
2. Bosch, DuPont and Xerox join the Eco-Patent Commons program to help the environment by releasing ecological patents
3. The DVD6C reduces royalty rates on DVD decoders and DVD encoders
4. A patent infringement suit against Nintendo's Wii has been filed
5. US court (CAFC) rules that open source software can be covered by copyright
6. A handling guideline of period in which applicant including resident outside Japan may file an appeal under the law revised in 2008.

Download(PDF 1133KB)

September 2008

1. Osaka's emblematic restaurant Kuidaore shuts down
2. Japan filing the highest number of patent applications in the world; China rapidly progressing (WIPO announcement)
3. Nissan Motor to start a fully-fledged license business centered on the company's own technology

Download(PDF 877KB)