December Issue [General] Newsletter

AIApplication status of related inventions

On October 2019, the Japan Patent Office announced the results of a survey to clarify the current status of AI-related applications in Japan and overseas. This survey result is an update of the survey results reported in July 7 based on application data up to 2021.

According to this, the main points of the survey results are reported as follows.

The number of applications for AI-related inventions in Japan has increased rapidly since 2014, and the number of applications in 2021 was approximately 9,000. Among AI-related inventions, the number of applications for inventions featuring AI core technology (those assigned G06N as FI) in 2021 is approximately 2,700, and although the growth has slowed down somewhat, it is still on the rise.

In recent years, deep learning, especially ``generative AI'' such as ChatGPT, has not only become the subject of evaluation in various tasks in the academic world, but has also attracted social debate, and its impact on future AI-related inventions. is also expected.

As for the main classification of AI-related inventions, other than G06N (AI core technology), G06T (image processing) is the most common. On the other hand, the number of main categories grouped under "Other" is also on the rise, indicating that the applications of AI technology are expanding.

The number of applications for AI-related inventions that refer to CNNs, RNNs, or LSTMs has continued to increase since 2014. On the other hand, the number of applications for AI-related inventions that refer to deep reinforcement learning has remained flat in recent years. Additionally, the number of applications for AI-related inventions that refer to transformers is on the rise, surpassing that for deep reinforcement learning in 2020.

It can be seen that the number of applications granted G06N (AI core technology) is on the rise in all five offices. In particular, the number of applications stands out in the United States (2020 applications in 18622) and China (2020 applications in 48351), and both are the main filing destinations in the five offices.

European Judges' Forum 2023Holding

The Intellectual Property Judges' Association (IPJA) and the European Patent Lawyers' Association (EPLAW), in cooperation with the EPO Academy, held their annual European Judges' Forum on 10th and 20st October in Venice, Italy. In this year's program, the architects of the new unified patent system, and in particular the Unified Patent Court (UPC), evaluated the months since the UPC began operation on June 21st. It was attended by senior UPC and national judges, leading patent litigators, EPO experts, and members of the Boards of Appeal.

In his opening remarks, EPO President Antonio Campinos paid tribute to the Forum's important role over the years towards the full realization of the unified patent package. He also expressed the EPO's views on the draft EU regulations regarding standard-essential patents (SEPs) and emphasized the need to give due consideration to the role of the UPC, and in particular the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center (PMAC), in dispute resolution involving SEPs. PMAC is expected to become Europe's most competent patent alternative dispute resolution body and is expected to serve all EU Member States and disputants worldwide for patent disputes beyond the jurisdiction of the UPC. There is.

Given the high demand for patents with unitary effect from Europe, the United States and Asia, with around 12,000 requests received and more than 11,400 registered for unitary effect, the exchanges at this year's forum were The importance of this is clear. The two-day program also discussed plausibility, equivalence, litigation of supplementary protection certificates (SPC), the creation of a common SPC system, and the interaction of UPC, national, and EPO procedures.

Trends in Indian IP authorities

On October 13, Indian External Affairs Minister Jaishankar met with Daren Tang, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The two discussed making intellectual property (IP) more friendly to the "Global South." According to External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, ``I had a good meeting with Darren Tan, Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). We discussed the benefits of closer India-WIPO relations. "We focused on making it South-friendly. We also talked about the future of space technology and traditional knowledge," he said.

Meanwhile, India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has announced that the country intends to double the number of people involved in processing intellectual property (IP) applications to improve efficiency and transparency in the process. "We will double the headcount in the IP ecosystem. We will significantly increase the number of examiners and co-managers to ensure that all approvals are done in a time-sensitive manner," Commerce and Industry Minister Goyal said.

Since 2016, patent applications have increased tenfold and trademark applications sixfold. The Indian Patent Office plans to hire 10 more staff to handle the rapidly increasing number of intellectual property applications. Furthermore, we will propose digitalization of the Patent, Design and Trademark Office to optimize its operations. Additionally, it proposed the initiation of criminal proceedings against individuals who filed frivolous pre-grant objections.

Exchanges between the Japan Patent Office and other countries

The International Intellectual Property Judicial Symposium 10 will be held from October 17th (Tuesday) to October 19th (Thursday), jointly sponsored by the Japan Patent Office, the Supreme Court, the Intellectual Property High Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and Lawyers Intellectual Property Network. "Intellectual Property Dispute Resolution in Asia" was held. This symposium has been held every year since 2023 with the aim of deepening mutual understanding of the intellectual property judicial systems of each country.

In the program (Japan Patent Office Part) on the 19th (Thursday), Director General Hamano gave an address, followed by a lecture by Director of Appeals Yasuda on the theme of ``Latest Trends in Trial Policy in Japan.''

Afterwards, the panelists were Chief Judge Tamura, Judge Jung Da-Won of the Korean Patent Office, Zhang Lin, Director of the State Intellectual Property Office of China, Examiner Cao Ye of the Singapore Intellectual Property Office, and Commissioner Kriangsak Khownium of the Intellectual Property Office of Thailand. , Le Huy Anh, Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office, participated in a panel discussion on the theme of ``General trial practice in each country.'' Furthermore, under the theme of "Trials in the field of advanced technology in each country," a panel discussion was held on the trial methods in each country using hypothetical cases related to the pharmaceutical and IT fields.

In addition, the Caribbean Intellectual Property Office Heads' Meeting was held in November, with the aim of bringing together the heads of intellectual property offices of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries and discussing IP systems that are beneficial for the development of the regional economy. The meeting was held in Saint Kitts and Nevis from the 11nd to the 2rd, and Director Hamano gave an opening video message.

This meeting was held using voluntary contributions (WIPO Japan Fund) that Japan pays to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

In his opening remarks, Commissioner Hamano stated that in order to achieve the theme of this meeting, "Innovation for Prosperity," there is a need for digitalization of the Intellectual Property Office and sufficient support for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups to actively engage in economic activities. While mentioning the need to enhance measures and services in response to changes in social and industrial structures, he expressed his expectations for further innovation in Caribbean countries.

The Japan Patent Office will continue to cooperate with CARICOM member countries using the WIPO Japan Fund to create an environment that will support the economic development of CARICOM member countries and ensure that intellectual property is appropriately protected in CARICOM member countries. We are planning to proceed with this.

Newsletter translated into English

Filing Status of AI-related Inventions

On October 31, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) published the results of a survey that had the aim of shedding light on the current status of AI-related applications in Japan and abroad. The survey results are an update of the survey results reported in July 2019, based on application data through 2021.

The key findings of the survey are reported as follows:

The number of applications for AI-related inventions in Japan has been increasing rapidly since 2014, with approximately 9,000 applications filed in 2021. Among AI-related inventions, the number of applications for inventions characterized by AI core technology (those with G06N as the FI symbol) was approximately 2,700 in 2021, as the growth has slightly slowed down but is still trending upward.

In recent years, deep learning, especially “generative AI” such as ChatGPT, has not only been the subject of evaluation in various tasks in academia, but has also attracted social discussion, which is expected to have an impact on AI-related inventions in the future.

As the major categories of AI-related inventions, G06T (image processing) is the most common other than G06N (AI core technology). On the other hand, the number of major categories grouped under “others” is also increasing, indicating that the application of AI technologies is expanding.

The number of applications for AI-related inventions referring to CNN, RNN or LSTM has continued to increase since 2014. On the other hand, the number of applications for AI-related inventions referring to deep reinforcement learning has leveled off in recent years. number of applications for AI-related inventions referring to transformers has been on the rise, surpassing that of deep reinforcement learning in 2020.

The number of applications in all of the Five IP Offices (IP5) that were assigned G06N (AI core technology) is showing an increasing trend. In particular, the number of applications in the United States (18,622 applications in 2020) and China (48,351 applications in 2020) are prominent, and both have become the major destinations in the IP5.

European Judges' Forum 2023

On October 20 and 21, the Intellectual Property Judges Association (IPJA) and the European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW), held their annual European Judges' Forum in Venice, Italy in cooperation with the EPO Academy. In this year's program, the planners of the new Unitary Patent System, and the Unified Patent Court (UPC) in particular, assessed the months since the UPC became operational on June 1. Senior judges of the UPC and of national judges, leading patent litigators, EPO experts, and members of the Boards of Appeal attended the forum.

EPO President Antonio Campinos paid tribute to the Forum's important role over the years towards the full realization of the Unitary Patent Package in his opening remarks. He also expressed the EPO's views on proposed EU Regulations on Standard Essential Patents (SEP) and stressed the need to give due weight to the role of the UPC, and the role of the Patent Mediation and Arbitration Center (PMAC) in particular, in dispute resolution, including those related to SEPs. It is anticipated that the PMAC will become the most capable alternative dispute resolution institution for patents in Europe. Regarding patent disputes beyond the jurisdiction of the UPC, the PMAC is expected to offer services to parties of all EU member states and other worldwide disputants.

The importance of the interactions at this year's forum is clear given the high demand for Unitary Patents from Europe, the U.S., and Asia, with approximately 12,000 requests received and over 11,400 cases registered for unitary effect. Equivalence, litigation of supplementary protection certificates (SPCs ), and the creation of a common SPC system as well as the interaction of UPC, national, and EPO procedures were further discussed.

Developments at India's IP Authorities

Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar met with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Director General Daren Tang on October 13. They discussed making intellectual property (IP) friendlier for the “Global South”, and Foreign Minister Jaishankar stated the following:

“A good meeting with Daren Tang, director general of WIPO. Discussed the benefits of a closer India-WIPO relationship. Focused on making IP more Global South friendly. Also spoke about the promise of space technology and traditional knowledge respectively.”

Meanwhile, the Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal announced his intention to double the number of people involved in processing intellectual property (IP) applications in order to increase efficiency and transparency. “We are doubling the manpower in our IP ecosystem. We will have much more examiners and joint controllers so that we can give in a time bound manner all approvals”, said Minister Goyal.

Since 2016, patent applications have increased tenfold and trademark applications sixfold. To cope with the rapid increase in intellectual property applications, the Indian Patent Office plans to increase its staff by 900. In addition, it proposes to digitize the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks to optimize its operations. Furthermore, he proposed the initiation of criminal proceedings against individuals who file groundless pre-grant oppositions.

Japan Patent Office's Exchanges with Other Countries

From Tuesday, October 17 to Thursday, October 19, the Japan Patent Office (JPO), the Supreme Court of Japan, the Intellectual Property High Court, the Ministry of Justice, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, and the Intellectual Property Lawyers Network Japan co-hosted the “Judicial Symposium on Intellectual Property 2023 – IP Dispute Resolution in Asia”. This symposium has been held annually since 2017 with the aim of deepening mutual understanding of IP judicial systems in different countries.

In the program (JPO part) of Thursday, January 19, after the opening address by Commissioner Hamano, Mr. Yasuda, Director General of the Trial and Appeal Department, gave a speech on the theme of “Recent Trends in Trial and Appeal Measures in Japan”.

This was followed by a panel discussion on the theme “Trial and Appeal practice in general in each country” with the panelists Ms. TAMURA Kiyoko, Executive Chief Administrative Judge of the TAD, the JPO, Ms. Jung DaWon, Administrative Patent Judge of Board 7, Intellectual Property Trial and Appeal Board (IPTAB), Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO), Ms. ZHANG Lin, Director of the Intelligence Manufacturing Technology Appeals Division of the Reexamination and Invalidation Department of the Patent Office, China National Intellectual Property Administration ( CNIPA), Ms. Cao Ye, patent examiner in Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), Mr. Kriangsak KHOWNIUM, appointed member of the Patent Committee by the Cabinet of Thailand and acting as a member of Subcommittees of the Board of Patents on Chemistry Panel, and Mr. Le Huy Anh, Deputy Director General of Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP VIET NAM). Furthermore, a panel discussion under the theme “Trial and Appeal practice in the field of advanced technology in each country” about examination methods in each country was held using hypothetical cases related to the fields of pharmaceuticals and information technology.

Also, a meeting of the IP office directors of the CARICOM (Caribbean Community) member states was held in St. Kitts and Nevis on November 2-3, with the aim of bringing together the heads of the IP offices of these countries to discuss IP systems that are beneficial to the development of the regional economy. Commissioner Hamano delivered opening remarks via video message.

The meeting was held through voluntary contributions from Japan to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO Funds-in-Trust Japan).

In his opening remarks, Commissioner Hamano noted that in order to achieve the theme of this meeting, “Innovation for Prosperity,” it is necessary to enhance measures and services in response to changes in social and industrial structures, such as the digitization of IP Offices and adequate support for small and medium-sized enterprises and start-ups to engage in active economic activities, and he expressed his expectations for further innovation in the Caribbean. He also expressed his expectations for further innovation in the Caribbean countries.

The JPO will continue to promote cooperation with CARICOM member countries through the WIPO Funds-in-Trust Japan to develop the economic growth of CARICOM member countries and to improve the environment for appropriate protection of intellectual property in CARICOM member countries.