table of contents
December Issue [General] Newsletter
About the patent application nondisclosure system
We have introduced the patent application nondisclosure system several times in this newsletter, and it will finally start from May 5st of this year. The Japan Patent Office has already released detailed information, and on February 1 of this year, an explanation was released regarding the initial examination conducted by the Japan Patent Office and the advance confirmation system for prohibiting foreign applications. The following is a quote from the introduction, but for a detailed explanation including a flow diagram of the patent application non-disclosure system, please see the Japan Patent Office's "About the patent application non-disclosure system" below.
https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/patent/shutugan/hikokai/index.html
(quoted below)
“From May 6, 5, the patent application non-disclosure system (hereinafter referred to as the System) will begin based on the Economic Security Promotion Act (hereinafter referred to as the ``Act”). . Under this system, if an invention is described in the specification of a patent application, etc. that has a high risk of causing a situation in which the security of the nation and its people will be harmed by acts carried out from outside if it is made public, it will be designated as a "preservation designation". This procedure suspends patent procedures such as application publication, decision to grant a patent, and decision to refuse.
The examination of whether to make a patent application non-public (or not to designate it for preservation) is carried out in two stages: the first examination by the Japan Patent Office and the preservation examination (secondary examination) by the Cabinet Office. . In addition, after the start of this system, foreign applications (including international applications based on the Patent Cooperation Treaty, i.e., PCT applications) will be prohibited in certain cases, so please check with the Patent Office in advance to see if you are subject to the foreign application ban. A new system will be established to request confirmation from the Director General (prior confirmation of prohibition on foreign applications).
On this page, we will mainly explain the first examination conducted by the Japan Patent Office under this system and the advance confirmation system for prohibiting foreign applications. Please also refer to the Q&A if necessary. Please refer to the Cabinet Office homepage (link to external site) for general information about this system, conservation examinations, and matters after conservation designation (permission for implementation, appropriate management measures, loss compensation, etc.). ”
Documents that can be received online
According to the Japan Patent Office, from April 1st, the following seven documents, which could only be received in paper form, will be able to be received online using application software. The applicable documents are as follows.
(1) Patent (registration) certificate
(2) Pension receipt
(3) Automatic payment related notification
(4) Trademark renewal application registration notice
(5) Notification of transfer registration
(6) Identification number notification
(7) Notification of general power of attorney number
However, those who wish to receive their documents online will need to make the settings in their Internet application software. There are also some points to be aware of regarding how to obtain the information, so please obtain the information from the URL below.
https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/laws/sesaku/hassou_digitalize.html
Regarding functional improvements to the patent information platform
Some functions of the patent information platform (J-PlatPat) operated by the Japan Patent Office are scheduled to be improved from February 26th of this year. The main features that will be improved are as follows.
(1) Person name searches in trademark searches and trial decision searches will be changed from exact match searches to partial match searches.
(2) Up to 5 search conditions can be saved for patent/utility model searches, design searches, trademark searches, and trial decision searches. Additionally, search conditions can be imported and exported in CSV format as needed.
(3) Simplify (shorten the address) by eliminating the random value part of the document fixed address. Please note that the previous document fixed address can still be used even after this feature is released.
(4) The number of the patent/utility model publication will be added to the "Divisional Application Information" tab in the progress information.
Newsletter translated into English
System for Non-disclosure of Patent Applications
The System for Non-disclosure of Patent Applications, which has been mentioned several times in this newsletter, will finally start on May 1 of this year. The JPO has already released detailed information, and on February 2 of this year, an explanation of the JPO's system of Primary Review by the JPO and the system of Prior Confirmation Regarding Prohibition of Foreign Applications was published. The following is a quote from the preface, but for details of the explanation, including a flow chart of the system for non-disclosure of patent applications, please see the JPO's “About the Patent Application Non-Disclosure System” at the following URL:
https://www.jpo.go.jp/e/system/patent/shutugan/patent_applications.html
(Quotes below)
“On May 1, 2024, the system for non-disclosure of patent applications (hereinafter referred to as the “System”) will be introduced under the Economic Security Promotion Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Act.”) Under the System, if the description etc., of a patent application includes highly an invention that, if made known to the public, would be likely to create a situation to undermine the security of the nation and its citizens through actions taken from the outside, the patent procedures , such as publication of the application, decision of patent grant and decision of refusal, are suspended by a procedure established as “security designation.”
A review of whether a patent application should be kept non-disclosed (whether a security designation should be made or not) is carried out in two stages: a primary review by the JPO and a security review (a secondary review) by the Cabinet Office . In addition, after the introduction of the System, foreign applications (including international applications pursuant to the Patent Cooperation Treaty, ie, PCT applications) are prohibited in certain cases. Therefore, the system that seeks a prior confirmation from the Commissioner of the JPO as to whether or not the foreign application is prohibited (Prior Confirmation Regarding Prohibition of Foreign Applications) is newly provided.
This page focuses on the primary review carried out by the JPO under the System, and the system of prior confirmation regarding prohibition of foreign applications. Please also see the Q&A (Japanese only) if necessary. For more information on the System in general, a security review and matters after a security designation is made (eg, permission to work a patent, measures for proper management, compensation for losses,) please see the Cabinet Office website (external site, Japanese only).”
Documents Receivable Online
According to the JPO, as of April 1, the following seven documents, which could previously only received by letter, will be available for online receipt via the application software. The documents are as follows:
(1) Patent (registration) certificates
(2) Annuity receipts
(3) Automatic payment notices
(4) Notifications of registrations of trademark renewals
(5) Notifications of registrations of transfers
(6) Notifications of identification numbers
(7) Notifications of General Power of Attorney numbers
However, those who wish to receive these documents online must make such settings in their online application software. There are also some matters to be noted regarding the method of obtaining the documents, regarding which information is available from the following URL:
https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/laws/sesaku/hassou_digitalize.html (Japanese only)
Improvement of Functions of the Japan Platform for Patent Information
Some functions of the Japan Platform for Patent Information (J-PlatPat) operated by the Japan Patent Office (JPO) will be improved from February 26 this year. The main functions to be improved are as follows:
(1) Person search in trademark search and trial decision search will be changed from exact match search to partial match search.
(2) Up to 5 search conditions can be saved in the patent/utility model search, design search, trademark search, and trial decision search. In addition, search conditions can be imported and exported in CSV format if necessary.
(3) The random value portion of fixed addresses of documents will be eliminated and simplified (shortening of the addresses). The existing fixed addresses will still be usable after the release of this feature.
(4) Publications numbers (before examination) of patents and utility models will be added to the “Divisional Application Information” tab in the Details (history information) page.