PATENTS
Patents/utility models
April Issue [General] Newsletter The 6th Japan-ASEAN Patent Experts Meeting was held in Singapore on March 6th, with the Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the Intellectual Property Offices of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states participating. This meeting was the first to be held in person. At this meeting, as in the previous year, the focus was on the "pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields."
April Issue [Legal Affairs] Newsletter: "Unmanaged Copyright Arbitration System" to Begin in April 2026. The unmanaged copyright arbitration system will begin in April 2026. The previous arbitration system for cases where the rights holder is unknown was applicable when "it is unknown who the rights holder is or where they are," but the new system will provide relief in cases where "the copyright holder's contact information is known but they are not responding."