table of contents
February issue [Legal Affairs] Newsletter
Agency for Cultural Affairs: Announcement of project to support individual creators in exercising their rights against copyright infringements on the Internet
In recent years, the increase in cases of copyright infringement and suspected infringement, including pirated copies on the Internet, has caused great damage to individuals who hold copyrights ("individual creators, etc."). In light of this situation, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has been promoting the improvement and development of the creative environment for individual creators, etc. by opening a consultation desk staffed by lawyers regarding copyright infringement since August 2022. In addition to this initiative, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has now announced that, in order to enable individual creators, etc. to appropriately exercise their rights against copyright infringement, etc., it will begin a support program for legal fees, etc. for individual creators, etc. to exercise their rights against copyright infringement, etc. on the Internet from January 14, 2025.
For individual creators, responding to copyright infringements has been a significant burden in terms of both time and money. However, the implementation of this project will put in place a stronger copyright protection system, which is expected to make it easier for creators to protect their own rights and create an environment in which they can concentrate on their creative activities with greater peace of mind.
<Overview of this project>
When individual creators, etc., hire an attorney to enforce their copyrights against copyright infringements on the Internet, we will support part of the costs.
(Support target)
Among the cases where individual creators and others consulted the "Contact Center for Copyright Infringement Due to Online Pirated Copies" explained by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, the lawyers in charge of the consultations determined that there was a high probability of copyright infringement.
(Support costs)
Mainly costs related to 1 to 3 below
- Removal Request
- Request for disclosure of caller information
- Claim for damages
(Maximum support amount)
Maximum of 1.5 million yen per case
*Up to 4 million yen if costs related to claims for damages are included
* The self-payment amount (11,000 yen (tax included)) at the time of application will be deducted.
[reference]
Agency for Cultural Affairs Press Release
https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/94152701.html
"Support for Enforcement of Copyright Infringements on the Internet" website
https://bansou.support/JNCA/
Adoption of the Riyadh Design Law Convention
In November 2024, a diplomatic conference to finalize and adopt the Design Law Treaty was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. International treaties on intellectual property rights include the Patent Law Treaty, the Trademark Law Treaty, and the Singapore Treaty on Trademark Law, but a new treaty on design law, the Riyadh Design Law Treaty, was also adopted.
The purpose of this treaty is to harmonize and simplify the domestic procedures that differ from country to country, and to reduce the burden on applicants. The treaty will come into force three months after 15 countries or intergovernmental organizations have deposited their instruments of ratification or accession.
The main points are listed below. (See the Japan Patent Office website.)
① Requirements that the Office may impose at the time of filing an application or request
The Act enumerates and specifies the requirements and matters to be stated in design applications and various application documents required by each Contracting Party, and prohibits the imposition of further requirements.
② Grace period (exceptions to loss of novelty, etc.)
Even if a design is published during the grace period (12 months from the priority date), the design will not lose its novelty, etc.
(However, a Contracting State may declare a reservation to this provision when acceding to the Convention.)
3) Maintaining confidentiality of applied and registered designs (secret design system)
Design applications and registrations may be kept unpublished for a period of at least six months from the filing date.
(However, a Contracting State may declare a reservation to this provision when acceding to the Convention.)
④ Procedural remedies
(a) Extensions of Processing Time Limits Assigned by an Office
Introducing relief measures that will extend the period by at least one month, provided that certain conditions are met.
(Contracting Parties can choose whether to apply for an extension before or after the expiration of the deadline.)
(b) Restoration of rights in a design application or registration
In the absence of any relief (a) above), where rights have been lost as a direct result of the expiration of a time limit, the applicant’s rights in respect of a design application or registration will be reinstated, subject to certain criteria (such as due care or lack of intent) and to the requirements prescribed by the Treaty and Regulations.
(c) Correction or addition of priority claim
Correction or addition of priority claims is permitted, subject to the requirements set out in the Treaty and Regulations.
(d) Restoration of priority
Even after the priority period has expired, the right of priority may be restored, subject to certain criteria (due care or non-intentional conduct) and requirements set out in the treaty and regulations.
(However, a Contracting State may declare a reservation to this provision when acceding to the Convention.)
[reference]
Patent Office HP
https://www.jpo.go.jp/news/kokusai/wipo/riyadh-design-law-treaty.html
Significant increase in the number of search results for designs and trademarks on J-PlatPat
The functions of J-PlatPat have been improved, and from January 6, 2025, the number of search results displayed when searching for designs and trademarks has increased significantly.
Previously, the maximum number of items that could be displayed was 3,000, but now it is possible to display up to 10 times that number, up to 30,000 items.
In addition, the number of search results that can be output in CSV format has been expanded to 30,000. The upper limit for CSV output was 100 items until January 2021, but this has increased 300 times in about four years.
If the number of hits exceeds the number of results to be displayed, you will not be able to display the search results unless you narrow the search range by specifying a range of application dates, registration dates, etc., to reduce the number of hits to below the number of results to be displayed.
With the number of displayed items increasing to 30,000, J-PlatPat can now be used even more conveniently for design and trademark research, map and portfolio creation, and more.
Past improvements
J-PlatPat has been undergoing intermittent improvements to its functionality, with significant improvements made in 2023.
Major past functional improvements related to designs and trademarks include:
- [Designs and Trademarks] Added the ability to save search conditions
- [Trademark] Change in name search (search for "applicant/right holder/name", "opponent", etc.) from exact match search to partial match search
* For patents, utility models, and designs, partial match searches have been available since before. - [Designs and Trademarks] Added the ability to download PDF files of publications in bulk on the search result list screen (up to 20 results)
We expect further improvements in functionality and convenience to be made in the future.
[reference]
"Notice of Improvements to J-PlatPat Functions (December 16, 2024)" (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training)
https://www.inpit.go.jp/j_platpat_info/241216_release.html
"J-PlatPat (Patent Information Platform) Release Notes" (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training)
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/info/dat/202501_J-PlatPat_releasenotes.pdf
Newsletter translated into English
Agency for Cultural Affairs: Publication of Project to Support Individual Creators Exercising Rights against Copyright Infringement, etc. Online
The recent increase in the number of copyright infringement cases and suspected infringement cases on the Internet, including piracy, has caused significant damage to individuals, etc. who own copyrights, etc. (hereinafter, “individual creators”). In light of this situation , the Agency for Cultural Affairs has been promoting improvement and maintenance of the creative environment for individual creators, by operating a consultation service for copyright infringement by complaint since August 2022. In addition to these efforts, the Agency for Cultural Affairs has now announced that from January 14, 2025 it will launch a program to subsidize legal fees, etc., for individual creators who are exercising their rights against copyright infringement on the Internet.
For individual creators, responding to copyright infringement has become a heavy burden in terms of both time and money. The implementation of this project is expected to establish a stronger copyright protection system and to create an environment which makes it easier for creators to protect their rights and in which they can focus on their creative activities with peace of mind.
Outline of the Project
When individual creators entrust guilty to enforce their copyrights, etc. against copyright infringement, etc. on the Internet, a portion of the costs will be supported.
Cases in which support may be received
Support may be received in cases in which individual creators, etc. consult with the Consultation Service for Copyright Infringement by Pirated Copies on the Internet provided by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and the lawyer in charge of the consultation determines that there is a high probability of copyright infringement.
Support costs
Expenses mainly related to the following (1-3):
- Request for deletion
- Request for disclosure of sender's information
- Claim for damages
Maximum amount of support
Up to 1.5 million yen per case.
* Up to 4 million yen if expenses related to claims for damages are included.
* The amount borne by the applicant at the time of application (11,000 yen including tax) is deductible.
[Sources]
Agency for Cultural Affairs Press Release
https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/94152701.html
“Project to Support the Exercise of Rights against Copyright Infringement, etc. on the Internet”
website: https://bansou.support/JNCA/
Adoption of the Riyadh Design Law Treaty
In November 2024, a diplomatic conference was held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to finalize and adopt a design law treaty. International treaties on intellectual property rights include the “Patent Law Treaty”, the “Trademark Law Treaty”, and the “Singapore Treaty on Trademark Law”, among others, and now in addition the Riyadh Design Law Treaty has been newly adopted regarding design law.
The Riyadh Design Law Treaty is intended to harmonize and simplify national procedures which differ from country to country, and to reduce the burden for applicants. It will come into effect three months after a group of 15 countries and governmental agencies have deposited their letters of ratification or membership.
The main content of the Riyadh Design Law Treaty is listed below. (Source: JPO website)
(1) Requirements that may be imposed by an Office at the time of filing and application
In design applications and various application documents, the contracting party shall enumerate and specify the requirements and necessary information, and the imposition of additional requirements shall be prohibited.
(2) Grace period (exception to loss of novelty, etc.)
Even if a design is published during the grace period (12 months prior to the priority date), it is treated as not having lost novelty, etc.
(However, the contracting party may declare a reservation regarding the application of this provision at the time of joining the treaty.)
(3) Maintenance of non-disclosure of applied/registered designs (secret design system)
An application or registered design can be kept unpublished for a minimum of 6 months from the date of application.
(However, the contracting party may declare a reservation regarding the application of this provision at the time of joining the treaty.)
(4) Procedural remedies
(a) Extension of office-designated procedural periods
A remedial measure that allows for an extension of at least one month is introduced, provided that the requirements are met.
(The contracting party may choose whether the application for extension is to be made before or after the expiration of the period.)
(b) Reinstatement of rights in connection with a design application or registration
If there is no remedial measure (as mentioned in (a)) and rights have been lost as a direct result of the expiration of the period, the rights of the applicant or others concerning the design application or registration may be restored, subject to certain criteria (reasonable care taken or unintentional) and the requirements set forth in the treaty and regulations.
(c) Correction or addition of priority claim
Subject to the requirements set forth in the treaty and regulations, corrections or additions to the claim of priority shall be permitted.
(d) Restoration of priority rights
Even after the priority period has expired, the right of priority may be restored, subject to specified criteria (reasonable care taken or unintentional) and the requirements set forth in the treaties and regulations.
(However, the contracting party may declare a reservation regarding the application of this provision at the time of joining the treaty.)
[source]
Japan Patent Office website
https://www.jpo.go.jp/news/kokusai/wipo/riyadh-design-law-treaty.html
Significant Increase in the Number of Design and Trademark Search Results Displayed in J-PlatPat
The functionality of J-PlatPat has been improved so that from January 6, 2025, the number of search results displayed when searching for designs and trademarks has been significantly increased.
Although previously the number of items displayed was limited to 3,000, the service can now display ten times that, ie up to 30,000 results.
The number of cases in CSV outputs of search results has also been expanded accordingly to 30,000 items. Until January 2021, the upper limit for CSV outputs was 100 items, meaning that there has been a 300-fold increase in about four years.
If the number of results found exceeds the number that can be displayed, the search results cannot be displayed unless the number of results found is reduced to below the upper limit by narrowing the search range by specifying a range of application dates, registration dates, or the like.
With the maximum number of displayed items increased to 30,000, users can now use J-PlatPat even more conveniently for design and trademark searches, map portfolio creation, etc.
Past Improvements
J-PlatPat has been improved intermittently, and significant functional improvements were made in 2023.
Major past improvements related to designs and trademarks include the following:
- [Designs and Trademarks] Added the ability to save search criteria.
- [Trademarks] Changed from complete match search to partial match search for person searches (“applicant/right holder/holder”, “opponent”, etc.).
*Partial match search was available for patents, utility models, and designs for some time prior to trademarks. - [Designs and Trademarks] Added the ability to batch download PDF files of gazettes (up to 20 files) on the search results list screen.
Further functional and convenience improvements are expected in the future.
[Sources]
“Notice of Improvement of J-PlatPat Functions (December 16, 2024)” (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training)
https://www.inpit.go.jp/j_platpat_info/241216_release.html
“J-PlatPat (Japan Platform for Patent Information) Release Notes” (National Center for Industrial Property Information and Training)
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/info/dat/202501_J-PlatPat_releasenotes.pdf
