Patent System in Japan

On December 28, 2020, following the promulgation and enforcement of the "Ministerial Ordinance Partially Amending the Ministerial Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry", the Japan Patent Office(JPO) notified the public that, with the exception of certain procedures, a seal will no longer be required for documents submitted to the JPO on and after this date.

The Indian Patent Office (IPO) began accepting applications for the second year from December 7, as the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program, which is being piloted between Japan and India, enters its second year.

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) and the French Industrial Property Office (INPI) have announced the launch of the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) from January 1, 2021.
Japan will be the first in the world to launch a patent prosecution highway with France.

On December 2, 2020, the revised Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act was passed and enacted by the plenary session of the House of Councillors.
It will go into effect from April 2021.

Since April 2020, designs for images, buildings, and interior designs have been subject to new protection since April 2020, a projection image (area marker), which uses a projection device attached to the body of a motorcycle or other vehicle to project markers onto the road surface to make it more visible to surrounding vehicles, was registered as an image design for the first time in October 2020.

Email Newsletter also distributes Information

The Maeda IP Newsletter explores the trends, analyzes the issues, and provides guidance on Japanese IP law and practice. Your subscription gets you email delivery of our current newsletter. Please submit the form below. We will send you an ID and a password for access to previous editions.

Subscribe the Email Newsletter