Abenomics and 'sleeping' patents

Shinzo Abe, the head of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, was reappointed Prime Minister of Japan on December 16, 2012. Since then, his economic policy, known as ‘Abenomics’, has been frequently discussed in Japan.

Although Abenomics is favourably spoken of among Japanese people because it has led to the depreciation of the yen, there is concern that the rapid depreciation of the yen might bring danger to the Japanese economy.

Amid such abrupt political and economic upheaval, the field of Japanese IP has also experienced big changes, particularly in terms of the utilisation of ‘sleeping’ patents (patents which have been granted but not commercially exploited) which reside in corporations and might involve high technologies.

The potential benefits of sleeping patents

As a measure to prop up the Japanese economy, an emergency economic package will be introduced. Part of this package is the creation of a fund under the cooperation of the public and private sectors to promote the utilisation of IP rights in Japan.

An example of utilisation of a sleeping patent is the antivirus ballpoint pen which has been launched by Sailor Pen Co Ltd. Sailor Pen has developed the ballpoint pen using the patent of ‘titanium apatite’, which is used in photocatalyst technology, the patent for which was obtained, but not used, by an electrical appliance manufacturer.

Akira Otatu, the stationery division manager of Sailor Pen, told me that Sailor Pen became aware of the sleeping patent through a newspaper article, and attempted to develop a new product using the patent, whereby the company could develop the antivirus ballpoint.

More than 20 trillion yen has been spent for the emergency economic package, and 13.1 trillion yen for the supplementary budget.

“WITHOUT DEVISING AN APPROPRIATE INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY, PURSUING IP RIGHTS WILL NOT NECESSARILY CONTRIBUTE TO THE RECOVERY OF BUSINESSES AND THE STRENGTHENING OF THE ECONOMY.”

To establish a fund under the cooperation of the public and private sectors, the Japanese government will donate about 100 billion yen to the Development Bank of Japan along with a donation from private sector organisations.

The fund will provide finance for a company to establish a new company to develop new products using sleeping patents and technologies and advance into new fields. If the fund is used effectively, licensing negotiations between companies are also expected to increase. The lawsuits related to such negotiations and violation of patents will also increase.

A fundamental problem among Japanese companies obtaining patent rights is a lack of focus on constructing international patent portfolios, as patent applications are often filed to obtain rights effective only in Japan. Without devising an appropriate international strategy, pursuing IP rights will not necessarily contribute to the recovery of businesses and the strengthening of the economy.

A future strategy for utilising IP rights

Once a budget is allocated to the measures set out by the Japanese government, such measures are materialised without delay, and they will attract the attention of many companies regardless of whether they are Japanese or foreign. Foreign countries are encouraged to pay attention to Japan’s high technologies, and to try to utilise them.

Our firm has long experience in preparing patent maps, analysing the technologies involved in the maps, and working out how to use the technologies. We are good at applying foreign technologies to the Japanese market, and also good at applying Japanese technologies to foreign markets, as well as finding patentability and obtaining patent rights for Japanese technologies in foreign countries.

Some pundits argue that there are reasons for sleeping patents not being practised, such as difficulties in manufacturing products or high cost in using such patents, or disappointing performances provided by such patents, and therefore sleeping patents cannot be utilised as much as expected. However, I believe utilising such products will bring new relationships between Japanese and foreign businesses, and we welcome your enquiries regarding Japanese sleeping patents.