Changing Japan's patent law

01-02-2014

Hiroshi Hari

Preliminary discussions took place in the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in 2013 to change Japan’s patent law, based on the report entitled Toward Early Acquisition of Strong and Stable Patent Rights and Improvement of User-Friendliness, issued by the JPO’s Patent System Subcommittee in February 2013.

Background

In 2012, the subcommittee, established under the Intellectual Property Policy Committee of the Industrial Structure Council, discussed possible changes to Japan’s patent law. In order to adjust Japan’s patent system to better meet current needs, the subcommittee discussed a new system to enable strong and stable patent rights to be granted more quickly, and adjusting and simplifying procedures to improve user-friendliness.

Summary of the subcommittee’s report


JPO, Japan patent law, Toward Early Acquisition of Strong and Stable Patent Rights and Improvement of User-Friendliness, PCT

WIPR