JPO Status Report 2018: Patent Pendency And Examination Speed

The JPO published its JPO Status Report 2018 recently, including reports on the JPO's activities in promoting IP domestically and globally. Its "Facts and Events 2017" section highlights some of the standards in examination. (The report is written in English as well as Japanese, so feel free to read through it and consult with us if you wish.)

The patent First Action pendency (time it takes for a patent application to reach its first Office Action including allowance) had an average of 9.4 months in Japan's fiscal 2016 (April 2016-March 2017). The total pendency (time it takes for a patent application to be allowed, abandoned) in the same period was 14.6 months. Note that these times are counted from when an applicant files request for examination, which is up to three years from the filing date of an international PCT application brought that is then brought into national phase entry in Japan.