Plant variety registration laws do not feature frequently in intellectual property news feeds, but a recent conflict has arisen in Korean Jeju Island where farmers acquired new varieties of Japanese mikan tangerines without formal licenses.

By the Cabinet decision of October 9, 2015, the Partial Amendment of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, which was enacted on July 3, 2015, will come into force on January 1, 2016.

The Japanese government's Subcommittee on the Patent Act System has been working on revisions to the patent litigation system in Japan since October last year

In Japan, a recent amendment to the trade secrets law has set the stage for a legal landscape that promises significant benefits for intellectual property (IP) owners.

A former employee of Nissan in Japan was arrested by the Economic Affairs Division of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police on suspicion of trade secret theft.

The Nagoya District Court handed down a not-guilty verdict to defendants of a lawsuit over information leakage of sensor technology development.

The Cabinet of Japan recently approved the Bill for Partial Revision of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, etc. (不正競争防止法等の一部を改正する法律案) (the "Bill") amending Japan's Unfair Competition...

To any good lawyer, the answer is ‘both' are important.

Many incidents have recently been reported concerning misappropriation of Japanese companies' trade secret, especially by foreign entities.

中米貿易協議における知的財産権関連内容

On July 3, 2015, the Japanese Diet passed a bill amending the Unfair Competition Prevention Act to bolster civil claims and stiffen criminal penalties so as to strengthen deterrence measures against trade secret infringement.

The Unfair Competition Prevention Law (the "UCPL") was established in Japan in 1934, in acceding to the Paris Convention.

Before initiating litigation, in most cases, an IP right holder sends a warning letter to an alleged infringer in an ordinary situation.

The Trademark Lawyer Magazine has ranked Sonoda & Kobayashi among its top 10 law firms in Japan, and Sonoda & Kobayashi is hence an award-winning law firm 2023 in Japan.

The statute Unfair Competition Prevention Act (UCPA) specifically provides for the protection of trade secrets in Japan.