In July 2022, the JPO revised the collective examination guidelines to make it easier for applicants to utilize

To date, the JPO has allowed pre-payment of patent fees and other fees to be made exclusively by patent revenue stamps (e.g., physical stamps).

The Japan-U.S. Collaborative Examination Pilot Program (Japan-U.S. Collaborative Examination) is an initiative under which Japanese and American patent examiners conduct their own searches of inventions for which patent applications have been filed in both countries.

Presently, China has adopted a system of "preliminary examination & evaluation report" for new utility model applications. In this preliminary examination

On April 1, 2020, the Design Law was amended, providing for the protection of designs for images, buildings, and interiors.

From 21st of November, the government of Japan set up a council where experts from the private sector, universities and other organisations can discuss IP issues.

The top 100 highlights the important role of patents in university research and innovation.

The Nihon Keizai Shinbun reported on the 22nd of July on a new licensing deal between Japanese multination Hitachi and Besterra, a construction company headquartered in Tokyo.

On June 1, 2022, CNIPA issued its Annual Report 2021. Highlights of the report include the detailed data of different kinds of intellectual property

Japan has long been a difficult jurisdiction to revive intellectual property which expired after the applicant/right holder failed to act in a timely manner

On November 9th, Tencent News published an article on Huawei recently suing car maker Stellantis, U.S. e-commerce company Amazon, router maker Netgear and Internet router provider AVM in a German court for infringement of its patent rights.

On the 7th of July, Hangzhou intermediate people's court reported on the case it handled between online store Shangpai and Huawei Technologies.

早いもので2021年も残りわずかとなりました。昨年に続き新型コロナウイルスに翻弄さ れた一年となりましたが、明るい兆しも見え始めていま

On November 4th 2022, CNIPA issued the "Promotion Plan for the In-depth Implementation of the Opinions on Strengthening the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights", in which a timetable for each task was proposed, ...

Sonoda & Kobayashi hopes that all our clients and contacts have been off to a good start in this new year. While in many countries, the Covid19 pandemic is far from over, we like to be optimistic over some improvement later in this year.

On November 1, 2022, the CNIPA issued the 2nd draft of the examination guidelines for public consultation.

On October 21st, the Nikkei Keizai Shimbun reported on the outcome of a patent infringement law suit between Fuji Medical Devices and Family Inada.

On July 13, 2022, China Daily's Global Edition issued an article on the role of Chinese companies in leading the growth of patent fi ling in Europe.

On December 21st, 2021, the JPO updated its webpage regarding examiner interviews, including a link to a new list of frequently asked questions on the topic...

The PCT application filed in its original language is the basis of the examination. Mistranslations may be corrected after the grant of a utility model under the conditions that no new matter is introduced by the correction ...