Japanese Patents — Urgent Japanese Patent Filing

There are cases where the 30-month deadline from a PCT application is approaching, yet preparations such as translation are not yet ready, and we receive an urgent inquiry.

It would be ideal to prepare well in advance, but matters in the world do not always go that way. For urgent situations—such as when the deadline is the day after tomorrow—let us make sure we clearly understand Japanese patent filing.

1. Priority Claim under the Paris Convention

If you did not file a PCT application and filed only a domestic application in Korea, you must file a patent application in another country, namely Japan, within one year.

However, it is possible to file the patent application in Korean (Hangul). You submit the specification in Korean and then submit the translation within one year and four months from the priority date.

In other words, the Japanese filing is in effect possible not within one year, but within one year and four months. That said, the patent application must be filed in Korean within one year.

2. Entry into Japan via PCT

In this case, you submit a document stating that you will enter the national phase within 30 months from the priority date, and then submit the translation within two months from the date of submitting that document.

In other words, it effectively becomes 32 months from the priority date. However, the document must be submitted within 30 months without fail.

For reference, this is not allowed in the United States. Europe allows 31 months, and China also appears to have a system for submitting a document within 30 months.

[Source] Japanese Patents — Urgent Japanese Patent Filing | Author: Patent Attorney Won-gi Jung