Major Intellectual Property Systems in Japan

Japan’s intellectual property rights include the four “industrial property rights” — patents, utility models, designs and trademarks — as well as copyright, layout-design rights, breeder’s rights, trade secrets, trade names, indications of goods, and product configurations, protected under laws such as the Copyright Act, the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act, and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Industrial property rights in particular are administered end-to-end by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), from filing and examination through to post-registration management.

Overview of Industrial Property Rights (administered by the JPO)

Patent (Patent Act)

• Subject: inventions — highly advanced creations of technical ideas utilizing the laws of nature
• Key requirements: industrial applicability, novelty, inventive step, etc.
• Term: 20 years from the filing date (pharmaceuticals etc. may be extended up to 5 years by term extension)
• Note: a request for examination must be filed within 3 years of filing; accelerated/preferential examination is available for early grant.

Utility Model (Utility Model Act)

• Subject: devices relating to the shape, structure or combination of articles (so-called “minor inventions”)
• Feature: non-examination registration (only formalities/basic requirements are checked); a Utility Model Technical Opinion is required to enforce the right.
• Term: 10 years from the filing date
• Note: useful for quick registration; mutual conversion with a patent application is possible.

Design (Design Act)

• Subject: designs (shape, pattern, color) of articles, buildings and images (incl. GUIs)
• Term: 25 years from the filing date (2019 amendment, effective April 1, 2020; previously 20 years from registration)
• Note: diverse protection schemes such as related designs, designs of a set of articles, and interior designs. Substantive examination applies.

Trademark (Trademark Act)

• Subject: signs that identify goods/services (characters, figures, symbols, 3-D shapes, colors, sounds, etc.)
• Term: 10 years from registration, renewable every 10 years — effectively perpetual.
• Note: distinctiveness is required; first-to-file system; international registration via the Madrid Protocol is available.

Other Intellectual Property Rights

• Copyright (Copyright Act): creative expressions in literature, academia, art, music, software, etc. In principle, 70 years after the author’s death. Administered by the Agency for Cultural Affairs.
• Layout-design right (Act on the Circuit Layout of Semiconductor Integrated Circuits): 10 years from registration.
• Breeder’s right (Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act): new plant varieties; in principle 25 years from registration (30 years for trees). Administered by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
• Geographical Indication (GI Act): protects names of regional specialty products (MAFF).
• Unfair Competition Prevention Act: protects trade secrets, indications of goods (well-known/famous indications), product configurations (dead copies), etc.
• Trade name (Commercial Code / Companies Act): names used in business.

Procedure for Obtaining Industrial Property Rights (overview)

• Filing → formality examination → (request for examination, for patents) → substantive examination → notice of reasons for refusal & response (O.A.) → decision of registration → registration (payment of fees) → right arises
• After registration, the right is maintained by paying patent/registration fees (annuities).

Purpose of the System

The industrial property system aims to promote industrial development by granting time-limited exclusive rights over new technologies, designs and naming, thereby preventing imitation and providing incentives for R&D and the accumulation of business goodwill.

[Sources] 経済産業省 特許庁 · 日本弁理士会