Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

* The geographic scope of the non-compete provision was too broad, rendering it invalid. ⇒ No narrowing construction, in view of its deterrent effect. (Preparatory acts during employment violated ancillary obligations under the employment contract, but only a small damages award was granted.)

Notifying YouTube of copyright infringement, invasion of privacy and defamation through its notification forms regarding uploaded videos was held not to constitute a tort interfering with expressive activity. 1. Google carefully reviews takedown requests, sometimes requesting additional information or rejecting requests. Videos are therefore not removed unconditionally.

1. Choice of jurisdiction District courts with specialized IP divisions tend to have low grant rates of around 40% (Tokyo District Court IP division statistics). The article's author, however, has achieved a 100% grant rate by applying to summary courts and recommends using them.

Three expert advisers are selected for each case (for example, a mixture of university professors, attorneys and patent attorneys). Unless there is a clear factual error, Customs makes its decision respecting the expert advisers' majority opinion. The 2025 list includes four university professors, 20 attorneys and 20 patent attorneys.

1. Legal position of judicial research officials Under Courts Act Article 57 and Code of Civil Procedure Article 92-8, they may ask parties questions on factual and legal matters and directly question them during examination of evidence. Most have experience as JPO trial examiners, but patent-attorney positions comprise one at the IP High Court (mechanical field) and one at the Tokyo District Court (chemical field). The term is three years.

1. Branding by vegetable producers Separate breeders' rights from trademarks: Registered variety names enter the public domain after the protection term, so obtain trademark rights too. For brands closely linked to a region, strategically distinguish between the GI and regional collective trademark systems.

1. De facto patent linkage in Japan Under the practice based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's “two division directors' notification,” biosimilars (BS) are, in principle, not approved while patents exist on the originator product's active ingredient or use. 2. Re-examination period

Explore existing articles on AI and intellectual property, including rights relating to voice and IP strategy in the AI era.

IP-related revisions 1. Express inclusion of intellectual property as growth investment (Principle 4-1) Principle 4-1 expressly includes, among the board’s roles and responsibilities, “growth investment (including investment in facilities, R&D, human capital, and intangible assets such as intellectual property) and review of the business portfolio” (translation).

1. Key points of the 2020 amendment to the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act: Introduction of export restrictions (1) Designated-country system (notification of export restrictions): The breeder’s right holder notifies in advance the countries to which propagating material may be taken. Taking it to other countries constitutes infringement in principle.