[IP Practice Online] Intellectual property rights and Customs procedures (Attorney Reiko Tonomura)
Updated: Oct 9
Article information
Article type: Lectures and videos
Categories: Patents / Trademarks / Designs / Copyright / Other Japanese law
Topics: Border enforcement / Exhaustion and parallel imports
First published on this website: 2026-10-07
Display and classification checked: 2026-10-07
[IP Practice Online] Intellectual property rights and Customs procedures (Attorney Reiko Tonomura)
Customs determination procedures
Customs receives written opinions from both the right holder and the importer (or exporter) and decides whether the goods are infringing.
Even where sales-territory restrictions exist, imports may qualify as “parallel imports of genuine goods” if their quality and source (manufacturer) are the same as those of authorized goods.
For copyrighted works other than cinematographic works, lawful transfer within or outside Japan results in exhaustion.
Customs procedures can be used not only to prevent infringing goods from entering Japan but also with a view to coordinating subsequent civil and criminal proceedings.
⇒ Advance groundwork is crucial to having the police accept a criminal complaint!!
The police are cautious because accepting a criminal complaint requires them to begin an investigation. On the other hand, the prosecution rate following referral to prosecutors is high, at 70–80%.
https://lnkd.in/gdyExtQS
Original article (2025-11-23):
https://lnkd.in/gxyWY3VB
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Update history
Content changes and display maintenance are recorded separately.
2026-10-07: First published from the original LinkedIn post; categories, article information, and consultation navigation added.
2026-10-10: Completed the reciprocal related-article link. The original article text was not changed.
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