I was once involved in a government program to support regional projects that would make effective use of the intellectual properties of the universities in that region. We evaluated the business models and core technologies of the projects. Then, we often faced the problem that the patents on their core technologies are jointly owned by […]

“Do you think IPwe will facilitate the use of intellectual properties as collateral for financial institutions?” I was recently asked this question. In fact, the Japanese government has been promoting IP-based lending for several years. The government bears the cost of IP evaluation for financial institutions. However, at prsent, financial institutions don’t seem to regard […]

Disputes involving standard-essential patents (SEPs) have arisen in many countries around the world, and SEP disputes between different industries are expected to increase in the future. Therefore, the Japanese government (METI) has indicated the desirable actions to be taken by patent holders and implementers in SEP license negotiations (*1). Previously (2018), the Japan Patent Office […]

It is heartbreaking to see the tragic news about the Russia-Ukraine war every day. I hope that the war will end as soon as possible and peace will return to Ukraine. Disputes often arise in the business world as well. You can be involved in a dispute even if you do not want to be. […]

IPwe announced on March 9, 2022 that nChain joined the Blockchain Smart Pool as the first founder.  The Smart Pool is a new type of patent pool that IPwe developed. A group of key innovation leaders (“Founders”) collectively offer a group of their patents relating to leading and emerging technologies for license to other companies […]

From time to time, I receive inquiries from clients who want to sell their trademarks. A common case is that they have registered a trademark before, but never had a chance to use it, so they want to monetize it by selling or licensing it. I understand that they want to sell your trademark because […]

Just recently (October 2021), Nippon Steel surprised many by suing not only a Chinese steel company Baoshan Iron & Steel but also its customer, Toyota, for infringing its own patent rights on steel products (*1). Now, Nippon Steel has surprised us even more by suing Mitsui & Co (*2). This is because Mitsui & Co […]

A former Softbank employee is charged with violating the Unfair Competition Prevention Act for illegally taking Softbank’s technical information to Rakuten Mobile, his new employer. It was the information on 5G, ultra-fast and high-capacity communication standard. The first trial was held at the Tokyo District Court on December 7. Reportedly, the former employee stated that […]

Algorithms are running everywhere in our lives. When Amazon recommends goods based on my purchase history, it won’t cause much of a problem. However, when it comes to personal credit score or store rating, it can have serious consequences depending on the score. In May of last year, a chain of Korean restaurants filed a […]

What will you do when you want to protect confidential information? You would probably sign a nondisclosure agreement with the party to whom you are disclosing that confidential information. However, I would like you not to be satisfied with signingthe agreement. I would like you to pay attention to the operation to reduce the risk […]