日本政府は、特許訂正制度の改正に向けた検討を開始しました。特許訂正制度とは、特許権の無効主張の対する防衛手段として、特許権者が一定の範囲内で特許請求項や明細書、図面を訂正することができる制度です。 現行法では、ライセンシーがいる場合、特許権者はライセンシーの同意なしには訂正を行うことができないことになっています。そのため、標準必須特許（SEP）を多くの企業にライセンスしているような場合には、訂正を行うにはすべてのライセンシーの同意を得なければなりません。また、特許を特定しない包括的なクロスライセンス契約を締結した場合には、契約の対象となるすべての特許について相手方の同意を得る必要があります。すべてのライセンシーから同意を得ることは現実的には難しいでしょう。その結果、誰かが無効審判を請求した場合、それに対応できずに特許権を失うことになりかねません。
Recently, I found a misleading website which provides registration service for intellectual property. It provides a global registry for patents, designs and trademarks on the blockchain network. It says you can register an intellectual property in minutes at a cost of less than $15. This website should add more explanation. The registration on the blockchain certainly helps you prove the existence of a particular document at some point in time. However, it doesn’t create rights of patent, design or trademark, even if such a document describes a new idea, design or trade name. You need to file an application to the patent office and get through an examination to obtain […]
On March 13 2019, the Japanese government reportedly gave up submitting an amendment of copyright law to the Diet. (Please read “Japan to amend copyright law to combat piracy” for the proposed amendment.) It was specifically for anti-piracy, but it generated strong public reaction to the expansion of punishment against downloading of pirated copies. It is very rare for the government to stop the submission at this stage. In fact, content creators, such as The Japan Cartoonists Association, also have expressed concern about the proposed amendment. For whom was the anti-piracy measures? The problem is that the consensus-building process was not appropriate in this case. The government just paid attention […]
We previously reported that the Japanese government initiated a blockchain project for content management. Finally, the government has set up a budget to develop a blockchain-based content service platform. This platform allows for monetization of derivative works. It records the relationship between contributors of an original content and its derivative works. Also, it enables to distribute income from the contents to the contributors. A smart contract will help to manage the permission of creating derivative works and the income sharing. The government expects this platform to create a new content market. Conceptual scheme of the service platform The attached chart shows the conceptual scheme of the service platform disclosed by the government. Two […]
Piracy is a serious problem. Piracy causes heavy damage to copyright holders and content business. The amount of damage for manga and animation in Japan is about JPY 200 billion (USD 1.8 billion), according to a government survey in 2014. In order to solve this problem, the Japanese government tried to legislate piracy website blocking. However, the government had to give up the legislation for that (See here about this). Because it encountered strong opposition, considering infringement on the constitutionally guaranteed secrecy of communication. Therefore, the government is going to implement an alternative measures to combat piracy. The report published on February 4 2019 and approved by the advisory committee on […]
Ultraman, it’s one of Japan’s superheros like America’s Superman. A copyright holder of Ultraman, Tsuburaya Productions has been in dispute with Chinese production companies which produced and released a film featuring Ultraman in 2017. These Chinese companies now released another film featuring Ultraman. In response to this, Tsuburaya Productions made a statement on January 17 2019 that “we will take all necessary legal steps to protect our legal rights.” (The featured photo is a scene in the film trailer). This case is actually not so simple like typical Chinese copycat cases. The disputes began with a Thai businessman (Chaiyo Productions), who had friendship with a former president of Tsuburaya Productions, claiming […]
Piracy website blocking has been one of the most controversial topics in Japan. In April 2018, the government decided on a policy to legislate for piracy website blocking by Internet providers, to combat piracy websites with copyright infringing content of manga, animation etc. However, it has been strongly opposed by lawyers and academics out of fear that it is likely to infringe on the constitutionally guaranteed secrecy of communication. Accordingly, the government reportedly has decided to postpone the legislation, and instead it is considering alternative measures – e.g. regulating leech sites which guide users to piracy sites. It is rare (at least in the intellectual property field) that the government […]
On September 27 2018, Tokyo District Court ruled in favor of the claim by Nintendo against a company which had lent costumes of Nintendo’s game characters such as Mario to make its customers ride a go-kart on public road under the name of “MariCar”. The defendant appealed to IP High Court the next day, September 28. Here is the summary of the decision. – Prohibit the use of marks such as “MariCar” The court recognized that a Japanese expression for “MariCar” (i.e. “マリカー”) is a well-known mark as an abbreviated mark for Nintendo’s game “Mario Kart”, and issued an injunction against the use of marks “マリカー”, “MariCar” and two other […]
In Japan, there have not been many copyright infringement cases on choreography, though Japanese copyright law exemplifies “dance works” as an example of copyrighted works. On September 20 2018, Osaka District Court issued an injunction against the use of the plaintiff’s choreographies for the following five songs and awarded approx. JPY 430,000 (approx. USD 3,900) in damages, in a copyright (right of performance) infringement case brought by a master teacher in the art of Hula (Kumu Hula) residing in Hawaii, Kapu Alquiza, against Kyushu Hawaiian Association. (You can read the decision in Japanese.) E Pili Mai Lei Ho’ohen Ua Lanipili I Ka Nani O Papakōlea Blossom Nani Ho’i e Mauna […]
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