標準必須特許（SEP）に関わる紛争が世界各国で発生しており、今後、異業種間でのSEP紛争が増加することが予想されます。そのため、日本政府（経済産業省）は、SEPライセンス交渉において、特許権者と実施者がとるべき望ましい対応を示しました（*1）。以前（2018年）には、特許庁が「標準必須特許のライセンス交渉に関する手引き」を公表しています（*2）。特許庁の手引きは、国内外の裁判例、競争当局の判断、ライセンス実務をもとに、ライセンス交渉に関する論点を客観的にまとめたものだったのに対し、今回の経済産業省の文書は […]

JPO’s SEP advisory opinion service has been updated for cases received on or after July 1 2019. This service started from April 2018, to provide a JPO’s non-binding opinion on whether a particular patent is a standard essential patent (SEP). We covered this service in the previous article here. The changes in the user’s guide include the following. User can demand an opinion that a particular patent is NOT a standard essential patent. User can use this service not only for licensing negotiations, but also for the negotiations in patent trade, business transfer involving patent transfer, and creation of security interest in patents. It explicitly describes that, even when JPO provides a […]

On March 13 2019, Japan’s Fair Trade Commission (FTC) made a decision to cancel the exclusion order against Qualcomm which had been issued on September 28 2009 and appealed by Qualcomm on November 24 of that year. It took almost a decade! It’s too long, but Qualcomm has finally got an expected result.    The main issue was whether or not the Qualcomm’s license agreement on intellectual properties for CDMA mobile wireless communication, which includes the following provisions, possibly restrains the business activities of Japanese mobile device manufacturers and disrupts fair competition. Royalty free license of IP of the Japanese manufacturers to Qualcomm The manufacturers’ Non-assertion obligation against Qualcomm The manufacturers’ Non-assertion […]

Satoshi Watanabe of WATANABE Research & Consulting posted several articles in Japan Intellectual Property News regarding the Japanese government’s efforts for the resolution of disputes involving standard essential patents (SEP). His comments are introduced in IAM magazine and Blog that is run by Globe Business Media Group, a publisher of a unique magazine focusing on intellectual property business. For your information, the Japanese government recently introduced an SEP licensing negotiation guide and a non-binding advisory opinion service on standard essentiality. Furthermore, the government is planning to create an International Arbitration Center in Tokyo (IACT) to solve the SEP-related disputes.