The Japan Patent Office
－ Aiming to Become the World’s Leading IP-Based Nation －(Text Version)

Prologue

Ideas from entrepreneurs or inventions from laboratories get patented. This patenting of ideas and inventions as intellectual property leads to creating new businesses.
Japan has created many inventions, and currently many of those are being used worldwide. As a result, many world-famous Japanese corporations have been created.
Now, information networks are common around the world, and corporate economic activities continue to expand beyond borders.
The Japan Patent Office is working to make Japan the world’s leading intellectual property-based nation.
To accomplish this, the JPO is making efforts to achieve the world’s fastest and utmost quality examination, promote globalization of the intellectual property system, and provide support on intellectual property for small to medium-sized and venture companies, the key players supporting local economies.

History of the JPO and the Industrial Property Rights System

The JPO and the Industrial Property Rights System that Have Been supporting the Industrial Development

In 1884, the Trademark Ordinance was enacted, and in 1885, the Patent Monopoly Ordinance.
For more than 130 years since then, the Japanese industrial property rights system has developed in line with the changing times.
Due to a growing number of patent filings, the JPO decided to start a paperless project to efficiently handle so many patent filings. In order to establish the financial foundation to launch the project, in 1984, the Patent Special Account Act was enacted. It is a source of funds separate from the general account. In 1989, the JPO’s new headquarters building was built. It is equipped with “intelligent functions.” In 1990, the JPO introduced its Electronic Filing System. It was the first one in the world.
In 1999, the JPO started to provide patent information through the Internet.
In 2002, the Intellectual Property Basic Act was enacted in order to establish the foundation for making Japan an “intellectual property-based nation.”

In 2004, the Patent Act was revised in order to speed up the examination process. The JPO set a goal: in 10 years, to reduce the amount of time it takes to make its first decisions – called “first actions” on applications down to 11 months, and issue the fastest “first actions” in the world.
To reduce the amount of time needed to issue first actions, the JPO hired about 100 fixed-term examiners every year starting from 2004 to 2008. In total, 490 examiners were hired during that period.
Furthermore, the JPO has been making use of private companies for conducting some preliminary prior art searches. It now outsources over 200,000 searches each year. The JPO has been successfully implementing these types of measures to make its operations more efficient.
As a result, in March 2014, the JPO achieved its goal of reducing the amount of time it takes to issue first actions to 11 months.
And now, the JPO has set a new goal. It is to create the fastest and utmost quality intellectual property system in the world.

Organization of the JPO

The JPO is an arm of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and has jurisdiction over various intellectual property rights such as patent, utility model, design, and trademark rights. It conducts examinations and handles trials and appeals proceedings.
The JPO also plans and proposes initiatives involving intellectual property. Specifically, the JPO is actively promoting industrial development. It contributes to international efforts on patent system harmonization and conducts international cooperation activities designed for developing and emerging economies, supports small to medium-sized companies, provides patent information, and revises laws as needed.

Initiatives for Promptly Granting High-quality Rights

The JPO is making various efforts to ensure that high-quality rights can be granted promptly.

Formality Examination

Conducting prompt and accurate formality examination from users’ perspective pursuant to the laws and regulations

The JPO conducts formality examinations in a consistent, prompt and accurate manner pursuant to laws and regulations and by utilizing the JPO’s IT system in order to check whether applications meet the formal requirements. In ensuring complete fairness to all applicants, the JPO gives detailed responses to user inquiries on an individual basis.

Patent Examination

Conducting examination with professional knowledge and skills on laws and technologies

The JPO has created a database that contains more than 50 million patent documents and academic journals. This enables examiners to make accurate judgments based on searching a wide range of prior arts, resulting in granting internationally reliable, high-quality patent rights promptly and ensuring the global business development of companies. This facilitates invention protection and utilization, encourages invention development, and promotes innovation.

Design Examination

Supporting global development of business activities by granting stable design rights through substantive examination

Design examiners grant stable design rights by searching prior designs in magazines, catalogues, websites and design bulletins published in and out of Japan. By examining a group of design applications in related fields simultaneously, design rights are established promptly and consistently. These results enhance the reliability of design rights abroad, including non-substantive-examination countries.

Trademark Examination

Conducting consistent and objective examinations that are in line with the current of the times

By understanding not only laws and regulations but also the current status of commercial transactions and legal systems inside and outside of Japan, examiners grant stable and sustainable trademark rights. The JPO contributes to the protection and enhancement of brands and the smooth consumption of goods and services.

Trials and Appeals

Achieving reasonable and fair proceedings based on a wealth of experiences and advanced professional knowledge

A panel consisting of administrative judges, with professional expertise and sufficient experience in examination as practitioners, thoroughly deliberates each case. The trial and appeal proceedings at the JPO function as the first instance of the district court.

Human Resource Development Based on Comprehensive Training Programs

Examiners and administrative judges acquire their fundamental knowledge through attending systematically organized training programs. These include seminars legally mandated by law, experiences in conducting actual hands-on work, and receiving one-on-one OJT from supervisors. Further educational programs are available for all personnel to acquire advanced skills. These programs include technology trainings, foreign-Language trainings, legal trainings, and study-abroad programs.

Moving toward the World's Utmost Quality Examination

The JPO already is highly recognized around the world for its high level of quality. Nevertheless, the JPO continually introduces initiatives in order to further achieve a world-class level of high-quality examination. For example, the JPO has formulated its Quality Policy that outlines fundamental principles, and has documented its Quality Management System in its Quality Manual. The Quality Manual describes the quality management of the JPO examination procedures and how quality is implemented.
Furthermore, the JPO has formed an external experts committee that evaluates the Quality Management System objectively, and provides suggestions on needed improvements.

The JPO is making every possible effort to ensure that high-quality rights can be promptly granted.

Promoting Globalization of Intellectual Property System

Leading the World in Building Global Intellectual Property System

With the globalization of business activities, it has become more and more important for companies to obtain rights in foreign countries. Under these circumstances,the JPO is advancing initiatives so to enable its prompt and high-quality IP system to be easily linked and synchronized with global IP systems.
In terms of measures for supporting companies in efficiently obtaining stable and robust patent rights in multiple countries and regions, the JPO created the Patent Prosecution Highway program. Applicants need to file requests to use this program. The Patent Prosecution Highway is a framework set up to allow an application that was determined to be patentable in a country to be given an accelerated examination with simple procedures in other countries.
In 2006, the JPO started the world’s first Patent Prosecution Highway with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. Currently more than 30 countries and regions have joined this program. And the number of applications with the Patent Prosecution Highway has been continuously increasing.
The JPO has been active in leading cooperation activities on the global level based on discussions, such as those on the harmonization of intellectual property systems, at international meetings and forums such as the WIPO; the IP5; the Trilateral Meetings among Japan, China and South Korea; and others. The JPO has also been listening to users’ opinions, holding international symposiums and inviting users to attend.
Furthermore, the JPO has established cooperative relationships with developing and emerging countries in Asia, Africa, and Central and Latin America. Welcoming trainees and providing support on the IP system in developing and emerging countries through the WIPO Funds-in Trust/Japan, the JPO has made a great contribution to improving the landscape for trade and investment in these countries.

IP Support for SMEs and Ventures Sustaining Local Economies

Revitalizing Local Economies through Utilizing Intellectual Property

The JPO provides a wide variety of support on IP for small to medium-sized and venture companies, the backbone of the Japanese economy. They play a major role in sustaining local economies. As for venture companies, we have high hopes in their great potential to create new industries.
The JPO has also set up Comprehensive IP Support Service Counters in all 47　prefectures across the nation. These Counters serve as one-stop consultation centers for small to medium-sized companies that need assistance with and have questions about managing their IP.
Moreover, the JPO works with small to medium-sized companies and encourages them to obtain IP rights, by providing financial aid such as reducing or exempting annual　patent fees and subsidizing the costs involved with filing applications overseas. The JPO also provides assistance to help these companies combat the problem of counterfeits by providing useful information on IP strategies, IP management, and IP systems overseas.
The JPO has been undertaking various initiatives aimed at promoting the IP system and raising awareness on it. For example, the JPO sends personnel to small and medium-sized companies to lecture and consult, and also holds explanatory meetings for them.

Promoting R&D by Providing Patent Information

In order to promote R&D activities by companies, it is important for them to have greater access to patent information. These are in essence compilations of valuable technological information.
The JPO has created an online service called J-PlatPat. The J-PlatPat website enables anyone to access patent information. The JPO also has launched a new search system. It enables users to view Chinese and Korean patent documents by conducting searches in Japanese.

Epilogue

Towards making Japan the world’s leading IP-based nation the JPO is committed to enhancing the IP system in order to further promote innovation.
From past to present and into the future the JPO will continue to evolve and to support industrial development.

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