| IP system |
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| Protection of Industrial Property Right |
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Inventions and designs are concept and ideas which cannot be seen with eyes. Inventions and designs in which you invested considerable time and money are easy to be stolen by others if you do not take steps to protect the inventions and designs. Industrial property rights are effective in protecting a right to use your own inventions and designs and precluding imitation by others. There are three kinds of industrial property rights, patent, utility model, and design, which protect inventions and designs.
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PATENT |
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The subject of protection is an invention.（The maximum period for protection is 20 years from a filing date of a patent application in a general case.）
The Japanese patent law defines “invention” as "the highly advanced creation of technical ideas by which a law of nature is utilized" (Article 2, paragraph 1).
There are three types of inventions in the Japanese patent law (Article 2, paragraph 3):
a product (including a computer program, etc.),a process, and a process for producing a product.
In order to obtain a patent right, a patent application must go through a substantive examination. The substantive examination is performed on a patent application for which a request for examination have been filed. An examiner examines whether a claimed invention meet all the requirements (shown in the Japanese patent law) to qualify for “patentable invention”.
The patented invention is used exclusively by the patentee.
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Utility model |
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Design Patent |
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Protecting designs of an article that is industrially applicable(right period: Up to 25 years from its filing date (For the designs registered before 3/31/2021, up to 20 years from its registration date))
Designs that are protected by the Design Law are shapes, patterns or colors of an article(including parts of articles) or combinations thereof(herein after referred to as "shapes, etc.") or shapes, etc. of buildings (including parts of buildings) or image (including the part of the image only if it is used for the operation of the device or displayed as a result of the device performing its functions) and gives a visual aesthetic impression: e.g: the shapes of daily necessities such as glasses and cosmetic containers, and parts such as semiconductor devices. In addition, by the revision of the law in 2020, not only the above-mentioned articles but also displayed-images, real estate buildings, and interiors are protected.
*Since there is no examination request system in the Design system, in principle all applications will be examined.
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| Protection of brand value |
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Brand distinguishes company names or products names from others one.
Trustworthy company activity improves brand image. However if you do not protect a brand of your company, the brand may be used by others and lose not only a benefit but a company trust. “Right of trademark” is valuable for the protection of your brand.
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Right of trademark |
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The subject of protection is a trademark.（A period for protection is 10 years from the date of registration of its establishment. The protection period is renewable if necessary.）
A trademark means a mark which is used for distinguishing one’s own goods or services from other’s one.
Every trademark application will be examined in principle without request for an examination.
Functions of trademark
① To indicate the source of the goods
Goods or services provided with a trademark can identify a manufacturer, a seller or a supplier.
② To suggest quality assurance
An identical trademark indicates the same quality of goods or services.
③ To advertise
A customer may remember a trademark on a package, an advertising display etc.
If goods, service or advertisement with a trademark make a good impression on the customer, the trademark itself become to have good image.。
Types of trademark
Traditional trademarks include the following:
①Word Mark ②Figure Trademark ③Symbol Trademark ④Three-dimensional Trademark that consists of three-dimensional shapes ⑤Composit Trademark that consists of two or more combinations from word, figure, symbol or three-dimensional shapes
In addition, the following trademarks can be registered due to the revision of the law.
-Motion Trademark -Hologram Trademark -Position mark
-Sound Trademark -Color Trademark
* Taste, scents, etc. are not trademarks under Japanese Trademark Law.
Effects of trademark right
Trademark right’s owner is able to use the trademark exclusively in respect of the designated goods and services. The trademark protects the owner from the use by another party of an identical or similar trademark in respect of an identical or similar range of goods or services.
Types of trademark application
① Trademark
Trademark which is used by the owner of the trademark in respect of the designated goods and services.
② Collective trademark
A collective trademark which is used by members of any group comprised of businesses (with the exception of groups that are not official bodies corporate) and aims to protect the unique brands and names used by groups formed to revitalize regional economies and specific industries.
③ Regional collective trademark
A regional collective trademark which is used by members of certain associations and consists solely of a name of the region and a common name or a customarily used name of the goods or services.
④ Defensive mark
Defensive mark creates a wider protection for a famous mark, which can prohibit a third party from using or registering the famous mark for goods and services in a dissimilar range. |
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