JAPAN Trends and Developments Contributed by: Hideaki Kobayashi, Hirofumi Tada, Hiroyuki Kimura and Hiroyuki Ohno, Ohno & Partners
discussed. After the first hearing, the parties are expected to negotiate and agree on conditions other than the global FRAND rates. Each party is required to submit another global FRAND rate proposal by the second hearing. At the second hearing, the panel may make a mediation proposal or require the parties to make their final offers by the third hearing. At the third hearing, the panel will confirm the parties’ intentions and close the procedure. Although mediation is a voluntary process, if the par- ties do not reach an agreement, the panel’s opin- ions will be recorded and can be used as evidence of unwillingness in subsequent litigation. Therefore, although this process is voluntary, the parties must negotiate in good faith to reach an agreement. in par- ticular, an implementor’s failure to do so may result in an injunction and substantial damages in subsequent litigation. Under a recent amendment to the statute effective on 21 May 2025, the Tokyo District Court now has broader jurisdiction over intellectual property media- tion, making it easier for SEP owners to use this pro- cedure. Drastic changes in Japanese SEPs The situation surrounding SEPs in Japan has changed drastically in recent years. The country is now a high- ly attractive jurisdiction for SEP owners looking to enforce their patents, and there has already been an increase in SEP litigation. It is important to monitor these trends and stay updated. Unprecedented Damages Awards in Patent Infringement Litigation in Japan One example of a judgment awarding large damages in a patent infringement case in Japan is the Tokyo District Court judgment of 12 October 1998 (Heisei 5 (Wa) 11876), which awarded a total of approximately JPY3.1 billion (approximately USD27 million). There- after, the Tokyo District Court judgment of 19 March 2002 (Heisei 11 (Wa) No 23945) awarded approxi- mately JPY7.4 billion (approximately USD56 mil- lion), which was the highest amount awarded at the time. However, that judgment was later overturned on appeal due to invalidation of the patent, and the claims were dismissed (IP High Court, 12 October
2005, Heisei 17 (Ne) No 10001). Although there were several judgments awarding more than JPY1 billion after that, no judgment exceeded that amount for more than 20 years. However, on 27 May 2025, the Intellectual Property High Court handed down a judgment far exceeding this amount. In this case, the plaintiff, Toray Industries, Inc., filed a patent infringement lawsuit in the Tokyo District Court against Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Fuso Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd., seek- ing damages and other relief on the ground that each defendant’s manufacture, sale and other acts with respect to the accused product (an antipruritic agent) infringed the patent at issue (Patent No. JP3531170), titled “Antipruritic Agent”. Although the Tokyo District Court dismissed the plaintiff’s claims, the Intellectual Property High Court reversed the lower court judg- ment on appeal and ordered Sawai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to pay approximately JPY14.3 billion and Fuso Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd. to pay approxi- mately JPY7.5 billion, resulting in a total of approxi- mately JPY21.8 billion (approximately USD153 million) (IP High Court, 27 May 2025, Reiwa 3 (Ne) No 10037). The following ranking shows the total amounts award- ed in patent infringement cases in Japan that were identified through research on the Japanese courts’ official website, detailing the court, the judgment date, the case number and the approximate amount award- ed. Where an appellate judgment was confirmed in the course of that research, that judgment was used as the basis for the ranking. As shown in the ranking, only seven judgments in Japan exceeded JPY1 billion in the approximately 17-year period from 2002 to 2018, and none exceeded JPY2 billion. By contrast, in the approximately seven-year period from 2019 through 2025, there were six judgments awarding more than JPY1 billion, of which four exceeded JPY2 billion, and one exceeded a total of JPY20 billion. It may therefore be said that, in recent years, Japan has shown an increasing tendency toward larger damages awards. Ranking of large damages awards; 1. IP High Court, 27 May 2025, Reiwa 3 (Ne) 10037, JPY21.8 billion;
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