JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Junichi Ueda, Etsuko Hara, Nobuto Shirane, Takahiro Hayase, Yutaka Shimoo and Miki Goto, Anderson Mori & Tomotsune
• the Plant Variety Protection and Seed Act; • the Act on the Circuit Layout of Semiconduc - tor Integrated Circuits; • the Copyright Act; and • the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. Patent rights, etc, are granted by registering with the Japan Patent Office. The Copyright Act, on the other hand, protects copyrights without requiring any special formalities. Although there is no property right attached to trade secrets, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act protects trade secrets as “legally protected interests”. Japan is a party to: • the Patent Cooperation Treaty; • the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property; • the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agree - ment Concerning the International Registra - tion of Marks; • the Hague Agreement Concerning the Inter - national Registration of Industrial Designs; • the Berne Convention; • the International Convention for the Protec - tion of New Varieties of Plants; and • other major IP-related treaties. A person that invents an invention with industrial applicability is entitled to obtain a patent for that invention. “Invention” in the Patent Act is defined as a highly advanced creation of technical ideas utilising the laws of nature. A person applying for a patent must submit a written application to the Japan Patent Office. A description, scope of claims, required draw - ings and a summary must be attached to the application. The legal requirements for obtaining a patent are:
• industrial applicability; • novelty; and • inventive step.
A patent right will become effective upon suc - cessful registration. The duration of a patent right, in principle, expires after a period of 20 years from the filing date of the original applica - tion. The patent holder has an exclusive right to commercially exploit the patented invention. As for remedies for infringement, the patent holder may file a claim for: • an injunction; • disposal of infringing compositions, etc; • damages; • restoration of credibility; or • restitution of unjust enrichment. There are presumptive provisions regarding the amount of damages that may arise as a result of the infringement of patent rights. Acts of importing products that infringe patent rights are subject to border control measures under the Customs Act. Any intentional infringe - ment of a patent right is also subject to criminal penalties. 7.2 Trade Marks An applicant may apply to register a trade mark to be used in connection with goods or servic - es pertaining to the business of the applicant. “Trade mark” in the Trademark Act is defined as: • any character, figure, sign or three-dimen - sional shape or colour, or any combination thereof; • sounds; or • anything else specified by cabinet order that can be perceived by people.
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