JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Hirofumi Tada, Ohno & Partners
Timing of Damages Payment Often, the damages are preliminarily enforceable soon after the first instance court judgment. The - oretically, it must be paid soon after the rendition of the judgment, but usually the accused infringer appeals before the IP High Court and seeks pend - ing enforcement by depositing around 80% of the damages awarded by the first instance court. Wrongful Injunction Damages Usually, damages for a wrongful injunction are not available because an injunction is not enforceable until the judgment becomes final. Third Party Theoretically, a third party may seek damages (as long as they suffer damage caused by pat - ent infringement) through the usual civil litiga - tion, but it is not common in Japan. 5.5 Legal Costs Court costs including court fees paid by a win - ning party are recoverable from a losing par - ty, but they are often neglected because the amount is small. 5.6 Relevance of Claimant/Plaintiff Conduct to Relief In patent infringement lawsuits, the court may not withhold or reduce relief as a penalisation for negative conduct from the plaintiff.
causes consumer confusion about the product’s source, just like usual trade mark cases. The government agency notified rules for gener - ic drug naming, so trade mark disputes between brand-name and generic products are not com - mon. 6.2 Copyright Copyright disputes are not common in the life sciences and pharma sectors in Japan. Poten - tially, the copyright of software (such as health tech software or drug research software) can be disputed. 6.3 Trade Secrets Unlike the tech sector, trade secrets disputes are not so common in the life sciences and pharma sectors in Japan. However, such disputes could happen in the future because many pharma companies now develop and use AI or high-tech software for drug discovery. The Unfair Com - petition Prevention Act governs trade secrets disputes. 7. Appeal 7.1 Timeframe to Appeal Decision An accused infringer may file an appeal within two weeks from the service of a preliminary injunction order. The appellate court reviews the case without deference. Also, opposition and revocation procedures are available, and the preliminary injunction will be vacated if the injunctive right no longer exists due to significant situation change after the preliminary injunction order grant. Appeal Against Permanent Injunction A defendant may appeal within two weeks from the service of a judgment ordering a permanent
6. Other IP Rights 6.1 Trade Marks
Trade mark disputes in the life sciences and pharma sector are somewhat common in Japan. Just like the usual trade mark disputes, the cases are governed by the Trade Mark Act. Often, the main issue of the case is whether the trade mark
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