JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Hirofumi Tada, Ohno & Partners
injunction. A foreign defendant has an addition - al 30 days to appeal. The first hearing will be held within a few months from the appeal, and the judgment will be granted about six months after the appeal. The appellate court reviews the case without deference. A party who lost in the appellate court may file a final appeal before the Supreme Court although the success rate of the A panel of three judges from the IP High Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over patent appeal cases, hears and decides a patent liti - gation appeal. The court often retains a court expert who supports judges’ understanding of technical aspects of the case. 7.3 Special Provisions Patent litigation is governed by the Civil Proce - dure Code, just like normal civil litigation. How - ever, the court usually expects more profes - sional litigation activities from both parties, and delayed submission of arguments and evidence might be more strictly evaluated than usual civil cases and can be dismissed. final appeal is as low as 1%. 7.2 Appeal Court(s) Arbiter
The JPO provides a procedure called “ hantei ” in which a panel of three examiners decides wheth - er a product falls within the technical scope of a patent claim. However, this is not binding on the court, so its impact is very limited. 9. Alternative Dispute Resolution 9.1 ADR Options ADR in the life sciences and pharma sectors is not common at all in Japan so far. Many pat - ent owners choose litigation over mediation or arbitration, trusting formal court procedures. Recently, Tokyo and Osaka District Courts start - ed providing arbitration services for IP-related disputes, but they are directed to simple cases and are not suitable for complex patent infringe - ment disputes.
10. Settlement/Antitrust 10.1 Considerations and Scrutiny
Japan has not experienced antitrust cases regarding “pay-for-delay” or “reverse payment”. However, depending on the facts of each case, “pay-for-delay” or “reverse payment” might vio - late Japan’s Anti-Monopoly Act.
8. Other Relevant Forums/ Procedures 8.1 The UPC or Other Forums
11. Collective Redress 11.1 Group Claims
A custom suspension to prevent the import of infringing products is available. A panel appoint - ed by Japan Customs reviews the case, but they often wait for a court decision, especially in a complex case. Thus, the effectiveness of the custom suspension is often limited for a pharma patent owner. However, it is often effective for suspension based on a trade mark.
There is no special system for group claims such as class action in Japan. However, patients may file a lawsuit as joint plaintiffs.
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