Author Archives: admin

The World Intellectual Property Organization released the data on global patent activities trends for 2011 and announced that, despite the “uncertainty and fragility” of the global economy, patent filings grew by close to 8% last year. The big announcement, however, … Continue reading →

The Japan Patent Office (JPO), along with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) launched an anti-counterfeiting campaign on December 2, 2012, to educate consumers against the ills of this proliferating social phenomenon. In recent years, counterfeit and pirated … Continue reading →

By Nahoko Ono, Attorney, Keisen Associates In an unusual copyright infringement case involving origami, a Japanese origami artist sued a Tokyo network television broadcaster for allegedly reproducing the folding instructions of his original origami top on the company’s web site. … Continue reading →

Starting November 1st, 2012, a leading Japanese mobile service provider NTT DoCoMo will start offering its users a real-time, automatic translation app for their phones. “Hanashite Hon’yaku” (which literally means ‘talk and translate’), is the world’s first commercial mobile service … Continue reading →

On October 1, 2012, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) confirmed Hiroyuki Fukano as its new Commissioner. Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Mr. Fukano was the former Director General of the Nuclear and Industry Safety Agency. This is Commissioner Fukano’s … Continue reading →