Japanese Design Law and Practice' is the only book in English that provides a detailed overview and discussion of product design protection and practice under Japanese law. Japan is a significant hub of product design, and Japanese designs have made their mark in the world across a wide range of industries. The book features an analysis of the design law (including the far-reaching 2020 amendments) and how it has been applied by Japanese courts and the Japan Patent Office. A unique feature of the book is that it includes not only an examination of the design law by legal experts but also a discussion of design protection from the perspective of Japanese designers.
In today’s knowledge-based global economy, most inventions are made by employed persons through their employers’ research and development activities. However, methods of establishing rights over an employee’s intellectual property assets are relatively uncertain in the absence of international solutions. Given that increasingly more businesses establish entities in different countries and more employees co-operate across borders, it becomes essential for companies to be able to establish the conditions under which ownership subsists in intellectual property created in employment relationships in various countries. This comparative law publication describes and analyses employers’ acquisition of employees’ intellectual property rights, first in general and then in depth. This second edition of the book considers thirty-four different jurisdictions worldwide. The book was developed within the framework of the International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property (AIPPI), a non-affiliated, non-profit organization dedicated to improving and promoting the protection of intellectual property at both national and international levels. Among the issues and topics covered by the forty-nine distinguished contributors are the following: • different approaches in different law systems; • choice of law for contracts; • harmonizing international jurisdiction rules; • conditions for recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments; • employees’ rights in copyright, semiconductor chips, inventions, designs, plant varieties and utility models on a country-by-country basis; • employee remuneration right; • parties’ duty to inform; and • instances for disputes. With its wealth of information on an increasingly important subject for practitioners in every jurisdiction, this book is sure to be put to constant use by corporate lawyers and in-house counsel everywhere. It is also exceptionally valuable as a thorough resource for academics and researchers interested in the international harmonization of intellectual property law.
Recognizing that a capacity to innovate and commercialize new high-technology products is increasingly a key for the economic growth in the environment of tighter environmental and resource constraints, governments around the world have taken active steps to strengthen their national innovation systems. These steps underscore the belief of these governments that the rising costs and risks associated with new potentially high-payoff technologies, their spillover or externality-generating effects and the growing global competition, require national R&D programs to support the innovations by new and existing high-technology firms within their borders. The National Research Council's Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy (STEP) has embarked on a study of selected foreign innovation programs in comparison with major U.S. programs. The "21st Century Innovation Systems for the United States and Japan: Lessons from a Decade of Change" symposium reviewed government programs and initiatives to support the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, government-university- industry collaboration and consortia, and the impact of the intellectual property regime on innovation. This book brings together the papers presented at the conference and provides a historical context of the issues discussed at the symposium.
This book discusses the main legal and economic challenges to the creation and enforcement of security rights in intellectual property and explores possible avenues of reform, such as more specific rules for security in IP rights and better coordination between intellectual property law and secured transactions law. In the context of business financing, intellectual property rights are still only reluctantly used as collateral, and on a small scale. If they are used at all, it is mostly done in the form of a floating charge or some other “all-asset” security right. The only sector in which security rights in intellectual property play a major role, at least in some jurisdictions, is the financing of movies. On the other hand, it is virtually undisputed that security rights in intellectual property could be economically valuable, or even crucial, for small and medium-sized enterprises – especially for start-ups, which are often very innovative and creative, but have limited access to corporate financing and must rely on capital markets (securitization, capital market). Therefore, they need to secure bank loans, yet lack their own traditional collateral, such as land.
As technological developments multiply around the globeâ€"even as the patenting of human genes comes under serious discussionâ€"nations, companies, and researchers find themselves in conflict over intellectual property rights (IPRs). Now, an international group of experts presents the first multidisciplinary look at IPRs in an age of explosive growth in science and technology. This thought-provoking volume offers an update on current international IPR negotiations and includes case studies on software, computer chips, optoelectronics, and biotechnologyâ€"areas characterized by high development cost and easy reproducibility. The volume covers these and other issues: Modern economic theory as a basis for approaching international IPRs. U.S. intellectual property practices versus those in Japan, India, the European Community, and the developing and newly industrializing countries. Trends in science and technology and how they affect IPRs. Pros and cons of a uniform international IPRs regime versus a system reflecting national differences.
This book explores the intersection between artificial intelligence and two intellectual property rights: copyright and patents. The increasing use of artificial intelligence for generating creative and innovative output has an impact on copyright and patent laws around the world. The book aims to map and analyse that impact. The author considers how artificial intelligence systems may aid, or in some cases substitute for, human creators and inventors in the creative process. It is from this angle that the copyright and patent regimes in four jurisdictions (Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan) are investigated in depth. The author describes how these jurisdictions look at works and inventions generated through a process where artificial intelligence is present or prevalent, and examines how copyright and patent regimes should adapt to the reality of artificially intelligent creators and inventors. As the use of artificial intelligence to generate creative and innovative products becomes more common, this book will be a valuable resource to researchers, academics and policy makers alike.
Japanese Patent Law Cases and Comments Edited by Christopher Heath & Atsuhiro Furuta About the Editors: Christopher Heath is a judge at the European Patent Office and former head of the Max Planck Institute’s Asian Department. Atsuhiro Furuta is an administrative judge at the Japanese Patent Office. He graduated with a Master’s in Physics from the University of Tokyo and for two years was a guest researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Patent, Copyright and Competition Law in Munich. About this book: Japanese Patent Law is the first comprehensive work in English on all aspects of Japanese patent law presenting 66 cases with expert explanatory comments from academics, attorneys, judges and Japanese Patent Office officials. While not a common law jurisdiction, Japanese patent law in the past 20 years has been shaped by landmark decisions of the Supreme Court and, since 2005, the IP High Court. Approaching Japanese patent law via landmark decisions is arguably the most comprehensive manner of understanding the subject matter. Many of the cases appear in English for the first time. What’s in this book: Following an informative introduction explaining the economic importance of the patent system for Japan, the cases cover such specific issues as the following: definition of an invention; assessment of prior art, novelty and inventive step; rights of co-inventors; disclaimers, corrections and amendments; scope and limits of patent protection; distinction between repair and reconstruction; doctrine of equivalents; domestic and international jurisdiction in patent matters; interim proceedings and measures; defence of invalidity; damage calculation; patent term extension system; and utility models. Each case commentary follows a uniform structure, including background, summary of the facts, analysis and comparative remarks. The latter allows the reader to put developments in Japan in an international context. How this will help you: With the wealth of knowledge it makes available – leading Japanese patent cases in English translation, comparative case commentaries by leading experts on Japanese patent law, comprehensive analytical coverage of all aspects of Japanese patent law and coverage of related fields such as licensing, antitrust and civil procedure – this easy-to-use book will be warmly welcomed by patent attorneys and other practitioners (including Japanese patent practitioners advising foreign clients), patent academics and patent offices worldwide.
In today's global business environment, knowledge of the intellectual property laws of the Asian countries & the manner in which they are administered is essential. This work will help you determine where, when, & how to establish & exercise rights to intellectual property in eight of the most important Asian countries.
