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Scholarship mainly analyzes patent systems from a technological innovation perspective. This article sheds light on the social significance of patenting activity in modern Japan. Examining a set of patents granted in the initial years of a patenting system that was new to Japan gives nuance to understanding how Japanese society underwent industrialization, including regional differences. Challenging the image of the Japanese as passive recipients of foreign technology, this analysis of Japan's early patent system reveals widespread involvement in the patenting system at every level of society across the country. Patentees used patents proactively to create business opportunities, and the patent system offered urban business owners a new ladder to social and economic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patents contribute to economic development; therefore, estimations of patent value are significant in measuring their impact on the economy. With this in mind, this article discusses estimations of patent value with the renewal model developed by several economists. Targeted patents are those issued in the United States and Japan from 1990 to 2010. In addition, the study examines patent values for several technology fields and considers which technology field should be the focus for the United States and Japan. Moreover, this article compares estimations based on the renewal model versus those based on other data such as sales, trade prices, or trials and analyzes how close this model's estimations are to the real values. This article's results demonstrate that the renewal model is useful for evaluating patents overall and analyzing technological trends from a patent perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the patent landscape for catalysts used in hydrogenation reactions. Based on patent data extracted from PatBase®, we use predefined patent classifications as well as a keyword‐based search for our analyses. The results indicate that the number of patent families that protect heterogeneous catalysts grows twice as fast as that for their homogeneous counterparts. Furthermore, the data show a shift towards abundant and non‐toxic elements in heterogeneous catalysis, while the noble metals continue to dominate the patent landscape of homogeneous catalysis. A subsequent geographical analysis reveals that the high growth rates in heterogeneous catalysis, especially for nickel and iron, are driven by China. Conversely, patenting activities with regard to homogeneous catalysts mainly take place in the USA, the EU, and Japan. The subsequent keyword‐based search illustrates the continuous industrial relevance of enantioselective hydrogenation and transfer hydrogenation, as well as the rapidly increasing body of patents in hydrodeoxygenation. Setting these finding into context, we present and apply two concepts that are commonly used in patent analyses, namely the technology life cycle and the S‐curve. We conclude that hydrogenation catalysis has not reached its peak economic relevance yet and will continue to spark valuable patents and innovations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • We use dynamic panel regression analysis for 70 countries from 1965–2009. • We find that patent rights have no effect on productivity growth. • We offer an alternative explanation, finding the ECI positive and significant. • Our results lend evidence that patent rights are insufficient for the inducement of productivity. • We argue it is not discovery that increases productivity, but the ability to adapt. Abstract Does the rigorous protection of patents advance or retard economic development? Two decades ago, a new global standard of intellectual property swept across developing and industrialized nations through the implementation of the WTO's TRIPS Agreement. Many years later, the issue of patent rights remains contentious. In this paper, we focus on the effects of patent rights systems on total factor productivity growth, using dynamic panel regression analysis for 70 countries from 1965 to 2009. We show that the effects of stronger or more rigorous patent systems are insignificant for productivity growth in both developing and industrialized countries. Why does the strength of patents appear to have no impact on productivity? Classic economic theory suggests that stronger patent systems incentive innovative output with important spill-over effects for productivity and growth. We offer an alternative explanation using data from the Economic Complexity Index. We find that while patents rights are increasingly irrelevant to productivity, the relationship between economic complexity and productivity is highly positive and significant. Our results are consistent with the contributions of the absorptive capacity theory in that they suggest it is not the discovery and ownership of novel products and processes at the innovative frontier that induces productive growth, but the ability to adapt, replicate and diffuse along the international productive chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates domestic and foreign patent portfolios owned by ten top competitors in Japan on the optical lenses of digital cameras. The objective is to establish an efficient and simple tool to provide an enterprise with the ability to investigate its competing position in order to identify its favorable research and development directions and enhance its patent application strategy. The method is to use three quantitative indicators defined by patent classifications, especially the Japanese patent classification F-term. The indicators represent the technical value of a single invention, between multiple inventions, and all inventions, respectively. Comparison of all aspects of values between Japanese and US patent portfolios are presented on two-dimensional maps. The evaluations show the performance of competitors and obtain the advisements of patent application strategy for an individual company. The results show that Jaccard index based on F-term is a very good tool for calculating the similarity between patents to obtain innovativeness. All indicators show that the thinking of Japanese competitors in R&D and patent filing strategies have high similarity, and there is currently no breakthrough between all competitors. The multi-viewpoint F-term system has resulted in Japanese companies having a large number of patents in a relatively closed environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The expiry of patents for costly biologics is creating new momentum on the pharmaceutical market for biosimilars (copies of off-patent biologics) and paving the way for their development. However, little is known about the competitiveness of biosimilars versus their originators and other biologics belonging to the same therapeutic class.Objective: The main goal of this study was to analyse the type of competition generated by the first biosimilars commercialised on key global biologic markets and to grasp their economic model. The secondary goal was to distinguish the main factors likely to influence the uptake of biosimilars on national markets.Methods: To be included in this study, countries had to meet three conditions: the regulatory framework for the development of biosimilars closely resembled that in Europe, biosimilars were marketed in 2014, and the value of the biologics market was >US$3 billion. We analysed granulocyte colony-stimulating factors (GCSFs) and erythropoietins (EPOs) over the period 2007-2014 because these are the two main therapeutic classes that have been 'biosimilarised' and thus have many years of experience available. We assessed market sizes, retail/hospital distribution mixes, incentives for using biosimilars and price discounts for originators versus biosimilars. We conducted a linear regression analysis to assess the relationship between uptakes of biosimilars and the market shares of other biologics.Results: The EU-5 (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) and Japanese GCSF and EPO markets are highly-country-specific. Uptake of biosimilars seems to depend on retail/hospital distribution mixes and on medical practice. Depending on the therapeutic class and the market sector (retail or hospital), biosimilars may compete with first-generation or second-generation products or both. Some incentives implemented to encourage the use of biosimilars had mixed results. Overall, discounts for biosimilars versus originators are not factors that determine global uptake of biosimilars.Conclusion: Unlike generics, there appears to be no unique economic model for biosimilars. Moreover, a new phenomenon occurs with biosimilars: sometimes, they are able to take market shares from subsequent generations of biologics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We focused on how repeat collaborations in projects for inventions affect performance. Repeat collaborations have two contradictory aspects. A positive aspect is team development or experience, and a negative aspect is team degeneration or decline. Since both contradicting phenomena are observed, inventors have a dilemma as to whether they should keep collaborating in a team or not. The dilemma has not previously been quantitatively analyzed. We provide quantitative and extensive analyses of the dilemma in creative projects by using patent data from Japan and the United States. We confirm three predictions to quantitatively validate the existence of the dilemma. The first prediction is that the greater the patent a team achieves, the longer the team will work together. The second prediction is that the impact of consecutive patents decreases after a team makes a remarkable invention, which is measured by the impact of patents. The third prediction is that the expectation of impact with new teams is greater than that with the same teams successful in the past. We find these predictions are validated in patents published in Japan and the United States. On the basis of these three predictions, we can quantitatively validate the dilemma in creative projects. We also propose preventive strategies for degeneration. One is developing technological diversity, and another is developing inventor diversity in teams. We find the two strategies are both effective by validating with the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the Japan and U.S. patent records of several decades to demonstrate the effect of collaboration on innovation. We found that statistically inventor teams slightly outperform solo inventors while company teams perform equally well as solo companies. By tracking the performance record of individual teams, we found that inventor teams’ performance generally degrades with more repeat collaborations. Though company teams’ performance displays strongly bursty behavior, long-term collaboration does not significantly help innovation. To systematically study the effect of repeat collaboration, we defined the repeat collaboration number of a team as the average number of collaborations over all the teammate pairs. We found that mild repeat collaboration improves the performance of Japanese inventor teams and U.S. company teams. Yet, excessive repeat collaboration does not significantly help innovation at both the inventor and company levels in both countries. To control for unobserved heterogeneity, we performed a detailed regression analysis and the results were consistent with our simple observations. The presented results revealed the intricate effect of collaboration on innovation, which may also be observed in other creative projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the engagement of Japanese, Korean and Chinese participants in the development of Internet standards at IETF on the basis of four quantitative metrics: attendance, patenting, authorship and leadership. The results are strikingly divergent. Japanese involvement in Internet standardization began early and Japan was, for many years, second only to the U.S. in terms of IETF participation. Though Japanese participation has declined since the early 2000s, Japan remains a major contributor to IETF standardization. Korean involvement in IETF has always been significant, but below the levels of Japan and major European countries. Korean participation in IETF has also declined over the past decade, and has been dominated by one firm, Samsung. Though meaningful Chinese involvement in IETF did not begin until the mid-2000s, it has rapidly expanded in recent years. Today, China is a major player in numerous areas of Internet standardization in terms of three metrics (participation, patenting and leadership), and is rapidly gaining in terms of document authorship as well. Most of China׳s recent IETF involvement can be attributed to Huawei, though other Chinese firms have recently begun to increase their participation in the organization. Thus, contrary to some views that China׳s engagement with standardization is primarily one of indigenous innovation and “catching up”, China׳s experience with IETF demonstrates deliberate and effective engagement with a major Western standards-development organization on its own terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We trained a classifier to determine whether a technology in a patent document corresponds to a decarbonization (carbon neutral)-related technology or not, using BERT pre-trained on the patent documents and the corpus of decarbonization-related patents we collected. The trained BERT model was also used for macro analysis of published patent gazettes applied after 2000 in Japan and WIPO to visualize the decarbonization-related patent technologies in Japan. By the macro analysis of patents filed in Japan and WIPO, we found that many automotive-related companies are included in decarbonization-related technology score ranking. As for a analysis of patent applications filed in WIPO, we found that Japan is the country with the highest total decarbonization-related technology score in 2019. • It was unclear where (countries and companies) and to what extent decarbonization-related technologies are available. • A deep neural network, called BERT, was used to visualize Japanese and WIPO's decarbonization-related patent technologies. • Many automotive-related companies are included in decarbonization-related technology score ranking in Japan. • Japan is the country with the highest total decarbonization-related technology score among the patents filed with WIPO. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The emergence and current situation regarding PPHs are described, together with the basic features of these systems. Their benefits in terms of speed, quality and cost are discussed. The three options of (i) the numerous bilateral PPH agreements, (ii) the PCT–PPH, and (iii) the Japanese PPH Mottainai are outlined, together with some statistics, especially in relation to the JPO–USPTO agreements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The total number of patents produced by a country (or the number of patents produced per capita) is often used as an indicator for innovation. Here we present evidence that the distribution of patents amongst applicants within many countries is well-described by power laws with exponents that vary between 1.66 (Japan) and 2.37 (Poland). We suggest that this exponent is a useful new metric for studying innovation. Using simulations based on simple preferential attachment-type rules that generate power laws, we find we can explain some of the variation in exponents between countries, with countries that have larger numbers of patents per applicant generally exhibiting smaller exponents in both the simulated and actual data. Similarly we find that the exponents for most countries are inversely correlated with other indicators of innovation, such as research and development intensity or the ubiquity of export baskets. This suggests that in more advanced economies, which tend to have smaller values of the exponent, a greater proportion of the total number of patents are filed by large companies than in less advanced countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Despite intensive public and private research efforts into developing fuel cell vehicles (FCV), the global number of FCV remains small and they are unavailable for commercial purchase. We use an in-depth literature review, and bibliometric and patent analysis to analyse FCV technology within the conceptual framework of Rogers'' innovation diffusion curve and suggest how the particular innovation systems and policies adopted in three key Asian car-manufacturing countries (Japan, Korea, and China) have influenced the development of FCV. Such analysis may capture trends not indicated by technical measures such as increases in efficiency or decreases in unit cost. Although Japan continues to lead in terms of number of patents and quality of academic research, Korea and China have been successful in developing fuel cell programs. Korean academics patent more frequently than their Japanese and Chinese peers, producing 18% of FC patents, with 16% of those filed also naming a private company. The 2008 financial crisis and ongoing economic uncertainty appears to have had some effect on patent activity whilst academic research appears unaffected. Diffusion curve analysis suggests that FCVs have not reached technological maturity. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper discusses current organisational innovations in intellectual property (IP) management that, with recent advances in networking technology, have arisen from the integration of patents and standards, and the effects of this integration on corporate innovativeness. Through case studies of Japanese electric machine corporations (NEC, Fujitsu and Hitachi), a new IP organisational evolutionary model that accounts for standardisation is presented, and organisational innovations are identified, including patent and standard information management (PSIM) and expanded IP management. PSIM is an information exchange system for the patent clearance of essential patents, and expanded IP management is IP management that considers both standardisation and patent activity. The evolutionary model shows that the exchange of information about patents and standards within an organisation becomes more oriented towards interdivisional exchange of information rather than intradivisional exchange. As a result, organisational innovations arising from the integration of patents and standards are expected to improve corporate innovativeness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generic drugs have been used extensively in many developed countries, although their use in Japan has been limited. Generic drugs reduce drug expenses and thereby national medical expenditure. Because generic drugs provide advantages for both public administration and consumers, it is expected that they will be more widely used in the future. However, the diffusion rate of generic drugs in Japan is quite low compared with that of other developed countries. An investigation on generic drugs conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan revealed that 17.2 % of doctors and 37.2 % of patients had not used generic drugs. The major reasons for this low use rate included distrust of off-patent products and lower drug price margin compared with the brand name drug. The generic drugs available in the market include external drugs such as wet packs, antihypertensive agents, analgesics, anticancer drugs, and antibiotics. Among them, antibiotics are frequently used in cases of acute infectious diseases. When the treatment of these infections is delayed, the infection might be aggravated rapidly. The pharmacokinetics-pharmacodynamics (PK-PD) theory has been adopted in recent chemotherapy, and in many cases, the most appropriate dosage and administration of antibiotics are determined for individual patients considering renal function; high-dosage antibiotics are used preferably for a short duration. Therefore, a highly detailed antimicrobial agent is necessary. However, some of the generic antibiotics have less antibacterial potency or solubility than the brand name products. We showed that the potency of the generic products of vancomycin and teicoplanin is lower than that of the branded drugs by 14.6 % and 17.3 %, respectively. Furthermore, we confirmed that a generic meropenem drug for injection required about 82 s to solubilize in saline, whereas the brand product required only about 21 s. It was thought that the cause may be the difference in size of bulk particle and amount of solubilizer. The Japanese government hopes to increase the diffusion rate of generic drugs (in terms of quantity) from 20.2 % in 2010 to 30 % or more in 2012, and therefore it will be necessary to clarify the advantages of generic antibiotics in terms of expenditure and equivalency with the branded drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last years an increasing trend has taken place in the universities of the whole world to protecting their inventions across rights of patents. This fact reflects the major usefulness of the university investigation and the intention of transferring these results to the industry. In this work we study the patents that have applied, across the European route, the Japanese, American and European universities, in order to establish a comparative analysis among them. We analyze the level of applications that they present, the technological areas and the extension of the protection of these patents and the ranking of the universities that more patents applied and of the companies that collaborate with these universities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper analyses claim structures of Japanese published unexamined patent applications on digital camera filed by firms participating in the Japanese market of digital camera for each of the stages from the innovator stage to the late majority stage and investigates the contribution of claim structures to capture of market share for each stage. A main finding is that claim structures reflect the life-cycle stages of a product. The market leader of the early adopter stage filed patent applications having more independent claims of which the claim category is ‘digital camera’ or the like compared to the rest of the participating firms, while the market leader of the late majority stage has more dependent claims. This indicates that it is critical to cover a maximal scope of the invention by plural independent claims in the early adopter stage, while, in the late majority stage in which the technologies are highly matured, the total number of dependent claims are increased to protect the market leader’s technologies against competitors and as a means of fallback options. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article analyzes the patentability of business methods under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement. The patentability of business methods is different in each jurisdiction and the author compares applicable business patent laws in the U.S., Japan and Europe. The economic and social implications of patentability of business methods are discussed. Patenting reportedly places a burden on consumers.

Explanations of Japanese technological modernization from the late nineteenth to the mid-twentieth century have increasingly focused on domestic capabilities as opposed to the traditional emphasis on knowledge transfers from the West. Yet, the literature is mostly qualitative and it lacks a comparative context. This article presents quantitative metrics derived from patent data covering Japan, the United States, Britain and Germany and it also exploits non-patent based sources. The evidence shows that Japanese domestic inventive activity exhibited a pattern of rapid modernization to the technology frontier in terms of its level, sectoral distribution and quality. Domestic capabilities were much stronger than is often supposed in accounts that stress the prevalence of Western technology diffusion. A long run expansion in indigenous development set a favorable foundation for the economic growth miracle Japan experienced after the Second World War. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article considers the benefit of the decisions by the Intellectual Property High Court of Japan upholding the market exclusivity period for the brand biologic Enbrel (etanercept) to the biotechnology industry in 2011. The establishment of the Japanese patent term extension (PTE) and accelerated patent examination legislative regimes are also discussed. An overview of the state of biosimilars market in Japan is given. It presents information on the mechanism of action of etanercept.

This article explores how the U.S. and Japanese courts implement the doctrine of equivalents when determining patent infringement. The doctrine of equivalents is a balance of, on one hand, the public's interest to know the metes and bounds of the patent, and on the other hand, the private interest of the patentee to be granted a sufficient scope for the granted patent. After comparing and contrasting the implementation of the doctrine in Japan and the United States, I propose a new method that places the burden on the patent practitioner, before infringement proceedings begin, to determine the proper scope of the patent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on various patents granted by the European Patent Office, the Japanese Patent Office, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the World Intellectual Property Organization. These include a patent assigned to Mitsui Chemicals Inc. for the Polyester Poyol Composition for Rigid Polyurethane Foams and Rigid Polyurethane Foam, invented by Atsushi Miyata and colleagues. A patent is also assigned to Advanced Insulation PLC for Thermal Insulating Structures invented by Simon Harry Shepherd and colleagues.

Abstract: This paper describes the history of Incremental Sheet Forming (ISF) focusing on technological developments. These developments are in general protected by patents, so the paper can also be regarded as an overview of ISF patents in addition to a description of the early history. That history starts with the early work by Mason in 1978 and continues up to the present day. An extensive list of patents including Japanese patents is provided. The overall conclusion is that ISF has received the attention of the world, in particular of the automotive industry, and that most proposed or suspected applications focus on the flexibility offered by the process. Only one patent has been found that is explicitly related to the enhancement of formability. Furthermore, most patents refer to TPIF (Two-Point Incremental Forming) as a process. Besides simply presenting a historical overview the paper can act as an inspiration for the researcher, and present a rough idea of the patentability of new developments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses developments that facilitate the granting of approvals for biotechnology patents in Japan. To ensure the country's international competitiveness, the Japanese government considered it critical to develop a regulatory environment that allows accelerated acquisition of patent rights. The accelerated acquisition of the world's first patent for induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University is perceived as the most significant biotechnology event in the country in 2008.

Abstract: Patent filings from East Asian countries are increasing year by year. According to the WIPO Patent Report 2007, three major Asian Patent Offices, JPO (Japan), SIPO (China) and KIPO (Korea) are all ranked in the top 20 Offices of Filings [WIPO Patent Report: Statistics on Worldwide Patent Activity (2007 Edition): B3. Top 20 Offices of filing. , ], and filings in Japan amount to approximately 400,000 patent filings in 2007 [JPO Annual Report 2007: Part1. Trends of Industrial Property Rights: Chapter 1 P6. , ]. Faced with the rapidly growing numbers of patent filings, English speaking patent experts have problems in searching and retrieving relevant patent documents for these countries and obtaining results with full legal status and citation data in the English language. With the focus on Japanese unexamined patents, this short communication presents an effective way of retrieving Japanese patent information, by using the JP-NETe patent search system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The healthcare transformational capacity of biotechnology intellectual property makes it fundamental that such biotech patents are issued promptly in order to have clarity and certainty in the research community and the marketplace. In these economically challenging times, accelerated patent grants will make biotech patent owners more attractive to investors and licensors ensuring their survival. Japanese universities have aggressively patented and licensed their biotech research and utilized the accelerated patent system to procure the world's first ever induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) patent. This article examines the various accelerated examination procedures available at the Japan Patent Office and how biotechnology patent applicants can secure early patent protection in Japan, the world's second largest biopharmaceutical market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the patentability of genetic inventions in Japan. Epigenetics is the study of reversible changes in gene expression that are caused not by DNA nucleotide sequence alterations, but due to external influences. Two different mechanisms of epigenetic change are DNA methylation and histone deacetylation. The Japan Patent Office (JPO) recognizes genetic materials, including genes, gene fragments, and recombinant proteins as patentable chemicals. The Tokyo High Court in Japan made a decision in 2001 that established inventions involving genetic engineering as patentable. However, it is stated that unlike the U.S. Patent Act, the JPO prohibits patents on materials that could be injurious to public health.

This paper reviews the institutional factors in Japan that affect the market exclusivity period for new drugs. The factors which directly affect the period are (1) statutory subject matter of patent protection, (2) patent term extension, and (3) restriction of the entry of generic drugs (market exclusivity right or data protection system). Other factors include (4) the experimental use exception (the so-called Bolar provision) and (5) compulsory license. In addition, the impacts of these factors on both brand-named manufacturers and generic drug manufacturers under the specific circumstances of the Japanese pharmaceutical market, such as the influence of the healthcare insurance system or the drug price control system, are discussed.Journal of Generic Medicines (2008) 5, 121–130. doi:10.1057/palgrave.jgm.4950103; published online 18 December 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reviews several patents related to acoustics. A patent for a resonance method for measuring thickness was filed in Japan in September 2003. A patent for a speaker for vehicle and mounting structure of the speaker was also filed in Japan in November 2001. A patent was filed in Canada in August 2001 for an electromagnetic piezoelectric acoustic sensor. A patent filed in Great Britain in September 2001 describes loudspeaker systems with a pancake arrangement in which tubes are nested in a spiral configuration.

A list patents on or related microencapsulation is presented. The list includes a patent for antibacterial fragrant polyurethane microcapsules in China, external gelation method for preparing U02 microspheres as cores of nuclear fuel elements also from China and heat-storing microcapsules and their manufacture fro Japan.

Initiated by a speech by the Japanese Prime Minister in 2002, an improved strategy for the creation, protection and use of intellectual property in the Japanese economy has rapidly evolved. The author outlines the major elements and achievements of the new strategy under five categories: (1) Creativity and inventiveness (e.g. facilitating technology transfer from universities to the private sector). (2)Protection (e.g. trilateral sharing of search and examination results, speedier examination, and the establishment of an IP high court). (3) Exploitation (e.g. widening the range of organisations allowed to assist SMEs). (4) Contents (mainly aspects of IP in the movie industry). (5) Cultivating human resources (e.g. increased emphasis on IP education in universities). Future work, in phase 2 through to 2009, in making Japan an ‘IP Rich Country’, will concentrate on building on these changes to integrate IP more fully into business growth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The author discusses his experience of innovation and technology management in the Japan. The author worked with a Japanese car components company. This gave him the opportunity to observe how patent applications are encouraged in the country. He shares the innovation process used to develop new products as well as the benefits that companies derived through mutual cooperation within company groupings. He cites the importance of product roadmap and intellectual property policy.

Presents a list of patents approved by the Japanese Patent Office in April 2003. Invention type; Inventors; Description of the invention.

Two distinctive and useful features of Japanese patent documentation are the file index (FI) and F-term classification systems developed by the Japan Patent Office. Since April 2001, it has been possible to search Japanese patent literature with FI classification and F-terms in English. This article explains the concept, structure and layout of these two special classification systems, as well as providing pointers to further guidance and the use of these features to enhance searches of Japanese patent documentation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Cell-free synthetic biology is a maturing field that aims to assemble biomolecular reactions outside cells for compelling applications in drug discovery, metabolic engineering, biomanufacturing, diagnostics, and education. Cell-free systems have several key features. They circumvent mechanisms that have evolved to facilitate species survival, bypass limitations on molecular transport across the cell wall, enable high-yielding and rapid synthesis of proteins without creating recombinant cells, and provide high tolerance towards toxic substrates or products. Here, we analyze ~750 published patents and ~2000 peer-reviewed manuscripts in the field of cell-free systems. Three hallmarks emerged. First, we found that both patent filings and manuscript publications per year are significantly increasing (five-fold and 1.5-fold over the last decade, respectively). Second, we observed that the innovation landscape has changed. Patent applications were dominated by Japan in the early 2000s before shifting to China and the USA in recent years. Finally, we discovered an increasing prevalence of biotechnology companies using cell-free systems. Our analysis has broad implications on the future development of cell-free synthetic biology for commercial and industrial applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents the results of an event study of the impact of Japan's shift from process to product patents in the pharmaceutical industry. Use of rate-of-return data from the Tokyo Stock Exchange; Advantages of companies which specialize in new product development; History of Japan's patent law.

The article presents an analysis of data on patent publications from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO), the European Patent Office (EPO) and the Japan Patent Office (JPO) between 1976 and 2006. It has been found that the USPTO had granted 7,406 nanotechnology patents during the period, which was about two times the number granted by the EPO and over six times the number granted by the JPO. The three distinct phases in the history of nanotechnology were also studied.

The article reports that the Japanese government has introduced the novelty grace period for patents by adopting the Bayh-Dole Act. The change has removed a stumbling block for researchers in Japan who now have a six month period to publish and patent their inventions and discoveries. The article suggests that scientists could have profitable tie-ups with Japanese academia and take advantage of the novelty grace period.

• Patent offices launch COVID-19 information collections. • Design image similarity search from Japan. • New user interface for TMView and DesignView. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Within 2010–2017 ca. 4500 nanocellulose-related patents were published worldwide. • Nearly 70 % of the 4500 patents were published within 2015–2017. • ≈ 50 % of CNC and BNC patents include profit companies among their assignees. • Profit companies presence rises to ≈ 80 % in the case of patents referring to CNF. • Highest nanocellulose innovation protection was identified in China, US and Japan. During the last two decades cellulosic nanomaterials have been the subject of much research around the world. Moreover, in the last few years, increasing industrial interest on the field enabled the setting-up of the first facilities producing commercial quantities of nanocelluloses; whereas a number of inventions involving cellulose nano-objects are claimed every year. In this context, the current article describes the recent evolution (from 2010 till 2017) of published patents which explicitly include in their title, abstract and/or claims references to cellulose nano-objects such as cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils and bacterial nanocellulose. Results evidence the astonishing increase in nanocellulose patents since 2010, and specially within the last three years surveyed (i.e. 2015–2017), when published documents accounted for ca. 70 % of the total number of patents published since 2010. Besides patent timelines, data is analysed in terms of patent owners, countries of application, and citing number. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reports on the several amendments of the examination guidelines for medicinal inventions in Japan. Possibility of obtaining a patent for a medicinal innovation by specifying the class of patients; Protection of the combinations of medicines and optimization of dosage and frequency of administration; Impact of the new patent guidance on pharmaceutical companies.

Presents several charts of the number of patents submitted by member countries of the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, from 1994 to 2000. Czech Republic; Hungary; Japan; Turkey; U.S.

News on the latest developments in IP information from Japan includes new functionality in J-Plat Pat regarding access to oppositions and other case information and earlier patent documents (than 1992), news on trademark and design matters, and the latest status report is now available with data from 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]