On April 1, Japan's first court dedicated to cases concerning patents and other intellectual property rights (IPR) was established as part of a far-ranging renovation of Japan's judicial system. The Intellectual Property High Court is tasked with speeding up and coordinating rulings on the growing number of disputes over IPR.
The 18 judges assigned to adjudicate IPR cases will play a key role in establishing and clarifying new business rules such as what constitutes a patent infringement. Within the new court, a four-judge, grand panel system has been established to expedite and coordinate rulings on cases deemed especially significant.
The new court handles appeals of IPR cases originating from district courts and serves as the court of first instance in cases involving the Patent Office. It is a sign of the times that the court has a multilingual Web site and that Japan has declared April 18 Invention Day.