Tag - patent

 
 

PATENT

Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2020
'AINU' trademark application criticized by Japan's indigenous people
An application by an individual in China to register a trademark using the name of Japan's indigenous Ainu people has been criticized for being an attempt to profit off their culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2020
Three Japanese ministries and the patent office to test ways to cut number of plastic bags at convenience stores
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said Friday that it will launch a trial next week at convenience stores at three government ministries and an agency to test ways to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags.
BUSINESS
Jan 30, 2019
Japan Patent Office says trademark registration of era names will be banned from May
The Japan Patent Office revised its screening criteria Wednesday to prevent all era names from being registered as trademarks.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jan 10, 2018
IBM breaks patent record with 25th straight year in top spot
IBM Corp. was once again awarded the highest number of U.S. patents in 2017, as the company pushes into blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2017
Patent office to be first government agency to permit use of maiden names
The government is finally moving to catch up with the private sector on the use of maiden names in the workplace, with the Japan Patent Office set to become the first state agency to officially permit the practice starting in September.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 17, 2016
Analysts point to Japan's untapped potential to boost the economy
Japan's population is declining, deflation has returned, and the nation's economy is still stuck in cycle of weak, stop-start growth. And yet, there are a number of hidden and underutilized resources that Japan could tap to try to escape this economic malaise.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 25, 2016
Outdated design-patent laws thwart progress
Unless modernized quickly, outmoded U.S. patent rules could empower a wave of opportunistic lawsuits that would suppress innovation.
Japan Times
JAPAN / CHUBU CONNECTION
Sep 14, 2015
Girl, 12, lands patent for can-separating recycling bin
Asuka Kamiya, 12, a sixth-grader from Jozan Elementary School in Anjo, Aichi Prefecture, has been granted a patent for her can-recycling bin invention, which uses a magnet to automatically separate steel and aluminum containers.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
May 19, 2015
Mixed ruling partially favors Apple in Samsung patent case
Apple Inc was handed a mixed ruling by a U.S. appeals court in the latest twist in a blockbuster intellectual property battle with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., as a prior patent infringement verdict was upheld but a trademark finding that the iPhone's appearance could be protected was thrown out.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 26, 2015
Court rules Sharp cannot monopolize Igzo brand name
The Intellectual Property High Court in Tokyo has ruled that Sharp Corp., which markets display panel technology for smartphones and other devices under the Igzo brand name, does not have exclusive rights to the term.
BUSINESS
Feb 24, 2015
U.S. Supreme Court hands victory to Cuban cigar company
The U.S. Supreme Court handed a victory to a state-owned Cuban cigar company on Monday by declining to intervene in its long-running battle with a U.S.-based rival over the Cohiba trademark that both use for their products.
BUSINESS
Feb 10, 2015
Japan to lower trademark, patent registration fees
The Japan Patent Office said Tuesday it plans to lower trademark and patent registration fees to cut the load on domestic companies amid competition from their foreign rivals and enhance trademark and patent protection.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 9, 2015
U.S. to probe Sony, dozen others over wireless headsets
The U.S. International Trade Commission said on Thursday it will investigate 13 companies including Sony Corp. and its affiliates over possible patent infringement involving wireless audio devices.
EDITORIALS
Oct 24, 2014
Patent law must retain incentives
As the government drafts amendments to the patent law, the question is how effective the new rules will be in ensuring fair corporate remuneration to inventors so that they keep their engineering talent in Japan to enhance the nation's industrial competitiveness.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 11, 2014
Kyocera sues South Korea's Hanwha over solar power patent
Kyocera Corp. is suing the Japanese arm of South Korean conglomerate Hanwha Group for patent infringement related to technology that maximizes the efficiency of solar batteries.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2014
Panasonic retakes top spot in patents
Panasonic Corp. reclaimed the top spot in international patent filings in 2013, overtaking Chinese telecommunications equipment maker ZTE Corp., the top filer in 2011 and 2012, the World Intellectual Property Organization said.
JAPAN
Dec 13, 2013
Industry minister Motegi boasts patent for menu translation software
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday he has acquired a patent on a software system allowing foreigners to check food ingredients in their own language when ordering at restaurants.
BUSINESS
Mar 15, 2013
Nintendo ordered to pay in 3-D patent suit
Nintendo Co. said it was ordered to pay $30.2 million to a former Sony Corp. employee after a federal jury in New York ruled that the maker of the 3DS machine infringed on his patent.
Japan Times
LIFE / Lifestyle
Jul 25, 2004
Cashing in on ideas
Thomas Edison's electricity, Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, the Wright Brothers' creaky biplane, H.G. Wells' time machine (OK, that last one hasn't happened yet), but through these world-changing discoveries, our daily lives have been made easier. Flick a switch and light banishes the darkness, pick up a phone and chat away to a distant cousin in Timbuktu, hop on to an airplane and go and have lunch with her the next day. All of these inventions have transformed the world into one huge global village.
BUSINESS
Jan 22, 2002
Inventor hopes lawsuit over diode empowers peers
Shuji Nakamura is confident that his court battle can radically change the relationship between Japanese companies and their in-house inventors.

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores