Search results for

Yoshitaka Sonoda of Sonoda & Kobayashi Intellectual Property Law Firm outlines the latest practices in patent examination and appeal procedures and provides advice on constructing an effective patent prosecution strategy under the current examination practice

Kazuo Aoki of Shobayashi International Patent & Trademark Office outlines current trends in the examination of patent applications concerning computer software-related inventions and key points that non-Japanese applicants should be aware of

Peter Ollier spoke with University of Tokyo IP professor Katsuya Tamai about technology transfer, patent litigation and Japan’s plans to become an IP-based nation

Yoshikazu Iwase of Anderson Mori & Tomotsune outlines seven important Japanese IP cases adjudicated in 2008

null

Under the patent marking statute, a party is "entitled to damages from the time when it either began marking its products in compliance with section 287 (a) or when it actually notified [the infringer] of its infringement, whichever is earlier." (Am Med Sys, Inc v Med Eng'g Corp [Fed Cir 1993]). Section 287 (a) provides:

On December 24 2008, Vietnam issued long-awaited regulations on domain name dispute resolution under Circular no 10/2008/TT-BTTT Providing Regulations on the Resolution of Disputes Involving the Vietnam National ".vn" Domain, which was issued by the Ministry of Information and Communication. Previously, very basic regulations on domain name disputes were set forth under Decision no 27/2005/QD-BBCVT.

The Information Commissioner is to be given tougher powers to regulate the Data Protection Act under proposals put forward by the government. The increase in new technology to collect vast amounts of personal information increases the risk of information being abused. Since HM Revenue and Customs lost 25 million child benefit records nearly a year ago, the number of breaches reported to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has soared to 277 since November 2007. These include 28 breaches by central government, 75 within the NHS and other health bodies and 80 reported in the private sector.

When parties are attempting to negotiate an amicable resolution to a trade mark dispute that is the subject of a Notice of Opposition before the USPTO's Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB), they sometimes hold off on seeking discovery or taking testimony – which can be both time consuming and expensive – in the expectation that they will be able to finalise an appropriate settlement agreement. The parties should, however, be very careful to ensure that ongoing settlement negotiations do not cause them to ignore or miss any filing deadlines, as failure to make certain filings by the prescribed deadlines can result in missed opportunities to protect a valuable trade mark.

With more patents issuing than ever before, there is a greater likelihood that your company will become a party to patent litigation. It is important, therefore, to familiarise yourself with the basic factors affecting the cost and duration of patent litigation.