Ohara & Furukawa, Author at Ohara & Furukawa

November 22, 2017

What is an Inspection Clause?

In order to ensure that the buyer officially accepts the products being sole, it is important to include an inspection clause in any purchase and sales agreement. An inspection clause mandates that the buyer has a duty to inspect the goods upon receipt and report any problems to the seller. This requirement ensures that, if the shipment is defective in some way, the buyer’s inspection will catch it and it won’t arise as a problem later on.

November 20, 2017

Is there a minimum wage in Japan?

In general, employers and employees are given expansive freedom to agree to any type of employment contract they wish. However, the Labor Standards Act contains a series of protections for employees that restrict employers’ ability to draft unfair employment agreements. The minimum wage is among these protections. Even if an employee agrees to a salary below the minimum wage, labor law demands that the salary be raised to the minimum level.

November 17, 2017

Can I prevent a third party from filing for a patent in Japan?

When someone is trying to patent something in Japan that is not unique or for some other reason should not be patentable, third parties are allowed to intervene in the patent application process to argue against granting the patent. These interventions can even be filed anonymously and, if successful, will prevent the granting of a patent for products that are not unique or not patentable for some other reason.

November 15, 2017

Does Japan maintain any double taxation treaties for inheritance?

Japan has only one estate tax treaty, signed with the United States in 1955. The treaty is designed to prevent double taxation for inheritances that involve both US and Japanese inheritance tax law.