Intellectual Property

An employee invention is an invention that is within the business scope of the employee’s company and made by the employee as part of the duties of his or her job.  Under Article 35 of the Patent Act, employers are granted a non-exclusive license to the employee invention.  The reasoning behind this is that the employee was working on behalf of the employer when the invention was created and being compensated for that work by the employer, so the employer should also be able to enjoy the benefits of the patent on the invention.

The Patent Act requires that an invention be novel, inventive and “highly advanced” in order to receive a patent.  While “highly advanced” may sound like a very high bar for inventions to meet, generally it is considered as less important than the novelty and inventiveness requirements.

A priority certificate provides official proof of a patent application in Japan.  This request can be made by filling out and submitting a form, along with a small fee.  The form needs to be submitted in Japanese.