Seminar on 'The Latest Trends in IP Practices and Issues in Japan'

Lee & Ko held a seminar titled ‘The Latest Trends in IP Practices and Issues in Japan’ jointly with Abe, Ikubo & Katayama Law Firm (“AIK”) on June 29th.

Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group, in collaboration with AIK, has regularly held this seminar series on the latest trends in IP practices and issues in Japan, from the perspective of how Korean companies should respond and what precautions they should take when they face IP disputes in Japan or intend to secure intellectual property rights in the Japanese jurisdiction. In this year’s seminar, AIK made a presentation on central IP issues in Japan, followed by an explanation of related issues in Korea by Lee & Ko’s IP Practice Group. This seminar was meaningful in that it provided a window for gaining a comparative law overview of the IP issues in both countries. 

In the 1st session themed as ‘Precautions in Securing Rights for Numerical Limitation Inventions and Parameter Inventions and Exercising Associated Patent Rights’, Patent Attorney Shimako Kato of AIK offered a detailed explanation on what to look out for in terms of the clarity, support, novelty and inventive step requirements, which often become an issue in Japan. In turn, Attorney Lee & Ko shared her thoughts on the Korean and Japanese laws from the comparative law perspective.

During the 2nd session centered on ‘The Dwango Case – Overseas Installation of Servers and Triggering of Patent Infringement Liabilities’, Attorney Emiko Maki of AIK discussed cases where domestic patent infringement may be found, even if the service is made available using the servers located outside the country. Building up on this discussion.

In the 3rd session on the topic of ‘Legal Challenges and Latest Issues surrounding AI’, Attorney Chitaka Iwama of AIK gave a presentation on copyright issues in AI-generated outcomes and potential copyright infringement that may be committed by AI in the course of developing and training AI as well as utilizing it. In response, Attorney Junghwan (Justin) Maeng of Lee & Ko shared his thoughts on the Korean and Japanese laws from the comparative law perspective.

During the 4th session on the subject of ‘Relocation of the Intellectual Property High Court to Business Court and Trial Hearing Method in Patent Infringement Litigation’, Attorney Eiji Katayama, AIK’s Managing Partner, discussed the background behind introduction of Business Court in Japan and the trial hearing model of patent infringement litigation.

Lee & Ko will continue to provide a detailed and practical introduction to the latest IP practices and issues in Japan for those who are doing IP business in Japan as well as those who are preparing for, or interest in, doing IP business in Japan.