Japanese Design Law and Practice

Max Planck Series on Asian Intellectual Property Law Volume 18

About this book:

Japanese Design Law and Practice is the only book in English that provides a detailed overview and discussion of product design protection and practice under Japanese law. Japan is a significant hub of product design, and Japanese designs have made their mark in the world across a wide range of industries. The book features an analysis of the design law (including the far-reaching 2020 amendments) and how it has been applied by Japanese courts and the Japan Patent Office. A unique feature of the book is that it includes not only an examination of the design law by legal experts but also a discussion of design protection from the perspective of Japanese designers.

What’s in this book:

The contributing authors provide in-depth analysis and expansive description of Japanese design law – including with detailed explanatory figures and tables – and cover a range of key issues, including:

• ownership of design rights;
• requirements for design protection;
• application process for design registration;
• examination procedure;
• appeals and invalidity trials;
• design infringement and scope of protection;
• overlap of design and other intellectual property rights;
• design protection and competition law;
• international jurisdiction and governing law; and
• design rights and commercial transactions.

Eight industry-specific chapters address the application of design law to furniture, home appliances, cell phones, cars, advertising, product packaging, websites and typeface designs. The final chapter highlights the distinctive features of Japanese design law and compares them with the European Union Community design protection system. 

How this will help you:

Japanese design experts often note a lack of understanding of Japanese design law and practice by their foreign clients. This book will appeal to both law firm practitioners and in-house counsel involved in the management of global design right portfolios and design protection in Japan. It will also be welcomed by intellectual property scholars and product designers interested in Japanese design practice and law.