History

• The opening of Japan to the Western World (known as the Meiji Era) led to the development of the country's first patent law in 1871. This was replaced by the Patent Monopoly Act of 1885, which was based on principles of European patent law and is the basis for modern patent law.
  
  

Function

• According to the Japan Patent Office, patents are designed to foster innovation by allowing inventors to release information about their projects without fear of having their work copied in the marketplace. In Japan, a patent is given for advances in sophisticated technology. Inventions or alterations to the shape of an existing product or a method of manufactured are covered under the separate Utility Model Act.
  
  

Features

• Patents in Japan are protected for 20 years from the initial filing date for the application, with an additional five-year extension available for pharmaceutical products. Patents in Japan are awarded on a "first to file" method, meaning that if two identical patents are submitted on different dates, only the patent being submitted first will be accepted.