Patent Litigation on the Rise in Japan

More Japanese companies are suing over violations of their intellectual property than ever. The number of IP suits filed by Japanese businesses has doubled in the past two years, enough to turn heads, given that more patents are granted worldwide to holders in Japan than from any other country (about 40 percent, according to the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry). According to observers, there are several factors encouraging Japanese companies to take the litigious route:

• Economics: Continuing through a long recession, companies have realized that enforcement of their IP rights can be extremely lucrative, worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
• Government: The Japanese government has urged companies to become more aggressive in defending their IP rights, introducing a series of reforms over the past six years: overhauling the patent office, creating dedicated courts for infringement claims, and encouraging more lawyers to specialize in IP. This has cut the average length of a patent infringement trial in half. The average jury award has tripled.
• Culture: In the past, Japanese companies were averse to using litigation to settle patent disputes because of ingrained cultural traditions, such as the importance of showing respect - even to competitors. Taking aggressive action against a foreign business is now considered more acceptable, although they are still reluctant to sue local rivals.

As a result, Japanese companies have increased their IP legal staffs. If this appetite for litigation continues to grow, many more lawsuits against foreign competitors can be expected in the future. This summary is based on a law.com article entitled "Land of the Rising Suit": http://www.law.com/jsp/cc/pubarticleCC.jsp?id=1090180374717. For information about Sony Corp's recent litigation with Eastman Kodak over various digital camera features, see: http://www.dpreview.com/news/0404/04040101sonysueskodak.asp. Summary by: Rosa Kim