Grace Period in Japan

The grace period for filing a patent application for an invention which has already been disclosed by the inventor or a third person is of great practical importance. The article discusses the decision of the Tokyo High Court of March 13, 1997 in the case Sanofi et al. v. Ohara Yakuhin Kôgyo K.K. et al. which clarified the interpretation of the grace period in Japan. Namely, the grace period for the disclosure of the invention (for example a third-party publication) prior to the patent application is calculated from the Japanese filing date.


 

Grace Period in Japan
Klaus Hinkelmann
IIC, Vol. 30, 1999, pages 449-451