Intellectual Property and Antitrust in Japan

Abstract

It has been long since Japan was called ‘the world’s factory’. Since the 1990’s, the notion that Japan cannot maintain its economic strength and has to change to steer its economy to be an innovation-driven one has been widespread. Accordingly, measures to strengthen intellectual property (IP) protection have been introduced. Where a strong IP system exists, there is a potential for encountering serious antitrust issues. The paper examines how Japan maintains the balance (or does not) between IP and antitrust.

One of the characteristics of IP-related antitrust enforcement in Japan is the lack of legal precedent. As we shall see in the paper, there are only a few formally filed cases both with the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) and the courts in Japan. As a result, the JFTC’s guidelines pertaining to IP and licensing are an essential source of legal rules. The current and most relevant JFTC guidelines are the Guidelines for the Use of Intellectual Property under the Antimonopoly Act (September 28, 2007, as amended on January 1, 2010, hereinafter referred to as IP Guidelines).