yes
20 years, and the validity period of patents for pharmaceutical inventions and pesticide inventions can be extended to 25 years upon application.
yes. Multiple designs may be included in one design application.
- Grant fee: The applicant shall pay the granted fee within 30 days after receiving the granted notice.
- Annuity: The annual fee for the first to third years must be paid together with the application fee when the patent application is filed, and the annual fee will be paid year by year from the fourth year, and the payment period corresponds to the granted date. 200% of the year's annual fee paid within the month is a late fee.
- via Paris Convention : 6 months from earliest priority date.
- Hague Agreement route: 6 months from earliest priority date.
Reinstatement of priority is accepted on grounds of "due care."
- Inventions under the via Paris Convention : 12 months from the earliest priority date.
- via Nationalization of PCT inventions: 30 months from the earliest priority date.
The JPO conducts formality examination only for utility model patent applications.
- Grant fee: The applicant needs to pay the granted fee within 30 days after receiving the granted notice, which is the annual fee for the first to third years.
- Annuity: From the 4th year from the date of granted, the annual fee will be paid year by year, and the payment can be postponed within 6 months after the overdue period, but at the same time, 200% of the annual fee of the current year must be paid as a penalty. The amount of the annual fee depends on the number of Claim, and the annual fee can be paid for several years in one lump sum.
yes.
- Within the period of 9 years and 6 months from the date of application for the invention patent, or within 3 months from the date of receipt of the notification of rejection, the patent type of the invention patent may be changed from invention to utility model/design upon request
- A request to change the patent type from invention to utility model/design can be filed within three months from the date of the JPO’s first decision to reject the application
A conversion fee shall be paid for patent type conversion. Once the original patent application is converted, it will be deemed withdrawn.
Japan Patent Office
English: Japan Patent Office, abbreviation: JPO
Website: Japan Patent Office (jpo.go.jp)
Japanese Invention Patent Search: Japan Platform for Patent Information|J-PlatPat [JPP] (inpit.go.jp)