Novelty Grace Period for Japanese Invention Patent Application

Submitted by 页之码 on

Inventors have a novelty grace period of 12 months after disclosure (including sale).

专利申请流程

    • Grant fee: The applicant should pay the granted fee and the annual fee for the first year within 30 days after receiving the granted notice.
    • Annuity: The annual fee shall be paid year by year from the second year from the date of granted, and the payment of the annual fee may be postponed within 6 months if the annual fee is overdue, but a 200% penalty shall be paid at the same time.
  • The JPO conducts formality examination and substantive examination of the design patent application, and the substantive examination starts automatically, and the applicant does not need to submit a separate substantive examination request. JPO mainly examines the novelty and inventiveness of designs.

    • (*Secret design: applicants can request that their design remain secret for 3 years from the filing date).
  • yes

    • 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.
  • Inventors have a novelty grace period of 12 months after disclosure (including sale).

  • yes. Multiple designs may be included in one design application.

    • 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 and substantive examination of invention patent applications. The applicant should submit a request for substantive examination within 3 years from the filing date. The JPO makes an granted decision if it determines after review that no grounds for refusal have been found.

  • yes. Within 3 years from the date of application, or within 3 months from the date of receipt of the rejection decision, the patent type can be changed from design to invention/utility model at the request of the applicant.

    A conversion fee shall be paid for patent type conversion. Once the original patent application is converted, it will be deemed withdrawn.

  • 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.