Japan Plans Patent Law Revision

Following recommendations from the advisory Industrial Property Councilfor stiffer legal penalties against patent infringement, Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to submit a bill revising the Patent Law to the next ordinary Diet (parliament) session.

The Council calls for raising the maximum prison sentence for patent infringement from five years to 10, and putting up the maximum fine from 5 million yen to 150 million yen ($814,800). It also seeks a sharp rise in compensatory damages levied in civil patent-infringement suits and the creation of a court specializing in patent cases, to speed dispute resolution.