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Article 36 of the Japan Patent Law provides that to apply for a patent in Japan, the following documents must be submitted to the Japan Patent Office (JPO):
- A completed JPO application form that includes the following information:
a. the name(s) and domicile(s) or residence(s) of the applicant(s); and
b. the name(s) and domicile(s) or residence(s) of the inventor(s).
- A description of the invention, including the following information:
a. the name of the invention;
b. a brief explanation of each drawing, if any; and
c. a detailed explanation of the invention
- The claims
- Drawings (if necessary to explain the invention)
- An abstract
Although the JPO does not require asigned Power of Attorney (POA) form executed by the applicant(s) when a patent application is submitted, that might be required for subsequent proceedings, and therefore we ask that such a POA form be provided to us when a party requests that we process a patent application.
In order for a patent application to claim priority under the Paris Convention of an earlier application filed in another country, the applicant must submit to the JPO — within 16 months of the filing date of the earlier application — an original certified copy of the priority certificate (because the JPO will not accept an ordinary photocopy or other non-certified copy), issued by the applicable foreign patent office, that specifies, among other information, the number and filing date of the earlier application (Patent Law Article 43).
However, submission of an original certified copy of the priority certificate is not necessary if the applicant claiming priority has filed its application with a patent office, such as the JPO, that is participating in the Priority Document Access Service that has been established by the WIPO’s International Bureau. That service enables a patent applicant that is claiming priority to ask the patent offices of second and subsequent filings to retrieve a copy of the priority document via the service.
* For more information about the Priority Document Access Service, see
http://www.wipo.int/patentscope/en/pdocforum/ |
