Japan aims to lift intellectual property competitiveness via AI use; The Mainichi, June 3, 2025

 The Mainichi; Japan aims to lift intellectual property competitiveness via AI use

"The Japanese government said Tuesday it will seek to enhance the country's competitiveness in the area of intellectual property by promoting the use of artificial intelligence and attracting foreign talent.

In the intellectual property strategy for 2025, the country will take advantage of the international popularity of Japanese anime and the content of such movies that highlights local culture to help promote regional economies, expecting a total economic impact of around 1 trillion yen ($7.0 billion)."

Japanese media say AI search infringes copyright, urge legal reform; Kyodo News, July 17, 2024

 KYODO NEWS ; Japanese media say AI search infringes copyright, urge legal reform

"Artificial intelligence-powered search engines provided by U.S. tech giants like Google LLC and Microsoft Corp. likely infringe on copyright, an association run by Japanese mass media said Wednesday.

The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association, in a statement, called for companies operating such services to obtain consent from news organizations as search responses often resemble articles that are sourced without permission.

The association analyzed that AI search engines sometimes return inaccurate responses as they inappropriately reuse or modify articles and stressed that the companies should ensure the accuracy and reliability of their services before launch.

The association also urged the Japanese government to review and revise laws related to intellectual property, such as the copyright act, as a matter of urgency."

Japan's universities fail to make the most of intellectual property; Nikkei Asia, March 9, 2024

KENJIRO SUZUKI, Nikkei Asia; Japan's universities fail to make the most of intellectual property

"Due to lack of support, patents earn only 2% compared to U.S. schools"

Japan Declares AI Training Data Fair Game and ‘Will Not Enforce Copyright’; PetaPixel, June 5, 2023

 MATT GROWCOOT , PetaPixel; Japan Declares AI Training Data Fair Game and ‘Will Not Enforce Copyright’

"In the first such declaration of its kind, Japan has seemingly asserted that it will not enforce copyrights when it comes to training generative artificial intelligence (AI) programs.

Japan’s minister of education, culture, sports, science, and technology recently said that it is possible to take content from any source and use it for “information analysis.” 

According to a Japanese political website, Liberal Democrat minister Keiko Nagoaka clearly stated at a committee meeting that AI companies can use whatever data they want to train generative AI programs."

UN agency finds US, Asian companies seek most AI patents; Associated Press, January 31, 2019

Associated Press; UN agency finds US, Asian companies seek most AI patents

"The U.N.’s intellectual property organization says companies in Japan, South Korea and the U.S. are the top filers of patent applications involving artificial intelligence.

The World Intellectual Property Organization has issued a first report aiming to show trends in AI, seen as a growth area in coming years, although still a tiny fraction of all patent applications each year.

WIPO said Thursday that machine learning is the dominant AI technique disclosed in patents."

China keeps global crown in patent applications; Nikkei Asian Review, December 4, 2018

Rintaro Hosokawa, Nikkei Asian Review; China keeps global crown in patent applications

"China was responsible for around 40% of the 3.17 million patent applications submitted worldwide last year, putting the country at the top for the seventh straight year and driving Asia's growing presence in the global intellectual property arena.

The World Intellectual Property Organization said Monday China's 1.38 million applications mark a new record, though the group did not give a year-on-year percentage increase due to changes in the way China's patent office counted filings.

China's patent applications in 2017 mainly concerned electronic devices, computer technology and digital data transmission. Chinese tech companies, such as telecommunications equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE, significantly boosted their application counts.

At 607,000, patent applications from the U.S. were less than half of China's total. That places America in second place, followed by Japan's 318,000 applications in third and South Korea's 200,000 in the No. 4 spot."

Brain Power Pays Off With Japan’s Intellectual Property Exports; Bloomberg, January 15, 2018

Connor Cislo, Bloomberg; Brain Power Pays Off With Japan’s Intellectual Property Exports

"Given the importance of IP to their economies, Japan and other advanced nations such as the U.S. are trying to strengthen protections in this area.

Japan nearly saw its preferred IP protection regime realized in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, until President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the U.S. out of the agreement threw the pact's future into doubt.

The remaining 11 TPP members have suspended multiple IP-related provisions from the original agreement. Meanwhile, another large trade deal championed by China, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, doesn’t address IP to the satisfaction of Japanese businesses."

Asia Is Getting Its Own Patent Police; Bloomberg, 7/7/16

Paul Einhorn and Pavel Alpeyev, Bloomberg; Asia Is Getting Its Own Patent Police:

"Xiaomi is among a growing number of Chinese companies—PC maker Lenovo, screen maker BOE, appliance maker Midea—“looking to get their hands on good, solid IP that can be used against multinationals,” says Guy Proulx, chief executive officer of advisory firm Transpacific IP Group. “Used against” often means extracting fees via angry letter, negotiation, or lawsuit. It’s a shift for Chinese companies, which have more often been the defendants in patent suits. They’re catching up with a trend in Japan and South Korea, where government-backed funds are fighting on behalf of big tech companies’ IP."