Patent Practice in Japan and Europe

More than 60 authors - judges, law professors, legal specialists in corporate and private practice - from Europe, East Asia, and the United States contribute original essays to this extraordinary compilation of the current issues regarding the laws and practices in intellectual property in Europe and Japan. Written expressly to honour Guntram Rahn on the conclusion of a spectacular career as arbitrator, lecturer, litigator, and expert in Japanese civil law, the articles cover a broad spectrum of subjects, including the procedural implications of litigation, international jurisdiction, doctrines of exhaustion, utility model systems and practice, and employed inventor's compensation, as well as the special aspects of pharmaceutical patenting such as obtaining supplementary protection certificates. Many of the articles also include a comparative analysis of the laws and practices in both geographical regions or deal with the same legal issues but in different jurisdictions. Dr. Rahn is renowned for his formidable cross-border litigation all over Europe in the representation and complex coordination of clients' needs to enforce their patents or to clear the way for their products. Most especially he is known for his uncompromising skill and insight when representing Japanese corporations in Europe or for his tenacious defence of foreign corporations in Japan. In line with these interests, the topics in this book include (among many others) the following:

the role of patent firms in the economic development of Japan;
disclosure requirements in Japan;

comparative patent infringement and invalidation practices;

protection of confidential information;

replacement, substitution and exhaustion of claimed subject matter;

goods in transit; and ;

corporate remuneration systems for employees' inventions.

The authors raise important issues of patent law in Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Korea, the United States, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Taiwan, Russia, and other countries (including attention to EU law), with an emphasis on cross-border aspects. This book truly honours Dr Rahn's achievement in stimulating an in-depth dialogue between Japanese legal practitioners and their counterparts from various European countries, bringing about a closer understanding and respect for what each country can offer by way of its heritage, expertise, innate values, and traditions. In addition, it provides a detailed overview of the day-to-day practice of international patent law that the reader will not find in any other volume.