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March 2006 -- Under Japan's world-class intellectual property rights (IPR) system, Yahoo Inc. has been able to license their intellectual property with confidence that their rights will be well protected.  Joe Siino, vice president of intellectual property at Yahoo Inc., spoke to JETRO about the company’s experience with the Japanese patent review process.

JETRO: How would you rate the level of IP protection in Japan compared to the United States and any other countries in which IP rights apply to your business?

Siino: Based on our own experiences, we find that the Japanese market is very receptive to U.S. companies seeking the protection of intellectual property rights.  We have found that, in the international markets, Japan is one of the most similar to the United States in their standards and review processes.

JETRO: What obstacles, if any, has your company encountered in the past regarding IP rights between the United States and Japan, and how have you overcome them?

Siino: One of our primary goals is to see that the scope of our U.S. patents is respected internationally.  We have not encountered barriers in the Japanese patent application or review process.  Naturally, the patent applications are subject for comment by our industry peers in the Japanese review process.  However, we’ve found the review process to be open, fair and unbiased.  We have not perceived that our patent applications are any less likely to be granted simply based on the fact that we are a non-Japanese company.

JETRO: How facilitative did you find the regulatory body in Japan for you to overcome such obstacles?

Siino: We have not encountered any unexpected obstacles and work with Japanese patent attorneys Nakamura & Partners to facilitate the smooth handling of our patent applications through the Japanese review process.

JETRO: Has your company had any instances of cooperative efforts with a Japanese company that has resulted in a patent or software copyright?

Siino: We cooperate with many Japanese companies and license our technology in the Japanese market, and we expect that over time much valuable intellectual property will be created that benefits the companies involved as well as the consumers.  We have found broad market acceptance of our business model based on the licensing of our intellectual property with major companies such as Yahoo! Japan, MSN Japan, News Watch, Asahi Shimbun, Nikkei Shimbun and others.

JETRO: What about the innovation, R&D or manufacturing capabilities of
Japanese companies did you find conducive to achieving such results?

Siino: We have found that Japanese businesses have been very eager to collaborate with us based on our existing intellectual property, and that Japanese companies generally are great business partners.