FW: Requesting examinations of Japanese patents

Alan Engel (aengel@intlscience.com)
Fri, 25 Apr 1997 13:12:27 -0400

In a discussion on the Exhibit floor at the ACS meeting last week, a question
was raised as to whether or not anyone can request an examination of a
Japanese patent. Let me quote from Japanese Patent Office, "Guide to
Industrial Property in Japan," 1994, p.30:

(Requests for Examination)
48ter. - (1) When a patent application has been filed, any person may,
within seven years from the filing date thereof, make a request for examination
to the Commissioner of the Patent Office.

One interpretation of this is that the person request an examination need not
be the original applicant and may be a competing company that wants to
force an examination.

Any attorney care to comment?