The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has announced that more than 1000 oppositions to patents have been filed since the launch of the patent opposition system in Japan in April 2015.

In an effort to decrease deficiencies in the Notices of Oppositions they receive, the JPO has suggested a number of points Opponents should keep in mind when drafting Notices of Opposition. These points include: making sure to specifically describe the grounds of the opposition; making sure the text in evidentiary documents is legible; providing a sufficient number of duplicate copies (the number of duplicates should be the number of patentees, plus one); etc.

The JPO has also suggested that, for the purpose of confirming or discussing deficiencies with the Opponent, a phone number should be included in the Notice of Opposition whenever possible.

Please visit the JPO website for additional information.