By Michael Condon

Finding even ground in the intellectual property battle.

The creative industries get ready for an offensive to take back what was historically theirs.

Tatsuo NakamuraBy Hugh Ashton

Some innovative software is helping companies take the guesswork out of patent research.

Maps point the way with new technology in patent research.

Kazuko FujitaBy Joseph Greenberg

Kazuko Fujita and lessons for trademark registration in Japan.

Kazuko Fujita is founder and director of the LIL (Legal Interface Liaison) International Patent & Trademark Firm, responsible for an office of 30 staff, a fully qualified benrishi (Japanese patent attorney), a wife and a mother of two children.

Masayuki ShobayashiBy Joseph Greenberg
How the Shobayashi International Patent & Trademark Office has adapted to changes in the international IP environment

The karaoke machine was the brainchild of a man named Daisuke Inoue who, as legend has it, cobbled the thing together out of a car radio, a coin box and a small amplifier back in 1971. Tragically, Inoue did not patent his invention and has never made one yen directly from commercial sales of his invention; some have approximated his loss at around US$150 million.

Yukio NagasawaBy Louise Calvert
J@pan Inc talks to a former intellectual property judge about IP in China, the US and Japan.

Yukio Nagasawa has a phenomenal resume. Among his glittering array of judicial appointments, professorships and qualifications from top global institutions, two features stand out. Firstly, he has a persistent interest in foreign legal systems: having worked and studied across Asia, Europe and the US, he has a wholly global legal perspective. Secondly, with a total of 20 years experience of work as a judge, including five years at the Supreme Court and four years at the Tokyo District Court, he has a unique inside view of the system.

By Willhemina Wahlin

In April this year, Japan saw the first group of retirees put their feet up en masse. The ageing population poses more of a threat to Japan’s economy, however, than merely the provision of pensions.