The JPO Offers Academic Discount for Examination Requesting Fee and Patent Annuities

Japan Patent Information Committee
TERACHI, Takumi  Patent Attorney of Patent Division

In certain cases that meet the requirements for an academic discount program, an applicant may obtain 50% reduction in fees for requesting examination and patent annuities without necessity of complicated procedures.

In a case of a joint application, the university or entity equivalent thereto obtains 50% reduction in the official fee corresponding to its share of the application. For example, if a university has a 50% share of the application, the university will obtain a 25% reduction in the total official fee.

A typical case for which an academic discount is available would meet the following two requirements:

1) The applicant is a university or an entity equivalent thereto; or an employee of a university or an entity equivalent thereto. In this regard, the university or entity has to be equivalent to “Universities” as stipulated in Article 1 of the School Education Act referred to in Article 17 of the Industrial Technology Enhancement Act.

2) The subject invention is an Employee’s Invention¹⁾ as stipulated in Article 35, Par. 1 of the Japanese patent law.

Under the academic discount program, the applicant is requested to submit the following two documents:

a) A declaration stating that the applicant is a university or related entity that is equivalent to “Universities” as stipulated in Article 1 of the School Education Act referred to in Article 17 of the Industrial Technology Enhancement Act.

b) A certificate stating that the subject invention is an “Employee’s Invention” as stipulated in Article 35, Par. 1 of the Japanese patent law.

If any further information is required on relation to a specific patent case, please contact us via Y&H homepage.

Note: 1) An Employee’s Invention is defined, in the stipulation of Article 35, Par. 1 of the Japanese patent law, as an invention which, by its nature, falls within the scope of the business of an employer (i.e. the university or an equivalent entity thereto) and was achieved by an act(s) categorized as a present or past duty of the employee performed for the employer.