INNOVATION, PATENTS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH - Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry - page 73

Meanwhile, the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) has been given the task of improv-
ing the efficiency of the patent examination system — especially to speed up the
application process and to reduce the costs involved. The JPO has also initiated a
major education programme, designed to explain the benefits of IP to the coun-
try's businesses and to generate a significant upswing in the amount of licensing
deals done in Japan. The Customs Law has been amended, so that goods entering
the country that infringe Japanese patents can now be seized — a move greatly
welcomed by the business sector.
Measures have been designed to incentivise the creation and commercialisation
of IP at Japan's universities. Academic institutions now have a brief that encom-
passes not only education and research but also requires them to make a contribution
to society. Since April 2004, all national universities have become corporations, with
a reduction in the amount of funding received from the central government. How-
ever, it is now much easier for universities to keep the proceeds derived from any
IP they create and successfully commercialise. This has resulted in the formation
of nearly 40 university technology licensing offices in the country, although to date,
the amount of revenue generated from university-created IP remains small.
Ex-prime Minister Koizumi who was actively involved in the rollout of the IP
Strategy, has frequently stated that he wanted Japan to be an “IP nation” and —
recognising that traditional Japanese manufacturing industries will increasingly
struggle to compete with low-wage competition from other Asian countries, notably
China, a focus on creating world class IP will enable Japanese companies to main-
tain a cutting edge. His Cabinet Office had overall responsibility to oversee the
reform process and to coordinate government in issues related to IP.
China
China is arguably on the verge of becoming a major technology and IP generator.
It will create a significant number of important patents in the next decade, which
will enable China to dominate significant technology areas. This stems from the
recognition inside China (largely missed by foreign observers) of the fundamental
importance of IP to economic growth as well as the natural creativity and inven-
tiveness of the Chinese as a nation.
Most foreign observers look at the still imperfect state of patent enforcement
and miss the profound changes that have taken place in China over the last 20 years.
To understand this, take the three components of an effective IP regime: (1) the
underpinning law, (2) the cost and quality of the patent “right” acquired, and (3) the
effectiveness and cost of enforcing that right.
In the mid 1980s, China introduced its first patent and other IP laws to become
compliant with the international Berne and Paris IP Treaties. Since then it has passed