On October 30, 2013, a nine member delegation from the German Patent Attorney Bar Association (Patentanwaltskammer), including its chairperson, Dr. Brigitte Böhm, visited and met with representatives of the IP High Court and of the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court.

At the meeting, Judge Takaaki Shintani of the IP High Court explained developments concerning the establishment of the court as well as its organization, jurisdiction, and statistics, etc. under the theme “Current Status of the IP High Court (Die gegenwärtige Situation vom Obergericht für Geistiges Eigentum).” Then, Judge Takuto Adachi of the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court explained the structure and staff of the court, patent invalidation proceedings and mechanisms, and statistics, etc. under the theme “Litigation Practices at Tokyo District Court.” Dr. Brigitte Böhm of the German Patent Attorney Bar Association explained the duties of patent attorneys in Germany and their education and training system, their involvement in litigation, and their expected role in the Unified Patent Court, etc. under the theme “The Role of Patent Attorneys in the Process of Patent Litigation in Germany.” The delegation and its hosts asked questions of each other concerning the court systems and patent systems of their respective countries.