On November 17, 2025, the delegation of European Patent Lawyers Association (EPLAW) visited our offices to hold a meeting to exchange opinions with judges of the Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC). EPLAW was established in 2000 by legal professionals specializing in patent litigation in France, Germany, UK, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and Spain. Currently, approximately 380 legal professionals from various European states belong to EPLAW. This is the second meeting to exchange opinions between EPLAW and the IPHC, with the first being held in January 2024.
　The delegation took a tour of the court before participating in the opinion exchange meeting. After Chief Judge MASUDA Minoru of the IPHC and Alex Wilson, an attorney representing the EPLAW Japan Outreach Group had given an address, Judge AMANO Kenji of the IPHC provided an overview of the IPHC and introduced recent patent-related judgments in Japan. From EPLAW, Luca Pellicciari (an attorney based in Italy) introduced key precedents from the Court of Justice of the European Union, and presented relevant issues such as their impacts on patent litigation practice. A lively exchange of opinions then took place between the delegation and Chief Judge MASUDA, Judge KIKUCHI Eri, Judge IMAI Hiroaki, Judge IWAI Naoyuki and Judge AMANO.