On April 15, 2026, a delegation from the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) visited us and exchanged opinions with judges of the Intellectual Property High Court and of the intellectual property divisions of the Osaka High Court, the Tokyo District Court and the Osaka District Court. Founded in 1897, AIPLA is an association constituted primarily of legal professionals engaged in the field of intellectual property rights. This is the 36th opinion exchange meeting with AIPLA.
The meeting began with opening greetings from the Intellectual Property High Court Chief Judge MASUDA Minoru and Mr. Salvatore Anastasi, AIPLA President, and then moved on to presentations by Japanese representatives, including Judge IMAI Hiroaki from the Intellectual Property High Court on recent judgments by the Intellectual Property High Court, and Presiding Judge TAKAHASHI Aya from the Tokyo District Court on conciliation regarding standard essential patents (SEPs).
Presentations by AIPLA included those by Mr. John Johnson and Mr. Yuichi Watanabe on the policies and operational practices of the USPTO (United States Patent and Trademark Office) under the new administration.
The meeting then moved on to a Q&A and opinion exchange session.
The meeting concluded with closing remarks by Chief Judge MASUDA and Mr. Anastasi. Both sides agreed to continue deepening mutual exchanges in future meetings.