• A delegate from the American Intellectual Property Law Association (AIPLA) visited the Intellectual Property High Court (IP High Court) on April 9, 2025. The delegate had a tour of the court building, followed by a meeting with judges from the IP High Court and from the Intellectual Property Division of the Tokyo District Court to exchange views and ideas. Established in 1897, AIPLA is a bar association consisting primarily of lawyers specializing in intellectual property. This is the 35th meeting in which opinions have been exchanged with AIPLA.
  
  Chief Judge HONDA Tomonari of the IP High Court and Ms. Kim Van Voorhis, President of AIPLA, each made some opening remarks. Then, on behalf of the Japanese host, Judge RAI Shinichi of the IP High Court made a presentation on the overview of the court and recent Grand Panel Cases of the IP High Court.
  
  Mr. James Abe from AIPLA gave a presentation entitled “Hot Topics in the US & Cases to Watch” and discussed, among other things, the en banc ruling made by the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which was the first such ruling in many years.
  
  Both parties proceeded to a Q&A session and shared their views and ideas.
  
  To conclude the meeting, Mr. Kevin Kunzendorf delivered the closing remarks, and the parties agreed to continue their exchanges going forward.