2.1) Laying open of Patent Applications (Kokai) All patent applications are laid open for public inspection after 18 months from the filing date or priority date whichever is earlier. After the publication, the applicant is able to send a warning letter to any possible infringer to establish a date from which the applicant will be retroactively entitled to demand compensation after the application is patented. The amount of the compensation is a reasonable royalty. The right to claim the compensation cannot be exercised until the patent issued. 2.2) Request for Examination The patent application is not examined until examination is requested. The request for examination can be filed at any time within seven years from the filing date not only by the applicant but also by anyone else. If the examination is not requested within the term, the application will be deemed withdrawn. 2.3) Amendment There are two critical dates for amendments, January 1, 1994 which is concerned with the content of allowable amendments and July 1, 1995 which is concerned with the time when the amendments are allowed to be filed. Content: The Japanese Patent Law was revised to be effective as of January 1, 1994 to speed up the examination of patent applications. The revision has introduced two new restrictions on amendments. The restrictions are so severe that a single careless amendment could result in irrevocable rejection of the application or invalidation of the patent. The two new restrictions are as follows: i) The introduction of “new matter” is absolutely prohibited, and ii) The type of amendment that can be made in response to the Final Office Action are considerably limited. In the patent applications filed (or PCT applications having international filing date of) before January 1, 1994, the specification and drawings including claims can be amended freely within the gist of invention disclosed in the original application. In the patent applications filed (or PCT applications having international filing date of) on or after January 1, 1994, claims can be freely amended within the disclosure of the original application, but the specification and drawings cannot be freely amended. If a new matter is introduced by an amendment, it will be not only a reason for rejection, but also a reason for opposition and invalidation. Time: In the patent applications filed (or PCT applications having international filing date of) before July 1, 1995, an amendment can be filed only: 　　　　　　a) within 15 months from the priority date (or filing date, whichever is earlier), 　　　　　　b) when a request for examination is filed, 　　　　　　c) in response to any Office Action, and 　　　　　　d) when an Appeal against the Decision of Rejection is filed. In the patent applications filed (or PCT applications having international filing date of) on or after July 1, 1995, an amendment can be filed: a) at any time until the end of the term for filing an amendment in response 　　to the first Office Action where an Office Action is issued, b) at any time until receipt of the Decision of Grant where on Office Action is issued, c) in response to any Office action, and d) within 30 days from the date of filing an Appeal against the Decision of Rejection. 2.4) Submission of Prior Art There if no duty for the applicant to disclose or submit prior art information known to the applicant before the Patent Office. It is, however, advisable for the applicant to show and discuss the closest prior art in the specification. 2.5) Office Action and Response If the Examiner finds any reason for rejection, the Examiner must issue an Office Action. Upon receipt of the Office Action, the applicant can file a written Argument and/or Amendments within three months from the date of dispatch of the Office Action. A foreign applicant can easily obtain a three month extension of the term by filing a request for extension at a low cost. 2.6) Divisional Application Whenever an amendment can be filed, a divisional application can be filed. Any number of divisional applications can be filed out of a patent application to claim inventions distinctly different from the invention claimed in the parent application. The “parent application” means, in the case of PCT applications and applications filed in English, the original text of the PCT application or the English text initially filed, i.e., not the translation. 2.7) Decision After the response is filed, the Examiner reexamines the application in view of the argument and/or amendments, and makes a decision of grant if all the reasons for rejections have been cleared up, makes a decision of rejection if any of the reason for rejection has not been cleared up, or issues another Office Action if he or she finds a new reason for rejection. 2.8) Registration and Issuance of Patent When a decision of grant is issued, the applicant is provided with a term for paying a registration fee, which is the first three annuities. After the registration fee is paid, the patent is registered and the patentee is provided with the patent number. The registration date becomes the basis for calculating the subsequent annuity due. (Note that the patent term is calculated from the filing date.) Then, after the patent is registered, the patent is issued in a printed form. The date of the issuance of the printed patent becomes the basis for calculating the six-month opposition term.

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