PCT National Phase Entry into Japan

An international patent application filed under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) may enter the Japanese national phase before the Japan Patent Office (JPO).

The general time limit for entering the Japanese national phase is 30 months from the priority date.

Requirements for National Phase Entry

For entry into the Japanese national phase, we generally require:

PCT application number
Applicant and inventor information
International application documents
Amendments filed during the international phase, if any
Japanese translation of the international application where required

If the international application was filed in a language other than Japanese, a Japanese translation must be submitted within the applicable time limit.

Examination in Japan

Entry into the Japanese national phase does not automatically start substantive examination. A Request for Examination must be filed separately within three years from the international filing date.

After examination begins, the JPO may issue an Office Action if the application does not satisfy the requirements of the Japanese Patent Act. We can prepare and file amendments and arguments in response to such objections.

Important Points in Japan

Japanese patent practice has specific requirements concerning claim language, amendments, support requirements, and unity of invention. Differences between the PCT application and Japanese patent practice should therefore be carefully considered when entering the Japanese national phase.

In particular, multiple dependent claims that depend on another multiple dependent claim (multi-multi claims) are not permitted in Japan.

If the PCT application contains such claims, we recommend amending the claims to eliminate the multi-multi claim dependencies before filing the Request for Examination. This allows the application to proceed to substantive examination with claims that comply with Japanese practice and may help avoid unnecessary objections during examination.

We can review the claims upon national phase entry and, where necessary, prepare and file an appropriate amendment before requesting examination.

We can handle the entire procedure from national phase entry and Japanese translation through claim amendments, examination, Office Action responses, and grant.