The Avanti Group Law articles: Driving innovation,

brand protection and growth

Building on the success of the 2013 IP Conference series, ALB held its inaugural Japan IP
Conference on April 15, 2014, attracting more than 100 of Japans leading senior counsel,
brand protection experts, IP managers and litigators to the heart of Tokyos Akasaka
business district. Supported by Thomson Reuters IP & Science, Baker & McKenzie, UBIC,
the Asia-Pacific IP Association, the Roppongi Bar Association, the Japan In-House Counsel
Network and the American Chamber of Commerce Japan, the event conveyed ALBs
continued presence in Japan as an international media and knowledge platform bridging
local, regional and global expertise.

Aligned with the Japan Patent Offices (JPO) objective of achieving the worlds fastest and
highest quality IP system, Commissioner Hideo Hato opened the conference explaining
how international IP harmonization initiatives are embedded into the governments Japan
Revitalisation Strategy and the subsequent strengthening of the Design, Trademark and the
Patent Attorney Acts.

The stretch of government keynotes continued with a presentation from one of ALBs most
loyal supporters, Director-General Peter Cheung of the HK IP Department. Cheung gave an
update on the IP exchange initiative, reiterating the important collaboration efforts with
government and industry leaders in Hong Kong, Japan, Korea and across the region. He
surprised delegates by concluding his speech with an impromptu song on IP monetization,
hinting on his next career move after his impending retirement from the public sector this
month.

The World IP Organizations (WIPO) Japan representative Masaki Okamoto offered
delegates an insight into Japans significant contribution to WIPOs global services such as
the free patent search system PATENTSCOPE or the CASE initiative, enabling the safe
exchange of search and examination documentation related to patent applications. With
the launch of the GREEN and Research projects, WIPO is also pioneering IP management as
a means to sustainability and healthcare development.

WIPOs inter-governmental guidelines were well complemented by the subsequent
industry case studies. Toyotaka Abe showed that Microsoft, as an owner of a large pool of
patent rights, is the perfect example of how market leadership can be sustained in the
technology field with the creation of clear IP transaction guidelines covering IP licensing,
purchase and sale as well as the transfer of IP rights.

Another interesting group of sessions followed featuring government, industry and
academic standpoints surrounding Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) and Fair, Reasonable
and Non-Discriminatory (FRAND) licensing. Professor Shuya Hayashi of Nagoya University
pointed out the anti-competitive impact of patent hold-ups and royalty stacking using the
Apple vs. Samsung case and advised against injunctive relief in case of FRAND litigation.
Qualcomms vice-president of Patents, George Whitten, in turn, provided an overview of
the ICT industry, arguing that while the issue exists, there is no substantial empirical
evidence of the aforementioned patent infringements, neither of their adverse economic
effects.

Commissioner Hiroyuki Odagiri of the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) has gave a
detailed rundown on JFTC`s extensive work in reconciling reasonable IP monetization and
innovation with fair competition practices. JFTC has pioneered the standardization of
patent pool arrangements, guarding the fragile benefits of standard-setting including
quicker product commercialization and customer convenience, while acting on antitrust
concerns, the type of issues voiced by Whitten and Hayashi. This has been evidenced by
JFTCs numerous enforcement actions including the cases of the Pachinko Manufacturing
Patent Pools, Hokkaido Shimbun Press, Microsofts and Qualcomms monopolistic
activities as well as the IP merger of the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group and the Osaka Stock
Exchange.

Following a morning dominated by discussions surrounding hard IP, the afternoon focused
on soft IP matters with an overarching theme of brand protection and anti-counterfeiting.
In the digital piracy panel discussion, KT Ang of IFPI Asia gave an overview of the
challenges faced by the global entertainment industry and the various counter piracy
methods available to including advertising, litigation and website blocking. Joe Welch of
21st Century Fox took this one step further, arguing that the obsolete notice and take-
down approach should be strengthened with the blocking of overseas egregious rogue
(pirate) sites and downgrading and delisting penalties imposed by search engines. Using
the examples of the EU and the cases of The Pirate Bay and Grooves hark, both Ang and
Welch agreed that right holders should be able to apply for injunctive relief, essentially
requiring Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to take blocking action without exposing them
to liability to infringement. Yoichiro Hata of the Recording Industry Association of Japan
showed an even higher standard adopted by Japan with the Amended Copyright Law,
which effectively criminalizes the act of downloading music and/or motion pictures with
knowledge of the illegal nature of the source and legal pay-for alternatives.

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