News from the Japanese Patent Offices

Chile's accession to the Trademark Law Treaty takes effect

On May 11, 2011, WIPO announced that the Chilean government had completed accession procedures for the Trademark Law Treaty. The accession came into effect on August 5, 2011.

Apple demands injunction against GALAXY products in the Netherlands

On August 19, 2011, U.S. company Apple filed an opposition with the Dutch District Court, demanding an injunction against sales of all Samsung Electronics' GALAXY products.

YouTube reaches settlement with the NMPA, will distribute advertisement earnings to copyright owners

On August 18, 2011, YouTube announced that it had agreed to conclude a licensing agreement and had reached a settlement with the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and Harry Fox Agency（HFA）, which had filed a lawsuit for copyright infringements against the former.
The agreement will enable music publishers affiliated with HFA to receive royalties for the use of compositions in videos created by YouTube users.

HTC sues Apple for patent infringement

On August 17, 2011, HTC (Taiwan) announced that it had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Apple with the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) and the United States District Court.
The two companies have been suing each other over patent infringements related to the iPhone and Android devices.

New Samsung Galaxy Tab sales may be resumed in Europe except for Germany

On August 16, 2011, following a provisional suspension of sales of Samsung Electronics' Galaxy Tab in Europe in response to U.S. company Apple's appeal against patent infringement, Samsung Electronics was able to resume sales of the tablet computer in virtually all European countries with the exception of Germany.
This is due to the fact that the German court which ordered the suspension, having doubts as to whether it possesses the authority to suspend sales of an international corporation outside of Germany, limited the applicable scope of the restrictions on Samsung Electronics to the German market, while only restricting the company's German department across the entire EU.

Google reinforces Android through Motorola buy

On August 15, 2011, Google (U.S.A.) announced an agreement to purchase major U.S. communications device manufacturer Motorola. The purchase price is estimated at approx. 12.5 billion USD (approx. 960 billion Japanese yen).
Google CEO Larry Page wrote on the company blog that the acquisition of Motorola will help protect Android and the partners of Google against patent attacks.