The Japanese government has been enhancing protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in close cooperation with Japan Customs, which is responsible for border enforcement to suspend counterfeits and pirated goods, and the police, who are responsible for preventing their distribution in Japan. Despite such efforts, there seems to be no end to the problems caused by such infringing products.
As part of our activities to protect intellectual property rights, MIPRO has been publishing the “Directory Foreign Brand Right Holders” since 2004 in cooperation with Union des Fabricants Tokyo, Japan Watch Importers’ Association and Japan Textiles Importers Association. The directory contains updated information on brand names, logos, right holders of foreign branded products, and is provided free of charge to Japan Customs and the police nationwide. We receive a high reputation for its usefulness. It facilitates communication between the brand right holders and the competent authorities, as well as expedites process of handling infringement cases.
Encouraged by the government’s policy for enforcing protection of intellectual property rights, MIPRO is working on creating a better directory with improved accuracy, reliability and recency.
Only trademarks associated with products or services owned by foreign businesses are eligible. This includes cases where the current right holder is a Japanese company. However, please be aware that trademarks with pending registration applications are not eligible.
