Intellectual Property High Court

35.641651°N 139.703047°E / 35.641651; 139.703047The Intellectual Property High Court (知的財産高等裁判所, Chiteki-zaisan kōtō-saiban-sho), sometimes abbreviated IPHC, is a special branch of Tokyo High Court in the judicial system of Japan. It is based in Nakameguro, a district in Meguro Ward in Tokyo, Japan.^[1]

Building of the court

The Intellectual Property (IP) High Court was established on 1 April 2005,^[2] in order to accelerate and reduce the costs of patent litigation in Japan.^[3] The IP High Court hears appeals from district courts in Japan on patent actions and suits against appeal/trial decisions made by the Japan Patent Office (JPO).^[2] The IP High Court is also the exclusive court of appeals on issues such as: the rights of authors of a computer program, utility model rights, and integrated circuit layout design protection.^[4]

Chief judges of the IP High Court

1. Katsumi Shinohara (April 2005 – April 2007).[5]

2. Tomokatsu Tsukahara (May 2007 – ca. August 2010).[5]

3. Tetsuhiro Nakano (August 2010 – March 2012)[6][7]

4. Toshiaki Iimura (March 2012 – June 2014).[citation needed]

5. Ryuichi Shitara (June 2014 – January 2017).[citation needed]

6. Misao Shimizu (January 2017 – May 2018).[citation needed]

7. Makiko Takabe (May 2018 – ).[8]