International Activities

Report on the 17th JIPA IP Symposium
IP in the near future - Connected Industries –

On February 21, 2018, the 17th JIPA IP Symposium, titled "IP in the near future - Connected Industries -" was held at the Tokyo International Forum. Continuing from the last year, this year more than 1,000 people participated in the symposium, in which 1 special talk was held in the morning and 2 panel discussions in the afternoon.

In the morning, after the greeting speeches of Mr. Hiroshi Sato, JIPA Chairperson and Mr. Kunihiko Shimano, JPO Deputy Commissioner, a special talk titled “Talking about Near-Future World and IP” was held under the coordination of Mr. Takagi, Assistant Director General of WIPO, in which Mr. Francis Gurry, Director General of WIPO, Mr. Takayuki Sumita, Secretary-General, Japanese Intellectual Property Strategy Headquarters, and Mr. Toshimoto Mitomo, JIPA Vice-president participated. In the talk, the participants discussed a vision of the future of IP systems, emphasizing that as technological innovation, e.g., AI and blockchain, makes society more diverse and IP multifunctional, the public and private sectors should work together to address global issues. Members also showed expectations for WIPO’s future activities, which typically include WIPO Green and WIPO Knowledge Network.

In the Panel Discussion I in the afternoon, which was coordinated by Mr. Masahiro Asami, JIPA Vice-president (FUJIFILM), 4 corporate executives including Ms. Katsura Ito (Microsoft Japan), Mr. Masashi Usami (KDDI), Mr. Kazuo Iwano (Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings), and Mr. Fujitoshi Takamura (KOMATSU) held a discussion, titled “Business Connected by IoT - Co-creation Strategy and Prospects for the Near Future.” In the discussion, sharing the view that changes in business models blur the border of companies, the participants discussed how to create business and what role IP should play for it, including interactive use of IP (including data) and establishment of rules also covering ethics and responsibilities.

In the Panel Discussion II, which was coordinated by Mr. Kazuyasu Adachi, JIPA vice-president (Panasonic), 4 executive members of IP department including Mr. Tomoki Okuwaki (SONY), Mr. Osamu Kikuchi (Nabtesco), Mr. Tsuneaki Hagiwara (Toppan), and Mr. Shinichi Imaeda (Rakuten), held a discussion, titled “Accelerating Connected Industries and Transition of IP Activities.” In the discussion, members discussed the enhancement of value offered by IP departments and human resources responsible for such task, including promoting partnering with other companies, participation in incubation, giving more suggestions to management from the point of view of IP, and supporting inventive activities in cooperation with non-technical divisions and outside resources.

In the poster session in the sub event hall, in which a total of 21 organizations participated, people from companies considering sending employees to be members of expert committees had a lively chat with former committee members. In the Poster Competition, the 1st prize went to the Management Committee, the 2nd prize went to the License Committee, and the 3rd prize went to the Trademark Committee. The Chairman's Award went to the Publication Journal & Public Relations Affairs Committee.

• Related link : The 17th JIPA IP Symposium Programe

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