Recommended Citation
Toshiko Takenaka, Patent Infringement Damages in Japan and the United States: Will Increased Patent Infringement Damage Awards Revive the Japanese Economy?, 2 Wash. U. L. & Pol'y J. 309 (2000), https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/faculty-articles/533
Publication Title
Washington University Law and Policy Journal
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Accordingly, this Article will look at the impact of the new Japanese legislation on patent infringement damages and will discuss whether the increase in damage awards contributes to the creation of breakthrough technology. To understand this impact, Part I will discuss pre-1998 legislation damages and highlight the difference between damages awarded by United States courts and those awarded by Japanese courts, by comparing United States and Japanese case examples. In examining the general tort and patent law theories, Part I will also try to identify the source of the difference and discuss how this difference is reflected in current United States and Japanese case law. Part II of this Article will focus on a recent Japanese case, that indicates a new direction on the calculation of damages and will examine reasons for the change. Finally, Part III of this paper will examine to what extent the new legislation will change the scope of patent infringement damages and will discuss whether the increase in patent infringement damages will contribute to the recovery of Japanese economy.