Japan Patent OfficeIn 1885, in Japan, a Patent Monopoly Act was proclaimed, which effectively established the Japanese Patent Office at that time. The need for a patent system had become clearly apparent in order to speed up modernization efforts (An earlier patent law passed in 1871 had been short-lived, but was abandoned in the following year because it was poorly understood by the people and the government office experience problems with its operation.) The first patent issued by the new office, on 14 Aug 1885, was to Zuisho Hotta for his formulation of an antifouling paint for ship hulls made of lacquer, powdered iron, red lead, persimmon tannin, and other ingredients. A New Utility Model Law was enacted in the 1905 to complement the patent system.« |
