Oh-Ebashi English Newsletter 2021 Spring Issue was published.

Please click HERE to view the English Newsletter back numbers.

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1. Selected Intellectual Property Issues under the TPP and Japan-EU EPA by Takashi Koyama
I. Introduction
As the former Director of the Intellectual Property Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the former negotiator of the Japanese Government's Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Headquarters at the Cabinet Secretariat Office, I was involved in discussions and negotiations in multilateral/regional for a such as the World Trade Organization (WTO)/Council for the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Council), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). I also led the Japanese delegation in the field of intellectual property (IP) in the negotiations for several mega Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the TPP/the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In addition, I conducted intensive discussions with colleagues from other governments, such as the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), on IP and related issues found in third countries with the aim of abolishing/amending regulations inconsistent with international obligations or harmful to IP rights holders. Based on my experience from the foregoing, I would like to discuss three IP issues in this article, namely: (a) data protection of undisclosed test or other data on biologics under the TPP, (b) the ex officio authority for criminal enforcement related to copyright or related rights under the TPP, and (c) the protection of geographical indications pursuant to international agreements under the TPP and Japan-EU EPA....(Please click here to read more.）

2. Law Reform for "Equal Work for Equal Pay" by Keiji Sasto

I. Introduction
As part of the working style reforms being made in Japan, the Act on Improvement, etc., of Employment Management for Part-Time and Fixed-Term Workers1 (the "Part-Time/Fixed-Term Employment Act" or the "Act") took effect in April 2020. The Act aims to achieve "Equal Pay for Equal Work." In other words, the Act intends to correct the disparity in the treatment of regular workers and non-regular workers, which is a unique problem in Japan. In October 2020, the Supreme Court issued judgments for five important cases regarding such disparity problem. These judgments clarified that an unreasonable disparity may give rise to a monetary risk. What this means is that the working conditions of non-regular workers should be considered a legal and monetary risk in cases such as when a person or entity is contemplating to acquire or manage a Japanese company. This article gives an overview of the Supreme Court's rulings and explains the background of the problem of non-regular workers to better understand the Supreme Court's reasoning in each case...(Please click here to read more.）