OH-EBASHI English Newsletter_2024 Winter Issue was published.

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Overview of Character Protection and Recent Cases in Japan by Ayaka Sugino
I. Introduction
On September 18, 2024, Nintendo Co., Ltd. and The Pokémon Company (the "Plaintiffs") filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocket Pair Co., Ltd. (the "Defendant") asserting that the Plaintiffs' patents were being violated by the Defendant's development and sale of the video game, "Palworld." Although many people believed that the designs of the characters and settings in Palworld seem similar to Pokémon, in this lawsuit, the Plaintiffs only claimed patent infringement and not copyright infringement for such similar designs.
Why did the Plaintiffs not claim copyright infringement? One of the reasons may be the limits of character protection in Japan. This article will give an overview of the concept of character protection in Japan and the recent court cases involving this legal doctrine....(Please click here to read more.）

Overview of the Japanese Mandatory Retirement Age System by Yuriko Asada
I. Introduction
In Japan, where the population is rapidly aging, promoting employment stability and opportunities for elderly employees has become a critical policy focus. While Japanese law allows employers to adopt a mandatory retirement age system, whereby an employment contract automatically terminates when the employee reaches a certain age, some legal restrictions apply to the mandatory retirement age that can be set by employers....( Please click here to read more.）