Summary: More than three times as many of the U.S. companies responding to a GAO survey were dissatisfied with their overall patent experiences in Japan as compared with those in the United States and Europe; among the most frequently cited problems in obtaining Japanese patents were the long delays, the costs, and the narrow scope of patent protection granted. Other problems, however, were U.S. firms' lack of understanding of the Japanese patent system, translation difficulties, and poor communication between U.S. companies and their Japanese patent representatives. Currently, multilateral efforts are under way to harmonize international patent procedures through the World Intellectual Property Organization, a United Nations agency. The proposed harmonization changes address many concerns raised by U.S. companies about patent protection in Japan. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: Intellectual Property Rights: U.S. Companies' Comparative Patent Experiences in Japan, Europe, and the United States, by Allan I. Mendelowitz, Director of International Trade, Finance, and Competitiveness Issues, before the Subcommittee on International Trade, Senate Committee on Finance. GAO/T-GGD-93-36, July 22, 1993 (30 pages).
