Downloading Free Copies from the Japanese Patent Office Homepage
1. Start from the JPO Homepage (http://www.jpo-miti.go.jp)
2. Click on <Japanese Page>
(Now it gets somewhat tricky.)
3. In the main frame, there are two columns. The fourth
item in the left column has "IPDL" in the heading with three
subitems. Click on the first subitem.
4. The page that appears contains a table. The first column numbers
items 1-24. Click on the second column for Item 1.
If an "under construction" symbol appears on the next
page, try again in a couple hours. The JPO is updating the database.
5. The next page is the search page.
In a band near the top are 15 letter codes:
A for Kokai
B for Kokoku
B for Patents (post-grant opposition)
A for Publications of non-Japanese PCTs
C for Patent specifications
A1 for Publications of Japanese PCTs
H for Patent appeal reports
U for Utility Model Kokai
U1 for full specifications of Utility Models
U for Registered Utility Models (unexamined)
Y for Utility Model Kokoku
Y for Registered Utility Models (examined)
U for Publications of non-Japanese PCT utility models ?
Z for Utility model specifications
I for Utility model appeal reports
Below that are some examples of entries then 12 pairs
of edit boxes.
To obtain a copy of a Kokai, first enter the letter
code for the type (A, etc) in the first edit box of set
1. Then enter the Kokai number in the longer edit box
of that set. The Kokai number must be preceded by
S or H for the Imperial year followed by the two-digit
Imperial year, a hyphen, and the serial number. Do
not enter 'A' at the end of the number.
For granted patents, enter 'B' in the first box and
the number in the second box.
When you have entered the numbers of the documents
you want, click on the button at the lower left.
6. The next page contains three frames on the left with
the numbers of your requested patents in the middle frame.
If you click on the lick for a particular patent, it will
appear on the right.
There are two formats depending on the year of the
document.
A) Older documents are scanned images. To page through,
use the buttons in the frame under the image. The furthest
right button (The buttons may be wrapped) is for the "next
page"; the button to its left is for the previous page.
B) New documents are rendered in Japanese code so you
need Japanese capability, but the images are visible in
the right frame.
-- Alan Engel ISTA, Inc. ConvertedKokai(tm) machine translations of Japanese patents http://www.intlscience.com