WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION  
ORGANISATION MONDIALE DU COMMERCE  
ORGANIZACIÓN MUNDIAL DEL COMERCIO  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
25 March 2004 
 (04-1359) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects 
of Intellectual Property Original:   English/ 
 anglais/  inglés 
  
MAIN DEDICATED INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAWS AND 
REGULATIONS NOTIFIED UNDER ARTICLE 63.2 
OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
JAPAN 
   The present document reproduces the text
1 of the Unfair Competition Prevention Law, as last 
amended on 23 April 1999, as notified by Japan un der Article 63.2 of the Agreement (see document 
IP/N/1/JPN/2). 
 
 Conseil des aspects des droits de propriété 
intellectuelle qui touchent au commerce  
 
PRINCIPALES LOIS ET RÉGLEMENTATIONS CONSACRÉES À LA 
PROPRIÉTÉ INTELLECTUELLE NOTIFIÉES AU TITRE 
DE L'ARTICLE 63:2 DE L'ACCORD 
 
JAPON 
   Le présent document contient le texte
1 de la Loi pour la prévention de la concurrence 
déloyale, modifiée en dernier lieu le 23 avril 1 999, qui a été notifié par le Japon au titre de 
l'article 63:2 de l'Accord (voir le document IP/N/1/JPN/2).  
 
Consejo de los Aspectos de los Derechos de Propiedad 
Intelectual relacionados con el Comercio  
 
PRINCIPALES LEYES Y REGLAMENTOS DEDICADOS A LA PROPIEDAD 
INTELECTUAL NOTIFICADOS EN VIRTUD DEL PÁRRAFO 2 
DEL ARTÍCULO 63 DEL ACUERDO 
 
JAPÓN 
 
 
 En el presente documento se reproduce el texto1 de la Ley de Prevención de la Competencia 
Desleal, modificada por última vez el 23 de abril de 1999, que el Japón ha notificado en virtud del párrafo 2 del artículo 63 del Acuer do (véase el documento IP/N/1/JPN/2).
 
                                                      
1 In English only./En anglais seulement./En inglés solamente. IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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UNFAIR COMPETITION PREVENTION LAW 
 
Law No.47 of May 19,  1993, as last am ended on April 23, 1999 
 
 
(Purpose) Article 1.- The purpose of this Law is to provide measures for inter alia  the prevention of 
unfair competition and compensati on for damages from unfair co mpetition, in order to ensure 
fair competition among busines s entities and the full implem entation of international 
agreements related thereto, and thereby to cont ribute to the sound development of the national 
economy.  
(Definitions) Article 2.- (1) The term “unfair competition” used in this Law sh all mean any of the 
following acts: 
 (i) the act of causing confusion with another person’s goods or business by using 
an indication of goods or other indication (herei nafter, “indication of good s or other indication” 
means a name connected with a person's business, trade na me, trademark, mark, container or 
package of goods, or any other i ndication used for the indication of  goods or business) which is 
identical or similar to another person's indi cation of goods or other indication which is well-
known among consumers or other purchasers, or  by assigning, delivering, displaying for the 
purpose of assignment or delivery, exporting or importing goods us ing such indication; 
 (ii) the act of using an i ndication of goods or other indication as one’s own which is 
identical or similar to another person's indicati on of goods or other indi cation which is famous; 
or the act of assigning, delivering, displaying for the purpose of assignment or delivery, 
exporting or importing goods using such indication;  (iii) the act of assigning, leasing, displayi ng for the purpose of as signment or lease, 
exporting or importing goods which imitate th e configuration of another person's goods 
(excluding a configuration which is commonly used  for goods of the same kind as that of such 
other person or, where it is not the same kind  of goods, goods which have an identical or 
similar function and utility to those of such ot her person; in addition, also excluding goods for 
which three years have elapsed from th e date selling thereo f first commenced); 
 (iv) the act of acquiring a trade secret by improper means such as theft, fraud or 
coercion (hereinafter referred to as “improper acquisition of a trad e secret”); or the act of using 
or disclosing a trade secret so acquired (including , hereinafter, the act of  disclosing such trade 
secret confidentially to a specific person);  (v) the act of acquiring a trade secret while  being aware that such trade secret has  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 been acquired through improper acquisition or, th rough gross negligence , not being aware of 
such matter; or the act of using or disclosing a trade secret so acquired; 
 (vi) the act of using or disclosing a trade secret after becoming aware, subsequent to 
its acquisition, that such trade secret has been acquired through improper acquisition or, through gross negligence, not becoming aware of such matter; 
 (vii) the act of using or disclosing a trad e secret which has been disclosed by the 
business entity holding it (hereinafter referred to  as the “holder”), for the purpose of unfair 
business competition or otherwis e acquiring an unfair benefit,  or for the purpose of causing 
injury to such holder;  (viii) the act of acquiring a trade secr et while being aware or, through gross 
negligence, not being aware that there has been an improper disclosure of such trade secret 
(which means, hereinafter, in th e case stipulated in Article 2 (v ii) above, an act of disclosing a 
trade secret for the purpose stipulated in the said article, or an act of disclosing a trade secret in 
breach of a legal duty to maintain secrecy) or th at such trade secret has been acquired through 
improper disclosure; or the act of using or disclosing a trade secret so acquired; 
 (ix) the act of using or disclosing an acquired trade secret after becoming aware, subsequent to its acquisition, that there has been improper disclosure of such trade secret or that 
such trade secret has been acquired through impr oper disclosure, or not being aware of such 
matter through gross negligence;  (x) the act of assigning, delivering, disp laying for the purpose of assignment or 
delivery, exporting or importing (a) devices (incl uding machines combined with such devices) 
having the sole function of enabling the viewin g of images, listening to sounds or running of 
programs, or recording of images, sounds or programs which are restricted by technological 
restriction measures used by business (excluding technological restriction measures used to 
restrict all but specific persons from viewing im ages, listening to sounds or running programs, 
or recording images, sounds or programs) by obstructing the effect of such technological 
restriction measures, or (b) data storage medi a or machines onto wh ich programs have been 
recorded (including programs combined with such  programs) having only such function; or the 
act of providing programs having only such fu nction through an electr onic communication line; 
 (xi) the act of assigning, delivering, disp laying for the purpose of assignment or 
delivery, exporting or importing, to all but spec ific persons described below, (a) devices 
(including machines combined with such devi ces) having the sole function of enabling the 
viewing of images, listening to s ounds or running of programs, or  recording of images, sounds 
or programs which are restricted by technologic al restriction measures used by business to 
restrict all but specific persons from viewing im ages, listening to sounds or running programs, 
or recording images, sounds or programs by ob structing the effect of such technological 
restriction measures, or (b) data storage medi a or machines onto wh ich programs have been IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 recorded (including programs combined with such  programs) having only such function; or the 
act of providing programs having only such fu nction through an electr onic communication line; 
 (xii) the act of indicating on goods or with respect to services, or in an advertisement 
thereof or in a document or correspondence used for a transaction relate d thereto, in a manner 
which is likely to be mislead ing with respect to the place of origin, quality, contents, 
manufacturing process, use or quantity of such goods, or the quality, cont ents, use or quantity 
of such services; or the act of assigning, deliver ing, displaying for the purpose of assignment or 
delivery, exporting or importing go ods with such an indication or  providing servic es with such 
an indication;  (xiii)  the act of making or circulating a false allegation inju rious to the business 
reputation of another person in  a competitive relationship; 
 (xiv) the act of an agent, representa tive, or a person who was an agent or 
representative of an owner of a right relating to  a trademark (such right shall be limited to a 
right equivalent to a trademark right and hereinaf ter referred to simply as a “right”) within one 
year of the date of su ch act in a country of the Union es tablished by the Paris Convention (used 
herein as defined in Article 4, paragraph (1), item (ii) of the Trademar k Law (Law No.127 of 
1959)) or in a member country of the World Trade Organization or in a contracting party to the 
Trademark Law Treaty, without a legitimate reason and the consent of the owner of such right, 
using a trademark identical or similar to the trademark relating to such right in respect of goods or services identical or similar to those relating to su ch right; or the act of assigning, delivering, 
displaying for the purpose of assignment or de livery, exporting or importing goods, using such 
trademark, identical or similar to the goods relating to such right; or providing services, using such trademark, identical or similar to  the services relating to such right. 
   (2) The term “tradema rk” used in this Law sha ll mean trademark as defi ned in Article 2 (1) of 
the Trademark Law.    (3) The term “mark” used in  this Law shall mean mark as defined in Article 2 (1) of the 
Trademark Law.    (4) The term “trade secret ” used in this Law shall mean technical or business information 
useful in commercial activities, such as manu facturing or marketing methods, which is kept 
secret and not publicly known. 
   (5) The term “technological restriction meas ures” used in this law shall mean measures 
which restrict viewing images, listening to soun ds or running programs, or recording images, 
sounds or programs through electro-magnetic mean s (which means electronic means, magnetic 
means or other means unrecognizable by human perception), and which adopt a system of 
recording on data storage media or transmitting a signal as having specifi c effects on machines 
for such purposes as viewing and listening (whi ch means, hereinafter, machines used for 
viewing images, listening to sounds or runn ing programs, or recording images, sounds or  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 programs), or a system of recording on data st orage media or transmitting transformed images, 
sounds or programs which need specific transf ormation by machines for such purposes as 
viewing or listening.     (6) The term “program” used in this La w shall mean combined in structions given to a 
computer so as to obtain a certain result. 
 
(Right to Request an Injunction) Article 3.- (1) A person whose business interest s are infringed or are likely to be infringed 
by unfair competition may request that a person who is infringing or is likely to infringe such 
business interests suspend or prevent such infringement. 
    (2) A person whose business interests are in fringed or are likely to be infringed by unfair 
competition may request, at the time of the re quest described in the preceding paragraph, the 
destruction of objects which constitute an act of infringement (including objects created by the 
act of infringement), the removal of facilities used for an act of infringement, or other measures 
necessary to suspend or prevent such infringement.  
(Claim for Damages) 
Article 4.- A person who intentionally or neglig ently infringes on the business interests of 
another person through unfair competition shall be liable to compensate for damages which 
result therefrom.  However, this  provision shall not apply to da mages which arise from use of a 
trade secret after the rights described in Article  8, herein, are extinguished  in accordance with 
the said article.  
(Presumption of Amount of Damages, etc.) 
Article 5.- (1) Where a person whose business interests have been infringed by unfair 
competition has claimed fo r compensation for damages which th at person has suffered against 
a person who intentionally or negligently infringe d such business interest s and received profits 
through such act of infringement, such amount of profits shall be presumed to be the amount of 
damages caused to the person whose business interests were infringed. 
   (2) A person whose business interests are in fringed by unfair competition in any of the 
manners described in Article 2 (1 ) items (i) to (ix) and (xii) may claim, against a person who 
intentionally or negligently has infringed such  business interests, compensation for damages 
which the infringed person has suffered in an amount equivalent to the amount which normally 
ought to be awarded as compensation, in accor dance with the type of unfair competition 
described in the following items, for the act described in such items: 
 (i) unfair competition as described in Article 2 (1) item (i) or (ii): 
the use of an indication of goods or othe r indication relating to such infringement; IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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  (ii) unfair competition as desc ribed in Article 2 (1) item (iii): 
the use of a configurat ion of goods relating to such infringement; 
 (iii) unfair competition as described in Article 2 (1) ite ms (iv) to (ix): 
the use of a trade secret re lating to such infringement; 
 (iv) unfair competition as desc ribed in Article 2 (1) item (xii): 
the use of a trademark relating to such infringement. 
   (3) The provisions in the preceding paragrap h shall not prevent a claim to compensate for 
damages exceeding the amount indicated in such paragraph.  In such a case, the court may take 
into consideration, in determining the amount of  compensation for damage s, the fact that a 
person who infringed such business interests di d not do so intentionally or through gross 
negligence. 
 
(Submission of Documents) Article 6.- In litigation relating to infringement of business interests through unfair 
competition, the court may orde r, upon petition of a party, th e other party to submit any 
document necessary to calculate the amount of damages caused by such infringement.  
However, this provision shall not apply when the person holding such a document has a 
legitimate reason for refusing to submit it. 
 
(Measures to Recover a Business Reputation) Article 7.- The court may order a person who in tentionally or negligen tly has committed an 
act of unfair competition and thereby injured th e business reputation of another person to take 
measures, upon the request of the person whos e business reputation has been so injured, 
necessary for the recovery of the business reputat ion of that person in lieu of compensation for 
damages or in addition thereto.  
(Negative Prescription) Article 8.- The right to request an injunction, by the provisions of Article 3 (1), to suspend or 
prevent an infringement through an  act of using a trade secret de scribed in Article 2 (1) items 
(iv) to (iv) shall be extinguished by prescrip tion when such act committed by the person is 
continuing and the right holder whose business intere sts have been infringed or are likely to be 
infringed by such act does not exercise such ri ght within three years fr om the time that such 
right holder becomes aware of su ch facts and of the person co mmitting such act.  The same 
extinguishment shall apply, in any event, when  ten years have elapsed from the time of 
commencement of such act. 
 
(Prohibition of Commercial Use of a State Emblem of a Foreign State)  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 Article 9.- (1) No person shall us e, as a trademark, a mark identic al to a flag or an armorial 
bearing of a foreign state or any other emblem which is prescribed by an ordinance of the 
Ministry of Economy, Trade and In dustry (hereinafter, all such emblems referred to as a “flag 
of a foreign state or other embl em”) or a mark simila r to a flag of a fo reign state or other 
emblem (hereinafter, such identical or similar mark  is referred to as a “mar k similar to a flag of 
a foreign state or other emblem”), or shall assi gn, deliver, display for the purpose of assignment 
or delivery, export or import goods using a mark similar to a flag of a foreign state or other 
emblem as a trademark, or sha ll provide services usin g a similar mark to a flag of a foreign 
state or other emblem.  However, this provi sion shall not apply when permission has been 
obtained from the government agen cy of the foreign state which is vested with authority to 
grant permission (including, in this case and he reinafter, administrative measures similar to 
permission) for the use of a national flag  of a foreign state or other insignia. 
   (2) In addition to the provisi on stipulated in the preceding para graph, no person shall use, in a 
manner which is likely to mislead  with respect to th e place of origin of goods, an armorial 
bearing of a foreign state which is prescribed by an ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, 
Trade and Industry referred to in the preceding paragraph (her einafter referred to as an 
“armorial bearing”), or shall assign, deliver, disp lay for the purpose of assignment or delivery, 
export or import goods using an armorial bearing,  or shall provide services using an armorial 
bearing.  However, this provision shall not apply when permission has been obtained from the government agency of the foreign state which is vested with the authority to grant permission 
to use the coat of arms.    (3) No person shall use a mark identical to a hallmark or a sign of a foreign state or regional 
public entity, indicating c ontrol or warranty, which is prescribed by an ordinance of the 
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Indu stry (hereinafter referred to as  a “sign of a foreign state or 
other sign”) or a similar mark (h ereinafter, such identical or si milar mark is referred to as a 
“sign similar to that of a foreign state or othe r sign”) as a trademark on goods or for services 
identical or similar to go ods or services for which such sign of a foreign state or other sign is 
used, or shall assign, deliver, display for the purpose of assignment or delivery, export or import goods using a government sign or other sign as a trademark, or shall provide services 
using a government sign or other sign as a trad emark.  However, this provision shall not apply 
when permission has been obtained from the gove rnment agency of the foreign state which is 
vested with authority to grant permission to use the government  sign or other sign. 
 
(Prohibition of Commercial Use of a Ma rk of an International Organization) 
Article 10.- No person shall use, in a manner which is likely to misl ead with respect to a 
relationship with any international organizati on (hereinafter in this article, means an 
international organization of governments or any organization equivalent thereto prescribed by IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 an ordinance of the Ministry of  Economy, Trade and Industry), a mark identical or similar to a 
mark representing an international organization wh ich mark is prescribed by an ordinance of 
the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (her einafter, such identical  or similar mark is 
referred to as a “similar mark of an international organization”), as a trademark, or shall assign, 
deliver, display for the purpose of assignment or delivery, export or import goods using a 
similar mark of an internationa l organization as a trademark, or  shall provide services using a 
similar mark of an international organization as a trademark.  However, this provision shall not 
apply when permission of such interna tional organization has been obtained. 
 
(Prohibition of bribery of foreign public officials) 
Article 10 bis.- (1) No person shall give, offer or pr omise any pecuniary or other advantage, 
to a foreign public official, in order that the offi cial act or refrain from acting in relation to the 
performance of official duties, or in order that the official, using his position, exert upon 
another foreign public official so as to cause him to act or refrai n from acting in relation to the 
performance of official duties, in order to obt ain or retain improper business advantage.  
   (2) The term "foreign public official" used  in paragraph (1) shall mean any person under the 
following: 
 (i) any person who engages in public se rvice for a national or a local foreign 
government;  (ii) any person who engages in service for an entity constituted un der foreign      
special laws to carry out specifi c tasks in the public interest; 
 (iii) any person who engages in service for an enterp rise of which the number of 
stocks with the right to vote or the amount of  capital subscription directly owned by one or 
more of national or local forei gn governments exceeds one-half of th at enterprise’s total issued 
stocks with the right to vote or total subscribed  capital, or of which the number of executives 
(which mean directors, auditors, liquidators or other persons who engage in management of its 
business) appointed or named by one or more of  national or local foreign governments exceeds 
one-half of that enterprise's executives, and to which privileges are given by national or local foreign governments to do its business; 
 (iv) any person who engages in public se rvice for an international organization   
(hereinafter, “an international organization" means an entity which is formed by governments or by other international orga nizations among governments); 
 (v) any person who exercises a public fu nction which belongs to the authorized 
competence of a national or a local foreign govern ment or an international organization and is 
delegated by them.. 
   (3)  Paragraph (1) is not a pplicable, when the fore ign country described in  items (i) to (iii) 
and (v) in paragraph (2) is the same foreign co untry where the main office of the person who  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 gives, offers or promises any advantage (which, in  the case of a representative, an agent or an 
employee of a legal person or a person who gives, offers or promises any advantage in relation 
to the business of the legal person or the person,  means the main office of the legal person or 
the person) is located.  
(Exemptions) 
Article 11.- (1) The provisions  of Articles 3 to 8, 13 (exclu ding those portions concerning 
item (iii) thereof) and 14 are not applicable to the follo wing acts of unfair competition: 
 (i) unfair competition as described in Article 2 (1) (i), (ii), (x) and (xii): 
  the act of using or indicating in a nor mally-used manner a co mmon name for goods or 
business (excluding the name of a place of origin of good s made from grapes or using grapes as 
an ingredient, and having beco me a common name) or goods or other indication that is 
commonly-used for identical or similar goods or business (hereinafter such a common name or 
commonly-used indication together  referred to as a “common name”); or the act of assigning or 
delivering, displaying for the purpose of assi gnment or delivery, exporting or importing goods 
using or indicating a common name in a normally-u sed manner (including, in  the case of unfair 
competition as described in items (x) or (xii) of the same paragraph, an act of providing 
services using or indicating, in a no rmally-used manner, a common name); 
 (ii) unfair competition as described in Article 2 (1) (i ), (ii) and (xii): 
  the act of using one's own pe rsonal name, for no unfair purpose  (hereinafter, “unfair purpose” 
means a purpose to acquire an unfair benefit, a purpose to cause injury to another person or any other unfair purpose); or the act of assigning,  delivering, displaying for the purpose of 
assignment or delivery, exporting or importing goods using, for no unfair purpose, one's own 
personal name (including, in the case of unfair competition as described in any of the said 
items, an act of providing serv ices using one's own personal name for no unfair purpose); 
 (iii) unfair competition as de scribed in Article 2 (1) (i): 
  the act of a person using an indication of go ods or other indication, for no unfair purpose, 
identical or similar to another person’s indica tion of goods or other indication which is well-
known, if such person had used such in dication before it became well-known among 
consumers or other purchasers or had succeeded to a business related to such indication; or the 
act of assigning, delivering, displaying for the purpose of assignment or delivery, exporting or 
importing goods which use such i ndication for no unfair purpose; 
 (iv) unfair competition as de scribed in Article 2 (1) (ii): 
  the act of a person's using an indication of goods or other indication, for no unfair purpose, 
identical or similar to another person’s indication of goods or other indication which is famous, 
if such person had used such indication befo re it became famous or had succeeded to a 
business related to such indication; or the act  of assigning, delivering, displaying for the IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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 purpose of assignment or deliver y, exporting or importing goods which uses such indication for 
no unfair purpose;  (v) unfair competition as desc ribed in Article 2 (1) (iii): 
  the act of a person assigning, leasing, disp laying for the purpose of assignment or lease, 
exporting or importing goods which the person has obtained by assignment, and which, as 
described in item (iii), imitate th e configuration of another person 's goods (provided that such 
person, at the time of obtaining such goods by assignment, was unaware that such goods 
imitated the configuration of another person' s goods and was not unaw are of such matter 
through gross negligence);  (vi) unfair competition as described in Article 2 (1) (iv) to (ix):   the act of a person using or disclosing a trade secret, within the scope of authority which such 
person acquired through a transaction, whic h such person has acquired through such 
transaction (provided that such person, at the ti me of such acquisition, was not aware that there 
had been an improper disclosure of such trade se cret or that such trade secret had been acquired 
through an improper disclosure or improper ac quisition and was not unaware of such matter 
through gross negligence).  (vii) unfair competition as descri bed in Article 2 (1) (x) and (xi): 
  the act of assigning, delivering, displaying  for the purpose of assignment or delivery, 
exporting or importing devices, or data storage media or machines onto which programs have 
been recorded as described in Article 2 (1) (x) and (xi), or th e act of providing such programs 
through an electric communication line, for the pur pose of testing or research of technological 
restriction measures.    (2) A person whose business interests are infr inged or likely to be infringed through one of 
the acts described in ite m (ii) or (iii) of the preceding pa ragraph may request  a person who is 
described in the following items, in accordance with the type of  unfair competition described 
in such items, to use an appropriate indication in order to prevent confusion with the goods or 
business of such person:  (i) an act as described in item (ii) of the preceding paragraph: 
    a person using his own personal name (including a person who assigns, delivers, displays for 
the purpose of assignment or delivery, exports or imports, by himself, goods using his own 
personal name);  (ii) an act as described in item (iii) of the preceding paragraph:     a person using an indication of goods or other indication identical or similar to another 
person’s indication of goods or other indica tion and a person who su cceeds to a business 
relating to such an indication (including a pe rson who assigns, delivers, displays for the 
purpose of assignment or delivery, exports or impo rts, by himself or herself, goods using such 
an indication).  IP/N/1/JPN/I/2 
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(Transitional Measures) Article 12.- In the case where an ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry 
is to be enacted, amended or abolished in acco rdance with the provision s of this Law, such 
ordinance may prescribe, to the extent deemed  necessary and reasonable for such enactment, 
amendment or abolition, necessary transitional measures (including transitional measures 
concerning penal provisions).  
(Penal Provisions) Article 13.- Any person who falls under any of the following items shall be liable to 
imprisonment for a period not exceeding three y ears or for a fine not  exceeding \3,000,000: 
 (i) a person who commits, for an unfair  purpose, any act of unfair competition 
described in Article 2(1)(i) or (xii);  (ii) a person (excluding a person describe d in the preceding item) who indicates a 
falsehood on goods, with respect to services, in an advertisement thereof, or in a document or 
correspondence used for a transac tion thereof, which is likely to  mislead with respect to the 
place of origin, quality, contents, manufacturing process, use or quantity of such goods, or the 
quality, contents, use or qua ntity of such  services; 
 (iii) a person who violates any provisi on of Article 9, Article 10 or Article 10 bis(1). 
 
(Penal Provisions) Article 14.- In the case where a representative, an agent or an employee of a legal person or 
a person has committed, in relation to the business of the legal person or the person, any of the 
violations described in the preceding article, in  addition to the violator being punished, the 
legal person shall also be liable for a fine not exceeding \300,000,000 an d the person shall be 
liable for the same fine described in the preceding article. 
 
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