<\/p>\n
When a patent Office Action (Notice of Reasons for Refusal) is issued by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), foreign applicants \u2014 that is, applicants who are not domiciled or resident in Japan \u2014 are given an initial response period of three months<\/span>.<\/p>\n This response period can be extended. At the examination stage, an extension of up to three months<\/span> is available without any specific reason. At the appeal stage, an extension of up to three months<\/span> is also available, though a valid reason is required. Even if the response deadline is missed, a late-filing extension (extension after the deadline) may still be available at the examination stage<\/span> under certain conditions.<\/p>\n However, the requirements for extension differ significantly between the examination stage and the appeal stage<\/span>. This guide provides a practical overview of the current rules on response periods and extensions for foreign applicants filing patent applications in Japan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The following table summarizes the key rules on response period extensions for foreign applicants.<\/p>\n Quick reference: extension rules for foreign applicants<\/span>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the examination stage, the response period may be extended without providing any reason<\/span>. The extension structure is as follows:<\/p>\n At the examination stage in Japan, no specific reason is required for extending the response period, though the extension request must in principle be filed before the deadline expires<\/span>. The fee is only JPY 2,100 per request, making this a practical way to secure additional time for review, translation, and preparation of arguments.<\/p>\n If the response deadline has been missed, a late-filing extension is still available<\/span> at the examination stage under certain conditions.<\/p>\n Important:<\/span> Late-filing extension is not available<\/span> if:<\/p>\n The JPY 51,000 fee is much higher than the standard extension fee. In practice, this option should be seen as a safety net. Filing extension requests before the deadline<\/span> (at JPY 2,100 per request) is strongly recommended.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the appeal stage (including during reconsideration by the examiner before examination by the Appeal Board), the response period may also be extended, but the requirements are stricter than at the examination stage<\/span>.<\/p>\n At the appeal stage (including during reconsideration by the examiner before examination by the Appeal Board), a valid reason<\/span> is required for any extension. The two accepted reasons are:<\/p>\n For foreign applicants, “translation of appeal documents” is the more practical and widely usable reason<\/span>. Each request extends the period by one month, and the fee is JPY 2,100 per request. The maximum total extension is 3 months (3 requests).<\/p>\n At the appeal stage, no late-filing extension is available<\/span>. Careful deadline management is essential.<\/p>\n 3 months + 3 months = 6 months maximum<\/span> (if a valid reason is accepted).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n For foreign applicants, the JPO automatically adds one month<\/span> to the statutory 3-month period, giving a total filing period of 4 months<\/span> from the date of service of the decision of rejection. No further extension is available. No application is needed for this automatic extension.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If a case is under accelerated examination or a similar accelerated program, requesting an extension may result in loss of the accelerated status.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please note that this article is based on the information available and the applicable laws and regulations in effect as of the date of publication. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information provided, no guarantee is made as to its completeness or accuracy. We assume no liability whatsoever for any loss or damage arising out of or in connection with the contents of this article. This article is provided for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Before taking any action in a specific case, we strongly recommend consulting a qualified professional, such as a patent attorney.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When a patent Office Action (Notice of Reasons for Refusal) is issued by the Japan Patent Office (JPO), foreign applicants \u2014 that is, applicants who are not domiciled or resident in Japan \u2014 are given an initial response period of three months. This response period can be extended. At the examination stage, an extension of up to three months is available without any specific reason. At the appeal stage, an extension of up to three months is also available, though a valid reason is required. Even if the response deadline is missed, a late-filing extension (extension after the deadline) may still be available at the examination stage under certain conditions. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6713","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan-ip-practice","law-patent","area-japan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6713"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6788,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6713\/revisions\/6788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6713"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6713"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/skiplaw.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6713"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
\n 3 months<\/span> at both the examination stage and the appeal stage<\/li>\n
\n Extension before the deadline: 3 months<\/span>, no reason required, JPY 2,100 per request
\n Extension after the deadline: 2 months<\/span>, no reason required, JPY 51,000
\n The two extensions cannot be combined<\/span><\/li>\n
\n Extension before the deadline: 3 months<\/span>, valid reason required
\n Extension after the deadline: Not available<\/span><\/li>\n1. Quick reference<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \n<\/th>\n Examination stage<\/th>\n Appeal stage<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Initial response period<\/span><\/td>\n 3 months<\/td>\n 3 months<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Extension before deadline<\/span><\/td>\n Up to 3 months<\/span> (2 requests)<\/td>\n Up to 3 months (3 requests)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Valid reason<\/span><\/td>\n Not required<\/span><\/td>\n Required<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Extension after the deadline
(Late-filing extension)<\/span><\/td>\nAvailable (2 months)<\/span><\/td>\n Not available<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fee (before deadline)<\/span><\/td>\n JPY 2,100 \/ request<\/td>\n JPY 2,100 \/ request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Fee (late filing)<\/span><\/td>\n JPY 51,000<\/span><\/td>\n \u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Maximum response period<\/span><\/td>\n 6 months<\/td>\n 6 months<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n 2. Extension at the examination stage<\/h2>\n
\n+<\/span>
\n2 months<\/span>
\n(1st)<\/span>
\n+<\/span>
\n1 month<\/span>
\n(2nd)<\/span><\/p>\n
\n+<\/span>
\n2 months<\/span><\/p>\nExtension before the deadline<\/h3>\n
\n
Late-filing extension (Extension after the deadline)<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Maximum response period (examination stage)<\/h3>\n
\n\n
\n \nExtension type<\/th>\n Calculation<\/th>\n Maximum<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Before deadline<\/td>\n 3 months + 3 months<\/td>\n 6 months<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Late filing<\/td>\n 3 months + 2 months<\/td>\n 5 months<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 3. Extension at the appeal stage<\/h2>\n
\n+<\/span>
\n1 month<\/span>
\n+<\/span>
\n1 month<\/span>
\n+<\/span>
\n1 month<\/span>
\n(max. 3 requests = 3 months)<\/span><\/p>\n
(2) Translation of appeal documents \u2014 max. 3 requests, most practical for foreign applicants<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nExtension before the deadline<\/h3>\n
\n
Late-filing extension (Extension after the deadline)<\/h3>\n
Maximum response period (appeal stage)<\/h3>\n
(Reference) Filing period for an appeal against a decision of rejection<\/h3>\n
\n+<\/span>
\n1 month<\/span>
\n(ex officio, automatic)<\/span>
\n=<\/span>
\n4 months<\/span><\/p>\n4. Accelerated examination, super-accelerated examination, and accelerated appeal examination<\/h2>\n
\n\n
\n \nProgram<\/th>\n Effect of requesting an extension<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n \n Accelerated examination<\/span><\/td>\n Remains under accelerated examination<\/span>, but the JPO requests restraint in filing extensions<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Super-accelerated examination<\/span><\/td>\n Removed from the program<\/span> upon filing an extension request<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n Accelerated appeal examination<\/span><\/td>\n Case treated as a regular (non-accelerated) case<\/span> going forward<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n 5. Frequently asked questions<\/h2>\n
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