NY Times reports on increased Japanese patent litigation

We've recently seen the tussle beween South Korea and Japan, which now involves companies and governments.

Not all Japanese companies were adverse to litigation. Remember THK v. NSK in ND Ill on linear motion guides?

from the NY Times on December 2, 2004:

The administration of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has helped break down the cultural taboos against litigation by encouraging companies to be more aggressive in protecting intellectual property rights.

In the last two years, the government has passed laws to help speed up patent suits, make it easier to get evidence from suspected violators and allow courts to block the sale of products suspected of violating another company's patents while litigation is pending.

"People are recognizing the importance of intellectual property assets because clearly Japan is moving toward more high-tech industries," said Masanobu Katoh, the head of Fujitsu's law and intellectual property group. "I personally don't like litigation. It's costly, time-consuming and just makes lawyers rich. But litigation is sometimes necessary to resolve disputes."