Hop aboard the bullet train to Japanese patent numbering
In May, Japan entered a new era, known as Reiwa, following the abdication of Emperor Akihito, and, consequently, ending the Heisei era. You may be asking, “What does this have to do with Japanese patent numbers?”, and these days the answer is “not much”, but that hasn’t always been the case.
Prior to 2000, the Japanese patent numbering system used the Emperor year (the number of years since the current Emperor ascended the Chrysanthemum Throne) […]