In a meeting held in Fukuoka on February 22, 2024, during WIPO Director-General Daren Tang’s official visit to Japan, Mr. Tang met with senior government officials, key figures from the private sector, and student representatives. Kyulux’s CSO, Junji Adachi, participated in this meeting which brought together business, community and cultural drivers. The meeting focused on ways to further promote innovation and creativity backed by intellectual property.

(Photo: WIPO https://www.wipo.int/about-wipo/en/dg_tang/news/2024/news_0005.html)

Mr. Tang is interested in building a patent ecosystem to spread Japan’s advanced patent system to developing countries, and during the approximately 1.5 hour exchange of opinions, he discussed the position of patents in Japanese industry, the circumstances surrounding the establishment of Kyulux and the transfer of patents from universities, the relationship between patent evaluation and investment by VCs, university startups and intellectual property issues at universities, Kyulux’s current understanding and challenges regarding Intellectual property management strategy, and more.

After meeting with Adachi, Mr. Tang commented:
“Thank you for sharing your experiences with Kyushu University, especially with regard to acquiring an IP portfolio. We have covered various topics such as the importance of respecting intellectual property rights, supporting the growth of university startups, and intellectual property management rankings. The dialogue was constructive and interesting.”