80% of Japanese firms experience “legal troubles” in 2012
Considering Japanese companies are famously far less inclined to turn to their lawyers than in the USA, this survey (Japanese $) in the Nikkei is quite a shocker. Of the 80% of the 148 firms who responded that they had legal “troubles” in 2012, 60% named Japan as the location for those disputes, 50% or so named the USA, then Europe (25%), China (<25%), Asia, Brazil, India and Russia (all less than 10%).
The main focus of the disputes was contractual almost everywhere except for Brazil, where tax was the top issue. Then in Japan it was labour, then IP. In the USA, IP then product liability (no surprises) and in Europe anti-competition laws, then IP. In China labour disputes tied with contractual for the top spot, then IP.
The top 5 domestic cases in 2012 named by the lawyers themselves were:
1. Gree verses DeNA on who copied the fishing game
2. Apple versus Samsung
3. Publicity rights for Pink Lady ( a singing duo)
4. Suruga Bank suing IBM Japan
5. Merger of Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metals
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