Shozo UEMURA

Curriculum Vitae

Date of Birth: July 29, 1946
Place of Birth: Chiba, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Marital Status: Married with two children
Languages: English, French and Japanese (mother tongue)

Academic Background:

Bachelor of Pharmaceutical Science,
University of Tokyo, Japan, 1969
Visiting Researcher, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions,
U.S.A, 1977-1978

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Mr. Uemura joined Japanese Patent Office (JPO), Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), in 1969. He has been mainly involved with legal and international affairs related to intellectual property as follows:

1996-present Director General of the Fourth Examination Department and for International Affairs, JPO

1994-95 Director, Clerical Division, Department of Appeal, JPO

1993-94 Director, Mechanical Metal Working Division, Fourth Examination Department, JPO

1991-93 Director, International Affairs Division, JPO

1988-91 Director, Multilateral Negotiation Policy Office and International Cooperation Office, JPO

1986-88 Appeal Examiner, Board of Appeal for Packing Machinery and Checking Devices Affairs, JPO

1983-86 Assistant Director, Examination Standards Office, JPO

1979-82 First Secretary, Permanent Mission of Japan to the InternationalOrganizations in Geneva

1978-79 Assistant Director, International Trade Policy Bureau, MITI

1977-78 Visiting Researcher, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, U.S.A.

1969-77 Patent Examiner, JPO

In those various posts, Mr. Uemura has dealt with administrative, legal and technical matters concerning industrial property, while gaining experience in examining and adjudicating complicated patent cases related to advanced technology such as biotechnology. He also contributed to the preparation of patent examination guidelines as well as to the recent legislative reform from the pre-grant to the post-grant opposition system. In addition, he has been greatly involved in international negotiations as a representative of Japanese Government, including Chief Negotiator for GATT TRIPS Affairs of JPO from 1988 to 1993, and development cooperation activities in various regions of the world.

He is now responsible for international matters as well as for the Fourth Examination Department which deals with chemical fields, including biotechnology and semiconductor.

EXPERIENCE IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

International Negotiations:

Mr. Uemura has represented the Government of Japan in various multilateral negotiations in the field of intellectual property, including:

• Uruguay Round Negotiation on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), including Trade in Counterfeit Goods, Geneva
• The Diplomatic Conference for the Conclusion of a Treaty Supplementing the Paris Convention as far as Patents are Concerned (Patent Law Treaty), The Hague
• The Diplomatic Conference on the Revision of the Paris Convention, Geneva
• The Diplomatic Conference for the Revision of International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), Geneva
• The WIPO Committee of Experts on Biotechnological Inventions and Industrial Property, Geneva
• The WIPO Committee of Experts on the Harmonization of Certain Provisions in Laws for the Protection of Inventions, Geneva
• The WIPO Consultative Meeting on the Revision of the Paris Convention, Geneva

Besides, Mr. Uemura played a major role in the Trilateral Patent Office Conference organized by JPO, EPO and USPTO, and in the bilateral negotiations, for instance, Japan-US High-Tech Working Group held in Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

Experiences as Chairperson:

Mr. Uemura served as a co-spokesman for the group of developed market economy countries ("Group B") in WIPO, chaired Committee of Experts for the Patent Law Treaty in December 1995 as well as the conference of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Industrial Property Rights Symposium held in Tokyo in August 1996.

Development Cooperation Activities:

From 1988 to 1993 as Director for International Cooperation Office and Director for International Affairs Division thereafter, Mr. Uemura significantly expanded development cooperation programs of JPO to receive trainees from developing countries in various regions, including Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Mr. Uemura has mainly contributed to the development cooperation in Asian and the Pacific region. He was dispatched to many countries in ASEAN as an expert to provide a variety of technical assistance, such as giving advice on examination practice or delivering a lecture on patent law.

Information Technology Activities:

Mr. Uemura has also been contributing to the promotion and development of information technologies in the intellectual property system. His contribution in this regard includes the "JAPAN'S VIEW ON THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ARENA" (ITIP/WG/I/6) distributed in the first session of the WIPO Working Group on Information Technologies for Intellectual Property, held on July 14, 1997. He has been closely and positively following a broad range of relevant international activities in WIPO and the Trilateral Patent Office Conference.

May 1998

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