I-OPEN PROJECT Designated Recipient of Good Design Award 2023

1. Overview of the I-OPEN PROJECT

The I-OPEN* PROJECT is an initiative in which the JPO itself has redefined the value of IP from the perspectives of IP users in accordance with the Design-Driven Management declaration released by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the JPO in 2018. Under this project, the JPO has been supporting startups, non-profit corporations, and individuals working to solve social challenges, which often consider IP rights such as patent and trademark rights to be unrelated to their operations, in making use of IP rights not only for business monopolization but also for expansion of their ideas, and encouraging them to solve social challenges.

2. Outcomes of the I-OPEN PROJECT

Under the project, for two years from FY2021, the JPO has provided an accompanying support system with experts, training courses, and communities to support 21 organizations and individuals in solving social challenges by making use of IP. (For details, see the I-OPEN PROJECT website.)
 
From FY2023 onward, the JPO will continue to advance the project and will take the opportunity of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan to convey to the world information on the outcomes of the project, such as a collection of case examples of leading companies taking advantage of IP and including the process of the project.

Related Links

• Gallery of Good Design Award winners
• I-OPEN PROJECT (in Japanese)
• Action Plan of Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan (see page 87) (in Japanese)

Divisions in Charge

• Information on design-driven management:

  Design-Driven Management Project Team, Japan Patent Office

• Information on this press release:

  General Coordination Division, Policy Planning and Coordination Department, Japan Patent Office