A , short for , is a published, unexamined
Japanese
patent application
A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for an invention described in the patent specification and a set of one or more claims stated in a formal document, including necessary official forms and re ...
, in contrast to the ''
kokoku'' or ''tokkyo kōhō'', the examined and approved Japanese patent application.
''Kōkai'' means "open to the public", or "laid-open". ''Kōkai'' are published eighteen months after the earliest
priority date.
is another shorthand for ''kōkai tokkyo kōhō'', taken from the first character of ''tokkyo'' (patent) and the second of ''kōkai''.
See also
*
Japanese patent law
Japanese patent law is based on the first-to-file principle and is mainly given force by the of Japan. Article 2 defines an invention as "the highly advanced creation of technical ideas utilizing the law of nature".
English translation
The d ...
References
Japanese patent law
{{Japan-law-stub