AIPPI Trilateral Meeting 2025 Participation Report

What is the AIPPI Trilateral Meeting?

AIPPI (International Association for the Protection of Intellectual Property) is an organization whose purpose is to research and study international trends in intellectual property, promote international exchange in the field, and contribute to the international development of intellectual property. It currently has approximately 70 members in over 8,000 countries around the world.
The Trilateral Meeting is one of the AIPPI conferences held annually by Japan, China, and South Korea on a rotating basis. Through lectures and sessions, participants share information on the latest systems and practices in the field of intellectual property in each country and engage in in-depth discussions.
The 20th anniversary of the event will be held in Gyeongju, South Korea in 2025, and a total of 165 people will gather at the venue, including participants from not only Japan, China, and South Korea, but also Southeast Asia and Europe.

Gyeongju is a historic city with many historical sites registered as World Heritage Sites, and the venue, located on the banks of a quiet lake, was surrounded by nature and offered a tranquil environment, creating an atmosphere perfect for an international conference.

Global IP content strategy

The Trilateral Meeting will consist of a keynote speech by an expert from the host country and three thematic sessions.
This year, the following sessions were held, with one speaker from each country participating and giving a presentation.

• “Global IP Strategies for Cultural Content”,
• IP Landscape,
• "IP Developments in Each Jurisdiction" (Latest information on intellectual property systems in each country)

The theme of the session in which I spoke, "Global IP Strategies for Cultural Content," was suggested by the AIPPI Korea Chapter, who wanted to "attract interest not only from lawyers and patent attorneys but also from participants in the business sector."

A trademark attorney from China took the stage and gave a presentation on the practical aspects of protecting anime and characters.
Strategies were introduced that include not only titles of works and names of characters, but also iconic items such as "Pokémon balls" and "Luffy's straw hat" as targets for trademark registration, demonstrating the diversification of the use of character trademarks.
Through these examples, we were able to understand the current situation regarding character brand protection practices in the Chinese market.

Next, from Korea, a manager took the stage who used a license from the media brand "Discovery Channel" to develop and grow the fashion brand "Discovery EXPEDITION" in Korea.
The presentations shared practical key points for working on brand licensing business, as well as know-how for developing brands run by athletes and actors in accordance with the culture and market of each country. Through both presentations, it was once again clear to see that protecting and utilizing entertainment content such as anime, characters, and fashion internationally requires not only legal knowledge but also a multifaceted strategy based on on-site business acumen.

I gave a presentation on the topic of "Rights handling when distributing Japanese video content overseas" from the perspective of Japan's legal system and contractual practices.
Japanese video content is distributed in a variety of forms, including being distributed as is with subtitles or dubbing, being independently remade locally, or being remade in collaboration with overseas production companies. Regardless of the method used, it is essential to obtain appropriate permission from the respective rights holders involved in the original work and production of the work.
Many people are involved in video production, including the original author, actors, screenwriters, and music composers, and when it comes to works that have an original work, it is especially important to consider the "right to maintain the integrity of the work," which is one of the "moral rights of authors," and is the right of the author not to alter the work against his or her will. Based on an understanding of these rights, this lecture outlined and introduced the recent thinking on moral rights in Japan and points to keep in mind when negotiating contracts based on this.

We also covered the "production committee system," which is unique to Japan.
He explained that when a work produced under this method, in which multiple companies jointly invest and share the rights to the film, is used overseas, it is important to confirm whether specific agreements regarding overseas expansion have been reached within the production committee.

Many practical questions were asked from the audience, including how to handle the moral rights of authors, the background behind the mainstreaming of the production committee system, and how to handle rights for using music in film.
Even after the session ended, individual questions were asked, demonstrating the high level of interest overseas in Japanese entertainment law.

Details of the presentation will be provided separately if the opportunity arises.

Practical insight beyond the system: Real knowledge gained at an international conference

In addition to keynote speeches and sessions, the conference also provided opportunities for networking, such as a welcome reception and closing dinner.
These forums were extremely valuable opportunities to learn about the practical procedures and ways of thinking based on the cultural backgrounds of each country, which cannot be seen from systems and articles alone.
In particular, it was a great benefit to be able to hear directly from experts from various countries about their specific thoughts and experiences on how to proceed with contract negotiations and how to find practical compromises.

We would like to continue to actively participate in such international conferences in order to directly keep up with the latest trends in intellectual property practice overseas and provide legal support for the overseas expansion of Japanese entertainment and content businesses.

In the entertainment and content business sector, it is no exaggeration to say that the success or failure of overseas expansion depends largely on whether or not we can provide support that is in line with the latest institutional circumstances, cultural background, and business practices of each country.
If you have any concerns about legal matters related to the overseas expansion of your entertainment or content business, please feel free to contact Mimura Komatsu Law Office.

【2025.8.8】