Routledge, 2009, 196 pages. Hardback, £35.00. ISBN 13: 978-0-415-46597-7
Review by Sean Curtin
This well-structured book examines the various ways in which intellectual property (IP) is used in Japan. It incorporates information provided by frontline decision makers in the country and is highly informative. It also looks at how Japan has attempted to develop its own new approach to intellectual property issues, especially those which stress the importance of innovation. This recent development has emerged in part as an attempt to inject new life into the anaemic Japanese economy which has struggled to shake off the shadow of stagnation and the deflationary spiral that engulfed the country during the nineties.
Taplin works hard to demonstrate why she firmly believes the Japanese economy was revitalised during the Koizumi administration of 2001-06. She shows how Koizumi skilfully used both economic and political structural reforms to attain his goals. He also embraced a radical IP drive that included the general Japanese population. His objective was to integrate Japan more firmly into the global economy, something Talpin thinks he achieved.
The book discusses what the author see as the “landmark decisions” involving employees’ rights to compensation and the “bold attempt” by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to create a market in cooperation with the London Stock Exchange which caters to small and medium enterprises (SME) companies. The author passionately believes these companies are often the locus of innovation. Taplin considers that these developments all point to a period of change ahead for Japan that “has only previously occurred in the nineteenth century”. The book is recommended reading for those interested in understanding how the Japanese economy is changing, the evolving role of IP in revitalizing the economy, and how Japan is attempting to adapt to the opportunities and challenges of an increasingly globalised world.
