All Practice Exams
100+ Free Benrishi Exam Practice Questions
Japan Patent Attorney Examination (Benrishi) practice questions are available now; exam metadata is being verified.
✓ No registration✓ No credit card✓ No hidden fees✓ Start practicing immediately
~6-10% Pass Rate
100+ Questions
100% Free
Loading questions...
Same family resources
Explore More IP Agent Exams
Continue into nearby exams from the same family. Each card keeps practice questions, study guides, flashcards, videos, and articles in one place.
2026 Statistics
Key Facts: Benrishi Exam Exam
~6-10%
Final Pass Rate
JPO statistics
3 stages
Short-answer, essay, oral
JPO examination structure
20 years
Patent term from filing
Patent Act Art 67
25 years
Design term from filing (2019 reform)
Design Act
12 months
Paris priority for patents
Paris Convention Art 4
30 months
PCT national-phase entry in Japan
Patent Cooperation Treaty
The Benrishi exam qualifies patent attorneys in Japan and is run by the JPO. It has three stages: a Stage 1 short-answer mark-sheet (multiple-choice) paper, a Stage 2 essay paper, and a Stage 3 oral exam. The Stage 1 short-answer paper tests the Patent Act, Utility Model Act, Design Act, Trademark Act, the Paris Convention and PCT, and related laws (Unfair Competition Prevention Act, Copyright Act). Key Patent Act points include worldwide novelty (Art 29), the first-to-file rule (Art 39), the one-year grace period (Art 30), the three-year examination-request window (Art 48-3), the 20-years-from-filing term (Art 67), six-month post-grant opposition (Art 113), and invalidation/appeal trials before the JPO Appeal Board (Art 121, 123). The final pass rate is commonly around 6-10%, and candidates typically prepare for one to three years. No degree is required to sit, but practical training is needed before registration with the JPAA.
Sample Benrishi Exam Practice Questions
Try these sample questions to test your Benrishi Exam exam readiness. Each question includes a detailed explanation. Start the interactive quiz above for the full 100+ question experience with AI tutoring.
1Under Article 29(1) of the Japan Patent Act, which standard determines whether an invention satisfies the novelty requirement?
A.The invention must not have been publicly known, publicly worked, or described in a distributed publication or made available over telecommunications lines, anywhere in the world, before the filing of the application
B.The invention must not have been publicly known only within Japan before the filing of the application
C.The invention must not have been described in a Japanese-language publication before the priority date
D.The invention must be commercially successful and not previously sold in Japan
Explanation: Article 29(1) of the Patent Act applies a worldwide (absolute) novelty standard. An invention loses novelty if, before filing, it was publicly known (item i), publicly worked (item ii), or described in a distributed publication or made available to the public over telecommunications lines (item iii), in Japan or any foreign country.
2An invention could have been easily made by a person ordinarily skilled in the art based on prior art available before filing. Which provision bars its patenting and on what ground?
A.Article 39, because an earlier identical application exists
B.Article 32, because the invention is contrary to public order
C.Article 29(1), for lack of novelty
D.Article 29(2), for lack of an inventive step
Explanation: Article 29(2) denies a patent where a person ordinarily skilled in the art could easily have made the invention based on prior art falling under Article 29(1). This is the inventive-step (non-obviousness) requirement, distinct from the novelty bar in Article 29(1).
3Two applicants independently file applications claiming the identical invention on different days. Under Article 39 of the Patent Act, who is entitled to the patent?
A.The applicant who first reduced the invention to practice
B.The applicant who first conceived the invention
C.Only the applicant who filed earliest in time
D.Both applicants, who must share the patent equally
Explanation: Japan applies the first-to-file principle under Article 39. When two or more applications claim the same invention on different filing dates, only the earliest filer may obtain the patent. Where the applications share the same filing date, Article 39 requires the applicants to consult and agree on a single applicant.
4An inventor presented her invention at an academic conference, then wished to preserve patentability. Under the Patent Act grace-period provision (Article 30), what must she do?
A.File a Japanese patent application within six months of the disclosure with no formalities
B.Register the disclosure with the JPO before presenting at the conference
C.File a Japanese patent application within one year of the disclosure and assert the exception, with the prescribed proof
D.Do nothing, because academic disclosures never count as prior art in Japan
Explanation: Article 30 provides an exception to loss of novelty/inventive step for disclosures made by or with the consent of the person entitled to a patent. Since the 2018 amendment, the application must be filed within one year of the disclosure, and the applicant must assert the exception and submit a proving document within the prescribed time.
5Within what period from the filing date may an applicant or any third party request substantive examination of a Japanese patent application under Article 48-3?
A.Three years from the filing date
B.Seven years from the filing date
C.One year from the filing date
D.Examination is automatic and no request is needed
Explanation: Under Article 48-3, a request for examination must be filed within three years of the filing date; the applicant or any third party may file it. If no request is made within three years, the application is deemed withdrawn under Article 48-3(4).
6What is the standard term of a patent right in Japan, measured from which date, under Article 67?
A.Twenty years from the date of registration of establishment
B.Twenty-five years from the filing date
C.Fifteen years from the publication date
D.Twenty years from the filing date of the application
Explanation: Under Article 67(1), a patent right expires twenty years from the filing date of the application. A term extension may be available in limited cases (for example, regulatory delay for pharmaceuticals/agrochemicals, and a separate extension for unreasonable examination delay).
7When may an applicant file a divisional patent application under Article 44 of the Patent Act?
A.Only before the request for examination is filed
B.Only after the patent is granted and registered
C.Within periods when amendments are permitted, plus certain windows after a refusal or allowance decision
D.At any time, even after the patent right has lapsed
Explanation: Article 44 permits a divisional application where the original contains two or more inventions, and it may be filed during periods when the specification, claims, or drawings may be amended, as well as within prescribed windows after a decision of refusal or a notice/decision of grant. A divisional keeps the original filing date for prior-art purposes.
8Article 17-2(3) restricts amendments to the specification, claims, or drawings. What is the core limitation it imposes?
A.Amendments may add any subject matter so long as the claims become narrower
B.Amendments are prohibited entirely after the request for examination
C.Amendments must not add new matter beyond the scope of the matters disclosed in the originally filed documents
D.Amendments may broaden the claims freely before the first office action
Explanation: Article 17-2(3) prohibits adding new matter: an amendment must stay within the scope of the matters described in the description, claims, or drawings as originally filed. Adding subject matter beyond the original disclosure is a ground for refusal and, after grant, can support invalidation.
9Under Article 36(6)(ii) of the Patent Act, the claims must be 'clear.' Which other requirement of Article 36(6) demands that each claim be supported by the detailed description?
A.The support requirement under Article 36(6)(i)
B.The enablement requirement under Article 36(4)(i)
C.The unity-of-invention requirement under Article 37
D.The best-mode requirement
Explanation: Article 36(6)(i) is the support requirement: the matter stated in each claim must be disclosed in the detailed description of the invention. It is distinct from the clarity requirement (Article 36(6)(ii)) and from the enablement requirement of Article 36(4)(i), which concerns whether the description enables a skilled person to carry out the invention.
10A third party wishes to challenge a granted patent shortly after grant through the JPO's post-grant opposition system under Article 113. What is the time limit to file the opposition?
A.Within two months from publication of the patent gazette
B.Within thirty days from the registration of establishment
C.At any time during the life of the patent
D.Within six months from publication of the patent gazette
Explanation: The patent opposition system (reintroduced in 2015) under Article 113 allows anyone to file an opposition within six months from the date of publication of the patent gazette. It is examined by a panel of administrative patent judges in the JPO Trial and Appeal Department.
About the Benrishi Exam Practice Questions
Verified exam format metadata for Japan Patent Attorney Examination (Benrishi) is pending. The practice questions above remain available while official exam length, timing, passing score, fee, and administrator details are reviewed.