The Ministry of Justice has begun discussions on deregulation for the exchange of intellectual property rights for company shares during the 2024 fiscal year. The aim is to make it easier for start-up companies with limited financial resources to acquire patents and technologies held by universities and research institutions.

Start-up companies play an important role in promoting technological innovation to meet market needs, but due to their limited financial resources it can be difficult for them to acquire intellectual property rights. Currently, when exchanging intellectual property rights for company shares, a court-appointed inspector and lengthy evaluation process is required.

To reduce the burden of this procedure, the Ministry of Justice’s proposal expands the scope of the exceptions that do not require inspection, and overhauling the inspector system. They are also considering expanding the scope of the free transfer of company shares and improving the system for transferring shares as collateral in overseas M&A deals.

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