On October 20, 2026, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) held the 23rd meeting of the Design System Subcommittee, Intellectual Property Committee, Industrial Structure Council. The following is an outline of the meeting.

1. Discussions to date at JPO

Regarding the “Protection of Designs in Virtual Spaces,” which has been under consideration at the JPO since late 2024, the original proposal—which was predicated on statutory amendments—was revised. A modified proposal addressing the issue within the framework of the current law was presented and received support from the participating committee members.

2. Proposed Measures for the Protection of Designs in Virtual Spaces

(1) Key Points of the Original Proposal
“Assessment of the similarity of uses and functions of virtual goods, etc.”

[Virtual Space]

➢Perspective from within the virtual space: Function as a sofa for an avatar to sit on.

(2) Key Points of the Revised Proposal
[Real Space]

➢Perspective from the real space: Interior simulation function.

(3) Differences Between the Two Proposals
Under the original proposal, since the image of a sofa in a virtual space fall under neither (a) images for operation nor (b) images for display recognized under the current Design Act, statutory amendments are required.

Under the revised proposal, since the image corresponds to images for operation or images for display of a device demonstrating the functions of an interior simulation application, it can be encompassed within the framework of the current Design Act.

(4) Future Steps
Discussions will proceed based on the revised proposal, and guidelines featuring case examples will be prepared for users of the design system and creators.

3. Main Opinions from Participating Committee Members
➢ Committee members welcomed the proposal as a realistic approach that avoids statutory amendments.
➢ They requested further concrete examples.
➢ They requested clear distinction from non-protected subjects such as games and content images.

4. Summary
Discussions will continue in subsequent meetings (around this December).

For documents and materials from the Design System Subcommittee, please refer to the following JPO webpage (please note that the content is available only in Japanese).
https://www.jpo.go.jp/resources/shingikai/sangyo-kouzou/shousai/isho_shoi/index.html

5. Practical Implications
Since the subcommittee agreed to proceed without seeking statutory amendments, the relevant practice may be established at an early stage through revisions to the Examination Guidelines, etc.

For those seeking protection for 3D model designs in virtual spaces—which have not been clearly protected in Japan to date—special attention should be paid to future discussion trends based on specific case examples.