Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step, Doctrine of equivalents, Added matter, Divisional applications, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 4 (Electrical 1) [Inventive step in business-related inventions] IP High Court, Reiwa 4 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10039 The judgment recognized an

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Doctrine of equivalents First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Ne) No. 10074 [Reservation Management Device] <Presiding Judge Masuda> *As at first instance, the doctrine of equivalents was rejected. (Excerpt from the judgment; translated) As stated in Section 5(2) of Part III of the “Facts and Reasons” of the cited original judgment,

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents Topics: Novelty, Added matter, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 2 (Chemistry 1) [Matters equivalent to disclosure in the earlier application’s specification; substantial identity] IP High Court, Heisei 26 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10097 — Flat nonaqueous-electrolyte s

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Indirect infringement First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 IP High Court, Heisei 25 (Ne) No. 10007 — Stirring and granulating apparatus (Judge Shitara) *Two products delivered on the same day were found to have been sold as an integrated unit. → Direct infringement established! (Excerpt from the judgment, translated; portions omitted) The defendant’s produ

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Unfair competition law Topics: Litigation procedure First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 Osaka High Court, Heisei 23 (Ne) No. 2651 — Unfair Competition Prevention Act *An image displayed by the Wayback Machine can change when the linked content changes. (This concern does not apply to content other than links.) (Excerpt from the judgment, translated) Internet Archive is a

日本語版 Article information Article type: Lectures and videos Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [New YouTube video] Inventive step — expanded version This video introduces recent decisions concerning inventive step added to the fourth edition of the Encyclopedia of Patent Court Decisions. It is an edited recording of my lecture at Chizai LAB on July 30, 2025. As with other topics, I discus

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Designs Topics: Litigation procedure First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 Heisei 16 (Wa) No. 10431 — Design infringement litigation *The court recognized the reliability of the Wayback Machine. (Excerpt from the judgment, translated) The US nonprofit Internet Archive began collecting the worldwide Web in 1996 and made its archive publicly available through the Wayback Mac

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Claim interpretation First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 Intellectual Property High Court (Grand Panel), Reiwa 5 (Ne) No. 10040 — Composition for promoting an increase in subcutaneous adipose tissue (Judge Honda) *Where consideration is received, the act generally does not constitute experimentation or research under Article 69(1) of the Patent Act. Unlik

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Issues discussed in the text First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-10 Osaka High Court, Heisei 11 (Ne) No. 18 — Method of attaching a filter to an exhaust outlet *For a product sold as a set, the “exclusively” requirement is assessed for the set as a whole. (Excerpt from the judgment, translated) Product 1 is sold as an integrated set comprising a range-ho

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step, Motivation and teaching away First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 IP High Court, Reiwa 4 (Ne) No. 10070 — Image display method (Judge Kanno) *The court found the invention readily conceivable on the basis of its “advantages”! → Inventive step denied. (Excerpt from the judgment, translated) [...] Adopting a Web browser in place of a Web clie