Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Tokyo District Court, Case No. 2023 (Wa) 70402 [Siphonic rain gutter system] (Presiding Judge Nakajima) *Inventive step recognized. The inventions in Exhibits Otsu A25 and Otsu A26 lack motivation for combination because their technical approaches are opposites (the former generates turbulence; the latter prevents it). The invention in Exhibit Otsu A21 (ordinary drainage) and that in Exhibit Otsu A25 (siphonic drainage) differ in technical

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [IP Practice Online] Introduction of important patent judgments newly included in "Patent Case Law Encyclopedia, 4th edition" (Chizai Juku) (Hideki Takaishi, Nakamura & Partners) [Some case introductions omitted] 1. Central message of the video How the "problem of the invention" is set in the specification affects all of the support requirement, enablement, inventive step, addition of new matter, claim interpretation and satisfaction of cla

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [IP Practice Online] Transforming corporate IP with AI agents — From business assistant to strategic partner (Kosuke Kuriyama) [Summary translation to fit the character limit] IP departments should redesign operations and organization around AI that obtains materials, plans and executes multiple processes. The aim is to assign routine filing, prosecution and searches to AI, freeing humans for case prioritization, claim design, business alig

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Case No. 2025 (Ne) 10048 [System for providing an integrated homepage service] (Presiding Judge Nakahira) *Claim requirements not satisfied (same as the first-instance judgment). "Metadata" means data received by this system that an information provider entered in the metadata frame for information-provider registration—an input form sent from this system to the provider's information device—and that includes purposes of homepage production

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Case No. 2024 (Gyo-ke) 10077 [System for providing massage-related services] (Presiding Judge Nakahira) It is appropriate to interpret "program code" as meaning "instructions, data, etc. created using an artificial language for the purpose of having a computer interpret or execute them"; it is not limited to source code. ⇒ Invalidation decision maintained. (Quotations are translations.) https://lnkd.in/gZcZHTPK https://lnkd.in/gn-TsA7r hanr

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Case No. 2025 (Gyo-ke) 10037 [Cross-sectional image detection apparatus] (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) *Inventive step denied <Inventive step (1: Identification of the gist of the invention)> (Translation of the quoted judgment) "Neither the 'image including the axis of the image object of a dental artifact' nor the 'axis of the image object of a dental artifact' in the configuration of Invention 1 at issue asserted by the plaintiff is stated

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [Claim for remuneration for an employee invention] Tokyo District Court, Case No. 2023 (Wa) 70685 (Presiding Judge Sugiura) The three perspectives prescribed by Article 35(4) of the Patent Act as amended in 2004: 1. Circumstances of consultation The circumstances of consultation with employees when the defendant's (Mitsubishi Electric's) rules were established are not unreasonable. 2. Disclosure of the standards The rules and standards were

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Case No. 2025 (Gyo-ke) 10027 [Hinge] (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) *Inventive step recognized A configuration for solving the problem of the primary cited invention cannot be changed without a particular reason. (What constitutes a particular reason?) (Excerpts from the judgment — translated) Given that the configuration of the invention in Exhibit Ko 3, namely the arrangement of arm support projections 16 and 17 outside the first cam portion

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Osaka District Court, Case No. 2024 (Wa) 2606 [Electric coffee maker] (Presiding Judge Matsuami) Invention 1 at issue has a configuration in which the heater is turned off when the water temperature inside the boiler reaches 90–100°C, and steam pressure caused by boiling is not generated. The defendant's product has a configuration in which the heater is turned off after the hot water in the boiler boils and reaches 100.7°C (measured value)

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Tokyo District Court, Case No. 2024 (Wa) 70225 [Unsecured funding system for credit card merchants through the purchase of undetermined future credit receivables] (Presiding Judge Takahashi) ● Meaning of "credit card company" (element A) The specification at issue clearly distinguishes between credit card companies and credit card payment processing companies. ⇒ Credit card payment processing companies and their service divisions are not in