Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

[Box-shaped vessel] (Presiding Judge Sugiura) *The defendant denies involvement with the products at issue. ⇒ No "obligation to clarify the specific manner."

1. The problem with “jisha” (one’s own company) and “tasha” (other companies) Problem: They are often rendered in English as grammatically incorrect expressions such as “its own company” or “an own company” (“own” needs a possessive pronoun). Suggested improvement: Use “a company” at the first mention and “the company” thereafter. Consider “in-house” for an internal nuance. Make “tasha” specific as “another company” or “competitor.”

[Widening structure for a shield tunnel] (Presiding Judge Nakajima) *Claim requirements not satisfied (the doctrine of equivalents also not established).

[Women's clothing] (Presiding Judge Moritomi) *Inventive step recognized.

[Taxi dispatch management system] (Presiding Judge Matsuami) *Claim requirements not satisfied (the doctrine of equivalents also not established). "Taxi (information)" in claim element C means individual vehicles (information about them).

[Aerosol for mosquito control] (Presiding Judge Takahashi) *Violation of the clarity requirement. "Adherent particles" means chemical-agent particles formed by spraying aerosol concentrate into the treatment space, which adhere to floor surfaces, walls, etc., remain adhered as time passes, and exterminate or control mosquitoes resting on exposed portions.

[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).

(Hideki Takaishi, Nakamura & Partners) [Some case introductions omitted] 1. Central message of the video

[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 alignment and IP strategy.

[System for providing an integrated homepage service] (Presiding Judge Nakadaira) *Claim requirements not satisfied (same as the first-instance judgment).