Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [Unfair Competition Prevention Act / Imitation of configuration] Case No. 2025 (Ne) 10055 (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) Substantial identity of configuration denied The survey at issue did not use close-up photographs of the coats, but had respondents compare overall images of unknown resolution on mobile phones or computer screens. The impression obtained differs from that obtained by actually holding and observing the products. Only 41.0% to

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [Unfair Competition Prevention Act / Trade secrets] Osaka District Court, Case No. 2025 (Wa) 5424 (Presiding Judge Matsuami) "Details of users' insurance information, etc. (part of the master maintenance information), and Home-Visit Nursing Record I" constitute trade secrets. "Lists of staff members and medical institutions, etc., generic consent form templates, manuals, etc." do not constitute trade secrets (insufficient proof). Acquisitio

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む [Unfair Competition Prevention Act, Article 2(7)] Osaka District Court, Case No. 2025 (Wa) 7894 (Presiding Judge Matsukawa) 1. Pachinko machine payout data (machine data) does not constitute "data for limited provision." 2. Agreement to terms of use and installation of a bot exclusion tool (CT), even if they restrict the method of access, do not limit the "persons" accessing the data and therefore do not satisfy the requirements for "data f

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む Scope: Articles published in January 2026 by attorney Hideki Takaishi (Nakamura & Partners) Number of items included: 34 List page: https://www.nakapat.gr.jp/ja/legal_updates_jp/ <Highlights of This Month> Key Points in the January 2026 Intellectual Property and Legal Affairs Update This month’s legal update addresses 34 court decisions and commentaries spanning a broad range of intellectual-property practice, including chains of divisional