Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

Failure to meet the support requirement (+ lack of inventive step) “Lactococcus garvieae of a serotype that is neither KG− nor KG+” also includes type III Lactococcus garvieae, observed from 2021 onward. The specification contains no disclosure whatsoever of a vaccine preparation against streptococcosis caused by type III bacteria, and an inactivated type III vaccine is ineffective against streptococcosis caused by type II bacteria.

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

[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.

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

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

[System for providing massage-related services] (Presiding Judge Nakadaira) 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.

[Cross-sectional image detection apparatus] (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) *Inventive step denied

[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.

[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)