[Article / Patents] Double standards in inventive-step assessment (Hideki Takaishi, Patent, June 2024)
The dividing line for a “design choice” Whether the configuration constituting the difference correlates with the “problem addressed by the invention,” and whether its technical significance is disclosed in the specification, is the decisive boundary separating obviousness from non-obviousness.
IP High Court, Case No. 2025 (Gyo-ke) 10037
[Cross-sectional image detection apparatus] (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) *Inventive step denied
IP High Court, Case No. 2025 (Gyo-ke) 10051
[Pharmaceutical product] (Koa v. Toa) (Presiding Judge Masuda) *Inventive step denied
![Tokyo District Court, 2012 (Wa) 12351 [Rice Cake]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/324a18_1e68d290faf1421383ef0182da9fd77b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_225,h_125,fp_0.50_0.50,lg_1,q_35,blur_30,enc_avif,quality_auto/324a18_1e68d290faf1421383ef0182da9fd77b~mv2.webp)
![Tokyo District Court, 2012 (Wa) 12351 [Rice Cake]](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/324a18_1e68d290faf1421383ef0182da9fd77b~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_38,h_21,fp_0.50_0.50,q_95,enc_avif,quality_auto/324a18_1e68d290faf1421383ef0182da9fd77b~mv2.webp)