Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents Topics: Added matter, Enablement, Support requirement, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 3 (Chemistry 2) [Relationship between requirements for correction of medical-use inventions, particularly new matter, and the enablement and support requirements for t

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks, Distinctiveness, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Theme 6 (Trademarks) [Similarity of composite marks] <Marks formed by adding other characters, etc., to an already registered mark> • Whether the registered-mark portion is

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents, Europe Topics: Inventive step, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Theme 3 (Chemistry 2) [Consideration of experimental results submitted after filing: inventive step] Regarding experimental results submitted after filing (post-filed data), the practice is estab

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Trademarks Topics: Distinctiveness, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 6 (Trademarks) [Application of Article 3(1)(iv) of the Trademark Act to a mark combining a common surname and a customary name] IP High Court, Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10031 — Ikegami Seimensho Wher

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step, Doctrine of equivalents, Added matter, Divisional applications, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 4 (Electrical 1) [Inventive step in business-related inventions] IP High Court, Reiwa 4 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10039 The judgment recognized an

日本語版 Article information Article type: Reports and activities Category: Patents Topics: Novelty, Added matter, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-11 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-11 Trial and Appeal Practitioners Study Group Report 2024 — Case 2 (Chemistry 1) [Matters equivalent to disclosure in the earlier application’s specification; substantial identity] IP High Court, Heisei 26 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10097 — Flat nonaqueous-electrolyte s

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step, Motivation and teaching away, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10049 — Information processing apparatus (Judge Miyasaka) *The trial decision did not state the reasons for its obviousness determination. → Inventive step affirmed. (Excerpts from the judgment, translated;

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / Cancellation for non-use] IP High Court, Heisei 22 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10083 — “ECOPAC” *Prosecution history estoppel prevents an argument that the registered mark conveys the concept of “environmentally friendly packaging.” → The registered mark “ECOPAC” is not equivalent to “エ

日本語版 Article information Article type: Administrative decision note Category: Trademarks Topics: Examination and appeal practice、Distinctiveness First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] Trial decision, Appeal against refusal No. 2023-10504 Applied-for mark: “完全” (complete) → No distinctiveness (contrary to Article 3(1)(vi) of the Trademark Act). (Excerpt from the trial decision, translated) Even if the applied-for mark,

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Distinctiveness, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10038 Applied-for mark: “新生甘酒” (Shinsei amazake) → No distinctiveness (contrary to Article 3(1)(iii) of the Trademark Act). 1. If understood as “新生” + “甘酒” It could ordinarily be used for amazake whose ingredients, manuf