Tokyo District Court, 2022 (Wa) 70058 [Grapple Bucket Device] <Kokubu>
Updated: 6 hours ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Category: Patents
Topics: —
First published on this website: 2026-11-01
Display and classification checked: November 2, 2026
Originally published on Ameblo: 2025-12-10 (Japan time). Full English translation.
Tokyo District Court, 2022 (Wa) 70058 [Grapple Bucket Device] <Kokubu>
“Curved in an arc” (constituent requirement D2) not satisfied.
<No literal infringement>
“It is appropriate to interpret ‘arc-shaped’ in constituent requirement D2 as meaning a shape like a portion of a circumference, composed entirely of a curve, and ‘curved in an arc’ as meaning a shape that curves like a bow in the form of a portion of a circumference.”
⇒ The defendant's product has a shape in which two straight lines intersect, and is not found to be arc-shaped.
<No infringement under the doctrine of equivalents>
“It is appropriate to find that the characteristic part constituting the technical idea peculiar to the invention at issue and absent from the prior art … is that, by adopting the configuration relating to constituent requirements C and D, a large value of the inclination angle θ at which the blade edge contacts the object is maintained even in portions far from the pivot center, thereby maintaining a draw-cutting action and achieving a smooth cutting effect.”
⇒ The defendant's product does not possess the essential part of the invention at issue.
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The first-published date remains unchanged. Display maintenance, classification changes, related-article updates, and text corrections are recorded separately.
November 1, 2026: First published on this website.
November 2, 2026: Added article information, classification, topics, language navigation, related articles where the same case was confirmed, consultation guidance, and SEO. The original text and first-published date were preserved.
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