Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 7 (Wa) 70141, “Inactivated vaccine preparation” (Presiding Judge Nakashima)

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Article information

Article type: Case note

Display and classification checked: 2026-09-30

Categories: Patents

Topics: Support requirement / Inventive step / Claim interpretation

Published on this website: 2026-09-29

Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 7 (Wa) 70141, “Inactivated vaccine preparation” (Presiding Judge Nakashima)

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.

The patentee argued that “neither KG− nor KG+” in the invention meant only type II. The court rejected that argument: neither type II nor type III was recognized as a classification at the priority date, so the premise that the phrase was understood to mean type II was lacking.

https://lnkd.in/gtJf3kka

https://lnkd.in/gdThyj4j

hanrei-pdf-95718.pdf — courts.go.jp

Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510498312488308738/

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Updates and corrections

This log starts on 30 September 2026. Display and classification checks are distinct from a review of the legal analysis.

2026-09-30 — Presentation update: added the article type, this change log and a link to consultation options. The existing article text was preserved.

2026-10-01 | Name notation: replaced verified Japanese-script personal names with Roman-letter forms in this English article and its navigation. Legal analysis and original publication date unchanged.

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