IP High Court, Heisei 17 (Gyo-Ke) 10099 [Image processing system]
Updated: 4 days ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Categories: Patents
Topics: Added matter / Divisional applications
First published on this website: 2026-10-07
Display and classification checked: 2026-10-07
IP High Court, Heisei 17 (Gyo-Ke) 10099 [Image processing system]
* The divisional-application requirements were held to be violated even though the subject matter would have been obvious to a person skilled in the art from the original specification of the parent application.
(Excerpt from the judgment, translated)
A straightforward reading of the original specification of the parent application shows that the “digital image data” of the invention described there consists solely of digital image data obtained by reading images on developed negative film. No other “digital image data” is described.
[…]
Even if a person skilled in the art could understand from the original specification, to an extent permitting ready implementation, that the “digital image data” may be data formed by an electronic camera or the like and is not limited to a scanner, that does not mean the original specification described an invention in which the “means for reading a target image and converting it into digital image data” is not limited to scanner means.
https://lnkd.in/gnWiKGzD
Original article (2025-11-11):
https://lnkd.in/gSBEhuRS
Update history
This history records actual publication, display, and classification changes made on this site.
Content changes and display maintenance are recorded separately.
2026-10-07: First published from the original LinkedIn post; categories, article information, and consultation navigation added.
2026-10-07 | Related-article navigation: Added reciprocal links based on shared topics or the same source.
Related articles
Shared topic: Divisional applications — [Article / Contracts] Agreements concerning the handling of joint applications, etc. (Katsumi Sakurai, Intellectual Property Management, Vol. 61, No. 2, 2011)
2026-10-08: Added reciprocal related-article links.
Shared topic: Added matter — November 17, 2025
2026-10-08: Consolidated the two parts into one article; portions of the translated judgment excerpt were omitted, with omissions marked.
2026-10-12: added stable management IDs; completed missing management lines; completed canonical, hreflang, and paired search-index links. The original article text was not changed.
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