IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Gyo-Ke) 10037 [Wood composite] <Presiding Judge Hibiku Shimizu>
Updated: 3 days ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Category: Patents
Issues: Inventive step, Numerical limitations and parameters, Design choices
First published on this website: 2026-10-03
Court: Intellectual Property High Court
Case number: Reiwa 7 (Gyo-Ke) 10037
Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10
IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Gyo-Ke) 10037 [Wood composite] <Presiding Judge Hibiku Shimizu>
Lacks inventive step.
The plaintiff argued that density, flake dimensions and orientation worked together synergistically and should be treated as one difference. The court upheld the JPO's separate assessment: the specification and experimental data showed individual effects, such as improved strength or surface properties, but no particular synergistic effect from their combination.
(1) Difference 1: density (400–550 kg/m³)
Ko 1 did not specify density, but Otsu 2–4 showed that 0.40–0.65 g/cm³ (400–650 kg/m³) was well known as suitable for wood boards.
⇒ Optimizing the density range for the intended use, a flooring substrate, was readily achievable by a skilled person.
(2) Difference 2: wood-flake dimensions (thickness 0.2–0.5 mm, etc.)
The invention specified detailed flake sizes, but Ko 4, Ko 5 and other prior art disclosed similar dimensions.
⇒ The trade-off that smaller flakes improve homogeneity and smoothness but reduce strength was common knowledge; optimizing values within that trade-off was within a skilled person's ordinary creativity. The absence of knots was also a natural consequence of fragmentation.
(3) Difference 3: random fiber orientation
The invention uses randomly oriented flakes.
⇒ Oriented and random arrangements were well-known alternatives for OSB. It was common knowledge that random orientation reduces direction-dependent strength variation (anisotropy), making its selection according to use obvious.
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Update history
Update history is maintained by adding entries.
2026-10-03: First published on this website; classification, article information, and consultation guide were set.
2026-10-10: Updated related-article links. The original article text was not changed.
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