Author: kazu

Episode 26 The Design Act stipulates that, as a requirement for design registration, “Anyone who creates a design capable of industrial application… may obtain a design registration for that design.” (Article 3, Paragraph 1, Heading). This means that a design must be capable of industrial mass production. The need for such design protection arose due…

Episode 25 In Episode 24, we discussed the appeal (Intellectual Property High Court, Reiwa 3 (Ne) No. 10037, Judgment May 27, 2025) of the lawsuit against Sawai Pharmaceutical and Fuso Pharmaceutical for damages for infringement of Toray’s use patent for an oral antipruritic agent (Patent No. 3531170, extended registration term expires in November 2022, hereinafter…

Episode 24 Toray filed a lawsuit against Sawai Pharmaceutical and Fuso Pharmaceutical for damages for infringement of the generic drug patent based on the use patent for an oral antipruritic agent (Patent No. 3531170, extension registration: Patent Application No. 2017-700154, Patent Application No. 2017-700310, hereinafter “the Patent Right”, expiring in November 2022). In the appeal…

Episode 23 Supreme Court rulings on the doctrine of equivalents include the Ball Spline case (Supreme Court ruling of February 24, 1998) and the Maxacalcitol case (Supreme Court ruling of March 24, 2017). The doctrine of equivalents presented in the Ball Spline case typically assumes relief for patent holders when a new material with the…

Episode 22 When a company is trying to build a brand image, it may be considered effective to be able to protect the background pattern on the surface of the product or the background pattern on the wrapping paper as a right. Regarding this, the Trademark Examination Guidelines of the Japan Patent Office, regarding the…