Lipase Patent Application The “lipase” is one of the digestive enzymes for digestion of food, and is called “lipolytic enzyme.” A test on the level of lipase in the blood yields important results on a pancreatic disease such as pancreatitis based upon the fact that an increase in the level of lipase in the blood […]

About Polarizing FilmIn the present case, there were disputes about patentability of a”process of manufacturing a polarizing film.” What is the polarizing film? It is a film having lines microscopically printed thereon parallel to each other e.g. only in a longitudinal direction. Only a natural light polarized in such a longitudinal direction is allowed to […]

What Is Likelihood Of Confusion? TRADEMARKS OF NINA RICCININA RICCI had registration No. 661,424 (publication No. S39-021077) with respect to a mark “L’AIR DU TEMPS” for the designated goods in old Class 4: “Perfumes, and other related goods in the class” (NINA RICCI’s Registered Trademark). In addition to such a registered trademark, NINA RICCI sold […]

Background Of Case EchigoSeika Co., Ltd. has been a proprietor of Japanese Patent No. 4,111,382 (‘382 patent) with respect to the invention of rice cake, while Sato Foods Industries Co., Ltd. had sold rice cake called “Sato’s Kiri-Mochi” (Sato’s rice cake) for many years. Probably due to anxiety about favorable sales of Sato’s rice cake, […]

About Ball Spline BearingThe patent right at issue was claimed for the invention, “ball spline bearing.” The invention is a bearing capable of moving along a shaft in a longitudinal direction while making a torque transmission. The bearing is used for e.g. a vehicle’s axle shaft. This invention is more complicatedly configured such that balls […]

About Kilby PatentThe widely-known “Kilby patent” has been derived from the individual name, Mr. Kilby. The patent publication shown below is that of the disputed patent, on which the name of the inventor, “Jack St. Clair Kilby,” is explicitly written along with the address. The volume of the printed patent, 4 pages in total, appears […]

Doctrine Of Patent Exhaustion It is obvious that a patented product purchased legitimately from a patentee is not subjected to enforcement of a patent right after purchase. In some cafe shops, a relay broadcast program of a baseball game is often watched on TV. If a manufacturer enforces a patent right to a TV receiver […]

Disputes Up To High CourtBBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG in Germany owned German and Japanese patent rights to protect their aluminum automobile wheels. Japanese patent No. 1,629,869 was notified in the examined patent publication (instead of the patent publication at that time). On the other hand, there was an importer who purchased the patented products legitimately from […]

Prior UseJapanese Patent Act stipulates “prior use” that allows a prior user (having prior user rights) to continue using an invention of another party granted a patent if it is proved that the user had manufactured and sold products identical to the patented invention before a patent application was filed with respect to such an […]