[Title of the patent] “Application generation support system and application generation support program”

[Key issue] Inventive step (Article 29, paragraph (2) of the Patent Act)

Court stated in the decision that there is no motivation to apply the well-known art to the cited invention in view of the purpose thereof.

The government made a final plan on March 10 for the revision of the Civil Procedure Code, including full online procedures for civil trials.
Under this revision, all documents for civil trials will have to be submitted online.
The government aims to achieve this revision in 2022.

Guidebook of the IP High Court is now available.
The guidebook contains interesting topics such as “System of IP-related Litigation”, “Management of Proceedings for Patent-related Cases” and “Statistics”.

[Suit against Invalidation Appeal Decision of Trademark Application]

[Key issue] “Likely to cause confusion” (Article 4, paragraph (1), item (xv) of the Trademark Act).

Trademark at issue	Cited Trademark

Considering the following facts, Court concluded that the Trademark “is likely to cause confusion”:
While the Trademark and the Cited Trademark are different in silhouette, and because of the presence or lack of a design that is outlined by a white line inside, and other features, the two trademarks are similar in the entire silhouette.
The Cited Trademark has become a well-known trademark that is widely recognized by traders and consumers in Japan as a trademark indicating clothing, caps, hats, and the like of the brand, “PUMA”, pertaining to the plaintiff’s business.
While the designated goods of the Trademark are “tee-shirts; headgear for wear”, the brand, “PUMA”, also covers products of T-shirts, caps, and hats…

JPO produced an English brochure explaining the most recent revision of the Design Act.

[Suit against Appeal Decision on Refusal of Design Patent Application]

A case in which, with regard to the design according to a body of an electric toothbrush, the constitution of the entirety and the constitution of the shaft portion create a common aesthetic impression as a whole, in which an impression received from the different point that two buttons for controlling operation are disposed vertically on a front surface of the body grasping portion in the design of the present application, whereas in the cited design, one is disposed, does not exceed the impression received from the common point, and it is judged that the design of the present application is similar to the cited design.

Drawing of design at issue	Drawing of cited design

[Title of the patent] “Carbon dioxide-containing viscous composition”

[Key issue] Criteria for deciding the amount of damage compensation (Article 102, paragraphs (2) and (3) of the Patent Act)

A recent IPHC Ground Panel judgment delivered on June 7, 2019.