Latest Study on "Inventive Step" in Japan
(in Japanese only).
Because the examination guidelines for “inventive step” in Japan are different from those in Europe and United States, the patent bar has been demanding an appropriate standardization of the guidelines. Furthermore, the industry has long argued that examination standards for “inventive step” in Japan are too strict. Last year, METI initiated the study which focused on individual case studies and comparative studies of systems and operations related to the “inventive step” in different countries and regions.
As a result of the study, Industrial Structure Council reported that most decisions for rejection or invalidation for individual cases were appropriate. Also, the final result of prosecuting corresponding applications in Japan, Europe and the United States has usually been the same. Some of the corporations and patent firms that were interviewed for the study, however, pointed out that the JPO does not always explain in a logical way how they determined that an application lacks an “inventive step.”
The METI intends to use the above study result to further analyze the examination practice in Japan with the goal of increasing the harmonization of the patent systems in different countries and regions.
For the present, we do not believe that the examination standard for “inventive step” in Japan will change dramatically in the near future. However, further analysis of the matter is definitely important not only for the harmonization of international patent systems, but also for the protection of industries.