Übersicht über die japanische Rechtsprechungsentwicklung zum geistigen Eigentum im Jahr 2023/2024

Abstract

The Tōkyō District Court in its DABUS decision of 16 May 2024 clarified that “inventor” in the Patent Act must be a natural person and that so called AIgenerated patent applications cannot be filed. This case is of importance for the current discussion about AI and for the comparison with decisions in other countries. In its decision of 26 May 2023, the Grand Panel of the IP High Court affirmed a patent infringement over the internet with servers located in different countries, thereby continuing the legal discussion about the territory principle in the digital space. Regarding the infringement of internet related patents, this decision is of comparative interest. The courts and the Japan Patent Office both keep their strict position on colour marks with regard to distinctiveness and the necessity of allowing the free use of marks. To determine a protectable indication under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, the decision of Tōkyō District Court of 10 November 2023 related to the protection of Dr. Martens shoes considered the form of the shoes in total, comprising the yellow stitching against a black body. The IP High Court affirmed the conclusions of the Tōkyō District Court by comprehensively taking into account the total form of the shoes. In 2023, the courts decided further cases on works of applied art and use of a work on the internet.