Recent Developments in Japanese Patent Law – Court Decisions from the Years 2019 and 2020

In 2019 and 2020, there were numerous decisions of the Intellectual Property High Court (IP High Court) as well as the Tokyo and Osaka District Courts, and at least one again of the Supreme Court of Japan on patent law. The decisions discussed herein concern inventive step, novelty (obvious prior use), clarity, practicability and support of the claimed invention, allowability of amendments, and calculation of damages for patent infringement based on lost profits.