PatentDateApril 22, 2024

RightCase2023

number10091

Court(Gyo-Ke)

Intellectual Property High
Court, Fourth Division- A case in which the court rescinded a JPO decision to revoke a patent, by holdingthat the Invention is not considered to have been easily made by a person ordinarily
skilled in the art based on Invention Ko 3.
Case type: Rescission of Patent Revocation Decision
Result: Granted
References: Article 29, paragraph (2) of the Patent Act
Related rights, etc.: Patent No. 6902231
Decision of the JPO: Opposition No. 2022-700021
Summary of the Judgment

1. The opponent filed an opposition to a granted patent on January 13, 2022, withrespect to the Plaintiff's patent (Patent No. 6902231) for an invention titled " Barrier
laminate, heat-sealable laminate comprising the barrier laminate, and packaging
container comprising the heat-sealable laminate" (the "Invention").
In the course of the patent opposition proceedings, the Plaintiff made a request forcorrection. After granting this request for correction, the Japan Patent Office (JPO)
rendered a decision to revoke the patent by holding that the corrected invention lacks
an inventive step (the "JPO Decision").
2. The court held as follows and rescinded the JPO Decision.
(1) Whereas the JPO Decision examined Differences 1-1 through 1-3 separately, theInvention sets the ratio of silicon atoms relative to carbon atoms on the surface of barrier
coating layers within a specific range, so as to suppress the decrease in gas barrier
properties even after the boiling or retort processing, and has technical significance inthat it provides a barrier laminate for boiling or retort processing with high gas barrierproperties. Therefore, Difference 1-3, which relates to whether the intended use isboiling or retort processing, and Difference 1-2, which relates to the numerical rangeof the ratio of silicon atoms to carbon atoms, should be examined in a comprehensiveway.
(2) The JPO Decision applies to Exhibit Ko 3 Invention the ratio of silicon atoms tocarbon atoms on the overcoating layer, which is stated in Exhibit Ko 4.

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However, even supposing that a person ordinarily skilled in the art conceives of anidea to use Exhibit Ko 3 Invention (food packaging material) for boiling or retort
processing purpose, considering the circumstances that the ratio of metal atoms tocarbon atoms comprising the overcoating layer stated in Exhibit Ko 4 has no
relationship with the durability of gas barrier properties after heating, and that Exhibit
Ko 4 contains a statement contrary to that in Exhibit Ko 3 with respect to the ratio ofmetal atoms to carbon atoms and the vulnerability of membranes, it is quite
unreasonable to deduce the motivation to focus on the statements concerning
overcoating layers and non-organic layers comprising overcoated layered films fromthe statements concerning layers in Exhibit Ko 4, which relates to packaging materials
for vacuum heat insulating materials that belong to a different technical field and having
different layer structures from Exhibit Ko 3 Invention, and to apply these statements toExhibit Ko 3 Invention with reference to the ratio of metal atoms to carbon atoms inovercoating layers (the number of metal atoms/the number of carbon atoms). Therefore,
the determination in the JPO Decision contains an error.

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