Date of
Judgment: April 24,
2008
Issuing
Authority: Supreme Court
Level of
the Issuing Authority: Final Instance
Type of
Procedure: Judicial（Civil）
Subject
Matter: Patent (Inventions)
Summary
of the judgment (decision):
Where,
with regard to X's claim against Y for damages for infringement of a patent
right, the court of second instance rendered a judgment to dismiss the claim by
adopting Y's allegation of invalidity under Article 104-3, paragraph (1) of the
Patent Act, and then a trial decision to allow a correction for the purpose of
restricting the scope of claims pertaining to said patent right became final
and binding, if X challenges the determination of the court of second instance
by arguing that there exist the grounds for retrial set forth in Article 338,
paragraph (1), item (viii) of the Code of Civil Procedure because said trial
decision became final and binding, given the facts shown in (1) and (2) below,
such behavior of X is regarded as causing an unreasonable delay in solving the
dispute and therefore impermissible in light of the purpose of the provision of
Article 104-3 of the Patent Act:
(1)
Considering that the judgment of first instance dismissed X's claim for damages
by adopting Y's allegation of invalidity, X should have advanced, at an early
stage at least in the proceedings in the second instance, an allegation to deny
or overturn Y's allegation of invalidity;
(2) The trial decision in question was made in
response to the request for a trial for correction filed by X after the
conclusion of oral argument in the second instance. In view of the content of
the trial decision and the fact that X filed requests for trial for correction
twice and withdrew both requests while the proceedings in the second instance
continued for more than one year, no reason can be found to justify X's failure
to advance, prior to the conclusion of oral argument in the second instance, a
counter-allegation relating to the request for a trial for correction that was
filed after the conclusion of oral argument, in order to deny or overturn Y's
allegation of invalidity.
(There is
an opinion.)