Abstract
Since the early postwar period, Japan began to stand out as a leading global economic player, which thought of technological advancement as the primary way to catch up with the other developed economies. In particular, the computer industry was one of the fields in which the country showed and still shows its enormous potential. Due to the rapid strengthening of the sector, Japan was amongst the first States to be concerned with the protection of software programs, an unavoidable complement to its efficient hardware industry. As for the internal market of software, the Japanese situation had several peculiarities—partly owing to its complex language—and its software industry reflected such elements. Legislative proposals which took into consideration those uniquely distinctive aspects were submitted to the Parliament. However, under the pressure of the European Countries and the United States, the Japanese legislator enacted a regulation similar to the ones adopted by its main commercial partners. Copyright was chosen as the primary way of protection, while the projects containing a patent-based or a sui generis system were (at least temporarily) put aside. This notwithstanding said outcome did not imply the complete abandonment of the idea of software patenting. On the contrary, as such practice became more and more widespread around the globe, Japan led the way and the authors try to investigate whether the Japanese judicial interpretations of the problem continue to show distinctive features.
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Notes
- 1.
See COUNCIL DIRECTIVE of 14 May 1991 on the legal protection of computer programs (91/250/EEC).
- 2.
See Directive 91/250/EEC Article 1.1.
- 3.
See Directive 91/250/EEC Article 1.2.
- 4.
See Directive 91/250/EEC Article 1.3.
- 5.
See Article 27 TRIPs.
- 6.
See in particular the cases Vicom (T 0208/84), IBM/CRI (T 115/85), IBM/Document abstracting and retrieving (T 22/85), SOHEI (T 0769/92), CPC/IBM I (T 1173/97), CPC/IBM II (T 935/97) etc.
- 7.
See for instance Auction Method/HITACHI (T 258/03).
- 8.
See G 03/08, p. 40, Paragraph 10.13: a claim in the area of computer programs can avoid exclusion under Articles 52(2)(c) and (3) EPC merely by explicitly mentioning the use of a computer or a computer-readable storage medium.
- 9.
See Computer-related invention/VICOM (T 208/84) Document abstracting and retrieving/IBM case (T 22/85); Computer Program Product/IBM (T 1173/97), Auction Method/HITACHI (T 258/03), Clipboards formats I/Microsoft (T 0424/03); Loan System/KING (T 1284/04); Opinion of the Enlarged Board of Appeal G 03/08.
- 10.
See EBA G 03/08.
- 11.
O'Reilly vs. Morse, 56 U.S. (15 How.) 62, 131 (1853) (Grier, J. dissenting).
- 12.
The evolution of the U.S. case law on software patenting may be read through some selected cases: Gottschalk vs. Benson; Parker vs. Flook; Diamond v. Diehr; Diamond v. Bradley, Arrythmia Reseach Technology Inc. vs. Carasonix Corp (958 F. 2d 1053, Fed Cir, 1992), In re Lowry; State Street Bank and Trust Co. v. Signature Financial Group, the AT&T Corp v Excel Communications, Inc. 172 F. 3d 1352, 1357 (1999); U.S. Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences (BPAI), Ex parte Bowman, 61 USPQ2d 1665, 1671 (Bd Pat. App. & Inter. 2001; Bilski vs. Kappos 130 S. Ct. 3218 (2010); Mayo Collaborative Services vs Prometheus Laboratories 132 S.Ct. 1289 (2012); CLS Services vs. Alice Corporation. (Fed. Cir. 2013); Alice Corp. v. CLS Bank Intl. (Supreme Court of the U.S., 2014).
- 13.
See in particular In re Bilski, 545 F.3d 943 (Fed. Cir. 2008) and Bilski v. Kappos, 130 S. Ct. 3218 (2010).
- 14.
(Japanese Patent) Law n. 121 of 1959.
- 15.
Precisely: “Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title”.
- 16.
See JPO Guidelines for examination, Software Section, p. 15.
- 17.
See JPO Guidelines, Software part, p. 11 and cfr. Hei 9 (Gyo Ke) 206 (decision 26 May 1999).
- 18.
See the definition given in the specific software-related JPO guidelines for examination (page 2): (1) Invention of a process - When a software-related invention is expressed in a sequence of processes or operations connected in time series, namely procedure, the invention can be defined as an invention of a process (including an invention of a process of manufacturing a product) by specifying such a procedure.
(2) Invention of a product—When a software-related invention is expressed as a combination of multiple functions performed by the invention, the invention can be defined as an invention of a product by specifying such functions.
- 19.
See JPO Guidelines for Examination, 2012, pp. 11 and ff. available at the addreess http://www.jpo.go.jp/tetuzuki_e/t_tokkyo_e/Guidelines/7_1.pdf. See also, ex multis, (Gyo-Ke) case No. 10698 of 2005 (decision of 26 September 2006), (Gyo-Ke) No. 10239 of 2007 (decision of 29 February 2008); (Gyo-Ke) case No. 10369 of 2007 (decision 24 June 2008); (Gyo-Ke) Case No. 10001 of 2008 (decision 26 August 2008); (Gyo-Ke) Case No. 10056 of 2007 (decision 31 October 2007).
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Colombo, G.F., Dragoni, M. (2016). The Legal Protection of Software in Japan—An Original Model?. In: Bellantuono, G., Lara, F. (eds) Law, Development and Innovation. SxI - Springer for Innovation / SxI - Springer per l'Innovazione, vol 13. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-13311-9_5
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