On July 29, 2022, a Japanese Internet service company published a press release that surprised IP practitioners in Japan. DWANGO INC., the appellant and the plaintiff, lost patent infringement litigation against FC2, Inc., a U.S. based content provider, and another party, (FC2), at the Tokyo district court in September, 2018. The press release announced that DWANGO won over FC2 in the appeal at the Intellectual Property High Court (IPHC), which is similar to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in the United States. The IPHC determined that, while respective programs at issue in the present case were transmitted from servers outside Japan, it would be substantially unjust if liability for patent infringement could be easily avoided by locating a piece of equipment, such as a server, outside of Japan in today’s digital society.
Recent Posts
- EU Publishes Code of Practice as Deadline for AI Act’s Provisions on General-Purpose AI Models Nears
- Will the Federal Circuit Finally Follow Supreme Court Holdings on the Unavailability of the Laches Defense?
- CAFC Upholds Win for Janssen on Patent for Antipsychotic Med Dosing Regimen
- IP Innovators – From Patent Office to Managing Partner: Chris Agrawal’s Journey
- In Sonos v. Google, the Federal Circuit Has a Chance to Fix Its Prosecution Laches Doctrine