Title: Granted patents have the same level of inventive step? A new approach to distinguish patent protection based on the level of inventive step

Authors: Yoshitoshi Tanaka; Daphne Jue Wang

Addresses: Graduate School of Innovation Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan. ' Graduate School of Innovation Management, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 3-3-6 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0023, Japan

Abstract: According to recent surveys, there exist numerous patent applications in countries, such as Japan and the USA. Out of the total granted patents, there are so many patents which are not utilised on the product and its market. In this research, we analysed the different levels of inventive step or non-obviousness especially focusing on the difference of the ratio of office actions made by EPO and JPO between European enterprises and Japanese enterprises whether the office actions include the prior arts related to the said invention filed as a patent application. Under the current patent law, all patents granted have the same level of protection. Considering the basicness or improvementness of patents, it is proposed based on this research to distinguish the level of inventive step or non-obviousness together with the level of protection, which gives big impact on legal structures together with how the patent law should be amended in the future.

Keywords: basic patents; improvement patents; inventive step; non-obviousness; prior arts; intellectual property management; different protection level; patent law amendment; patent protection; patent law; protection levels.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIPM.2011.043879

International Journal of Intellectual Property Management, 2011 Vol.4 No.4, pp.270 - 282

Published online: 31 Oct 2014 *

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