Recent Decisions on Cross-Border Patent Infringement

In July 2022, the IP High Court handed down a decision on a patent infringement lawsuit. The plaintiff of this case, who holds a patent on a display device of a video streaming system, claimed patent infringement against the defendant, who provides video streaming services from a server in the United States to users in Japan. The Court held that even if distribution of a patented program is not formally completed in Japan, the distribution constitutes the working of the invention if the distribution can be evaluated as having been carried out in Japan from a substantial and overall viewpoint, and affirmed patent infringement by the defendants. In March 2022, prior to this decision, the Tokyo District Court had handed down a decision denying cross-border infringement. This article outlines the IP High Court decision, referring to its relation with the Tokyo District Court decision.