Patent Act Article 37 Unity of Invention
●Definition and Purpose
Unity of invention (Article 37)refers to the scope within which two or more inventions may be filed in a single application.
If inventions that are technically related to each other can be filed in a single application, it is possible to achieve:
(i)for the applicant, simplification and rationalization of application procedures,
(ii)for third parties, easier use of patent information and facilitation of rights transactions,
(iii) for the Japan Patent Office, increased efficiency in examination.
From this perspective, the law previously stipulated that multiple inventions could be included in a single application.
However, there were issues such as:
(a) difficulty in flexible handling,
(b) problems arising from judging in relation to a "specified invention",
(c) problems regarding the lack of clarity in relation to prior art,
(d) the problem that there is no violation of unity within a single claim, and furthermore
(e) the need to harmonize with the PCT.
Therefore, the 2003 amendment stipulated that as a requirement for unity of invention, two or more inventions must have a prescribed technical relationship, and the specific requirements for this were to be determined by Ministry Ordinance.
・This "Ministry Ordinance" is Article 25-8 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Patent Act.
For a technical feature to be considered "special", it must be a technical feature that clearly defines the invention's contribution to the prior art, so at least novelty is required.
Also, to be considered to have unity, it is necessary to have the same technical feature or a corresponding technical feature.
・Article 25-8 of the Ordinance for Enforcement of the Patent Act
(Unity of Invention)
Article 25-8 The technical relationship specified by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry under Article 37 of the Patent Act refers to a technical relationship in which two or more inventions are linked so as to form a single or corresponding special technical feature so that these inventions form a single general inventive concept.
2 The "special technical feature" prescribed in the preceding paragraph refers to a technical feature that clearly defines the contribution of the invention to the prior art.
3 The existence of the technical relationship prescribed in paragraph 1 shall be determined regardless of whether the two or more inventions are described in separate claims or in a single claim in an alternative form.
・Patent Act Article 37
Article 37 For two or more inventions, when they fall under a group of inventions that satisfy the requirements for unity of invention by having a technical relationship specified by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, a patent application may be filed in a single application.