On June 24, 2015, an 8 member US Bar / JPO Liaison Council delegation visited the IP High Court and exchanged opinions with judges of the IP High Court as well as judges of the Intellectual Property Divisions of the Tokyo District Court. The Liaison Council consists of representatives from the bar associations affiliated with the American Bar Association, and has engaged in an annual exchange of opinions with the JPO for about 20 years. This is the third visit by the Liaison Council to the IP High Court following its second visit two years ago.

The meeting opened with addresses by Chief Judge Ryuichi Shitara and Mr. Jonathan Osha, Chairman of the Liaison Council. Representing the Liaison Council, Mr. Daniel Lent gave a presentation entitled “Recent U.S. Federal Circuit and Supreme Court Cases,” during which Mr. Lent discussed (1) the contents of the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in connection with the standards for the review of claim construction in courts of second instance in the U.S. and the subsequent implications of the decision and (2) recent precedents of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit concerning the impact on claim construction of the recitals of a patent description. In addition, Mr. Raymond Farrell gave a presentation entitled “Lexmark v. Impression Products: Revisiting the Question of U.S. Patent Rights Exhaustion” which was a case in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ordered an en banc hearing to consider the issue of international patent exhaustion.

Subsequently representing the IP High Court, Judge Koki Kamiya gave a presentation entitled “Construction of Product-by-Process Claim and its Validity” concerning the contents of Supreme Court decisions on product-by-process claims. Chief Judge Ryuichi Shitara also gave a presentation entitled “Registration of Extension of Duration of a Patent Right: Grand Panel Judgment of IP High Court, May 30, 2014”, introducing the contents of the decision of the Grand Panel of the IP High Court concerning the registration of extension of the duration of patent right.

A question and answer session was held after each presentation, and active discussion ensued.