Abstract
The Honorable Chief Judge Rader has often emphasized the importance of establishing clear standards in the field of patent law. Similarly, Japanese courts in this field seem to make an effort to present a clear rule in their holdings. Patent exhaustion theory is one of the fields where a clear and concrete standard by the courts is especially needed. This Article explains several clear standards held by Japanese courts regarding this issue. It then discusses a problem raised by establishing clear standards by courts in a civil law country like Japan and also presents the Japanese Government’s efforts to ensure legal predictability in the patent field.
First Page
515
Recommended Citation
Kaoru Kuroda & Eiji Katayama,
Efforts to Establish Clear Standards for Exhaustion in Japan,
7 Wash. J. L. Tech. & Arts
515
(2012).
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.law.uw.edu/wjlta/vol7/iss4/12