What is unity of invention?
Unity of invention means the scope of invention that can be applied for in one application (Patent Law Article 37).
It is a requirement that two or more inventions have the same or corresponding special technical features.
What are the special technical features?
A special technical feature is a technical feature that clearly indicates the contribution of the invention to the prior art.
Here, "prior art" means an invention that falls under each item of Article 29, Paragraph 1, and does not include inventions that have not been published at the time of filing the application.
Contribution to the prior art refers to the technological significance of the invention in comparison with the prior art.
What are the same special technical features?
As an example of the same special technical features, the review criteria include the following examples:
Example 1:
[Claim 1] Polymer compound A (transparent substance having good oxygen barrier properties).
[Claim 2] A food packaging container made of the polymer compound A.
(Explanation)
Polymer compound A is a special technical feature that contributes to the prior art. Contract
Since the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 both have this technical feature, they have the same special technical feature.
Example 2:
[Claim 1] A lighting method that partially blocks the illumination light from a light source.
[Claim 2] A lighting device provided with a light source and a light-shielding portion that partially blocks the illumination light from the light source.
(Explanation)
Partially blocking the illumination light is a special technical feature that contributes to the prior art. Since the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 both have this technical feature, they have the same special technical feature.
Corresponding special technical features
When two or more inventions have "corresponding special technical features", it is either a or b below.
a) When the technical significance of the inventions is common or closely related to each other in comparison with the prior art.
In two or more inventions, if the problems solved with respect to the prior art (limited to the problems unsolved at the time of filing the present application) match or overlap, the technical significance of the invention in comparison with the prior art. Are in common or closely related
The screening criteria are illustrated as follows.
Example 3:
[Claim 1] Conductive ceramics made by adding titanium carbide to silicon nitride.
[Claim 2] Conductive ceramics obtained by adding titanium nitride to silicon nitride.
(Explanation)
The inventions according to claims 1 and 2 have different technical features in that the substances added to the silicon nitride are titanium carbide and titanium nitride, respectively.
Here, the problem that the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 have solved with respect to the prior art is to enable electric discharge machining by imparting electrical conductivity to ceramics made of silicon nitride.
Therefore, the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 have the same technical significance in comparison with the prior art because the problems solved with respect to the prior art are the same or overlap. , Has the corresponding special technical features.
In this example, if it cannot be said that enabling electric discharge machining by imparting conductivity to ceramics made of silicon nitride is an unsolved problem at the time of filing the application of the present application, the invention is made in comparison with the prior art. It cannot be said that the technical significance of the products is common or closely related. Therefore, the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 do not have the corresponding special technical features.
b) When the special technical features of each invention are complementarily related
The screening criteria are illustrated as follows.
Example 4:
[Claim 1] A transmitter provided with a time axis extender through which a video signal is passed.
[Claim 2] A receiver provided with a time axis compressor through which a received video signal is passed.
(Explanation)
The inventions according to claims 1 and 2 have different technical features in that they are a transmitter provided with a time axis extender and a receiver provided with a time axis compressor, respectively. Here, extending the time axis in the transmitter and transmitting the video signal and receiving the video signal in the receiver and compressing the time axis are complementary to each other. Therefore, the inventions according to claims 1 and 2 have corresponding special technical features.
In the case of unity of invention
If the patent application is a breach of unity of invention, the reason for refusal of the breach of unity of invention (Article 37 of the Patent Act) will be notified.
In this case, by taking the following measures (1) or (2), the reason for refusal of unity of invention (Article 37 of the Patent Law) can be resolved, leading to a patent decision.
(1) By amending the scope of claims, amendments are made to delete claims that are not unity of invention.
(2) In addition to filing a divisional claim for which there is no unity of invention, amendments are made to delete the claim for which there is no unity of invention in the original application.
