日本专利异议制度回归缘由及其启示

The Return of the Japanese System of Opposition to Grant of Patent: Reasons and Lessons

日本专利异议制度确立之后经历了授权前异议、授权后异议、被废除以及恢复授权后异议四个阶段。该制度被废11年后再度回归的主要原因来自于单一无效审判制度的缺陷、为迎合国内外发展趋势的迫切需要以及制度利用者的诸多不满等。对比专利异议制度被废除前后的诸多数据不难看出,专利异议制度的存废对瑕疵专利的救济意义十分深远,远非专利无效审判制度所能覆盖与取代的。

The Japanese System of Opposition to Grant of Patent has gone through four stages： Pre-grant opposition,post-grant opposition,opposition after revocation and opposition after restoration. The reasons why this system returned after abolishment for 11 years mainly lies in the flaws of single trial system of invalidation,meeting the growing need of the domestic and international developments and the dissatisfaction of a great number of parties involved. Comparative statistical datum of the pre-abolishment period and post-abolishment period evidently reflect the significant impact that the juridical relief of the opposition system has on the defective patents; it is far beyond the scope of the Japanese trial system of invalidation.