2024年10月31日
拒絶査定不服審判で補正なしでひっくり返ったら…【リライト版】
ただ本記事はやや専門的な内容を含んでいます。
以下、易しい内容と難しい内容が混在しています。ご了承ください。
この審判を、拒絶査定不服審判と言います。
拒絶された内容を変更したうえで、審判の場で争うことができます。
まずいったん、拒絶をした審査官が再び審査します。
補正されたことから審査官がそのまま特許できることがあるからです。
審査官が特許できないときは、審判官に回されます。
審査官を経ずに、ただちに審判官に回されます。
（審査官が再び審査しても、拒絶の判断が変わる可能性が低いため）
→審査官が再び審査→特許できないときは審判官が判断
→ただちに審判官が判断
審査官が再び審査することで、特許される可能性が増えます。
そもそも補正をしなければ、特許にならないこともあるでしょう。
✔費用・手間などコスト
✔特許になるタイミングが遅くなることで、機会を逃すおそれもある
拒絶査定をした審査官の判断が、絶対におかしい！
そう考える場合、何らかの救済はないものでしょうか。
公の議論ではありませんが、賛同してくれる審査官もいました。
また、小規模事業の社長様から、同趣旨の意見を伺いました。
（本記事を書いたきっかけです。）
→特許請求の範囲を補正をしないで審判を請求する（②の審判）
拒絶査定不服審判の費用を「返金」してはどうかというものです。
あえて言えば「敗訴者負担の原則」に通ずるとも言えるでしょう。
しかし、以下の点でこういう制度があってもいいように思うのです。
✔出願人の納得感
✔審査の質向上・質同一化にもつながる
出願人の納得感が高まる→特許出願の件数の増加につながるかも！
まさにユーザーフレンドリーではないでしょうか。
本記事は少数意見かも知れません。
ただ、意見を戦わせること自体は重要ではないかなと感じています。
＜お知らせ＞
本記事がいいなと感じたら「シェア」や「いいね！」をお願いします！
「シェア」「Tweet」「いいね！」ボタンは一番下にあります。
スマホの方は、青字に白の「鳥」や「ｆ」ボタンを押してください！
当ブログのサイトマップはこちら！
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
【ＰＲ】個人様・社長様に特化＆元特許審査官が運営する特許事務所！
「おすすめの特許事務所」「おすすめの弁理士」を目指します！
そんな東雲特許事務所（しののめ特許事務所）へのお問い合わせは、
お気軽にこちらからどうぞ！
https://www.patande.com/お問い合わせ/
（↑お問い合わせフォームが開くだけですのでご安心ください。）
＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊＊
東雲特許事務所（しののめ特許事務所）
弁理士 田村誠治（元特許庁審査官）
【東京都港区新橋】【東京都中央区八丁堀】【東京都北区田端】
【稀有な経歴】特許技術者→特許庁審査官→特許事務所運営
【楽しいホームページ】
個人発明家・小規模事業者専門の東雲（しののめ）特許事務所
https://www.patande.com/
【特許ドットコム】
個人・小規模事業者のための特許出願
https://tokkkyo.com/
【実案ドットコム】
個人・小規模事業専門＆元特許審査官による実用新案申請代理
https://www.jitsuan.com/
【商標ドットコム】
信頼・明確・安心の商標登録申請代理＜商標ドットコム＞
https://www.shohyou.com/
【ここだけの情報満載のブログ】
個人発明家向け特許・発明教室～目指せ一攫千金！～
https://www.tokkyoblog.com/
【本音モードのブログ】
弁理士のプライベートブログ～弁理士の視点＆審査官の視点～
https://ameblo.jp/s-tam1104/
【Facebook】
Facebookページで、より密な情報交換の場をご提供します。
https://www.facebook.com/shinonomepat
【note】
noteはじめました！ブログとYouTubeを同時に楽しめます。
https://note.com/tokkyoblog
https://youtu.be/sJgjSOk72i4
音は出ませんのでぜひご覧ください
＜機械翻訳＞
What if the decision is overturned without amendments in an appeal against a decision of refusal... [Rewritten version]
(Note) Originally, this blog is aimed at patent beginners.
However, this article contains somewhat technical content.
The following contains a mixture of easy and difficult content. Please be aware of this.
If a patent is rejected, you can appeal to an appeal, which is a higher court.
This appeal is called an appeal against a decision of refusal.
When requesting an appeal against a decision of refusal, you can amend the claims.
After changing the rejected content, you can contest it at the appeal court.
① When the claims are amended
First, the examiner who rejected the application will re-examine it.
This is because the examiner may be able to grant the patent as it is because the amendments have been made.
If the examiner cannot grant the patent, it will be referred to an appeal judge.
② When the claims are not amended
The application will be immediately referred to an appeal judge without going through an examiner.
(Because the examiner is unlikely to change the decision on refusal even if he re-examines it)
It's confusing, so let's summarize it a bit.
If you request an appeal against a decision of refusal,
① When the claims are corrected
→ The examiner will review again → If the claim cannot be patented, the examiner will make a decision
② When the claims are not corrected
→ The examiner will make a decision immediately
Comparing ① and ②, the number of appeals for ① is overwhelmingly higher.
The examiner's re-examination increases the chances of a patent being granted.
If the amendments are not made in the first place, the patent may not be granted.
So far, this is a general way of thinking.
■However, there are also other ways of thinking such as the following.
・The decision of the examiner who made the decision of refusal is definitely wrong!
・If the examiner intervenes again in ①, you don't know what the examiner will say.
・In the first place, the patent should be granted without the need for amendments.
→ Therefore, you should not make amendments and instead seek the examiner's decision immediately as in ②.
Also, for individual inventors and small and medium-sized businesses, the burden of appeals is heavy.
✔Costs, labor, etc.
✔Delaying the timing of patenting can lead to missed opportunities
The examiner's decision to reject the application is definitely wrong!
If you think so, is there any way to provide relief?
■Discussion during my time as an examiner
When I was an examiner, I had the following discussion.
It was not a public discussion, but there were examiners who agreed with me.
I also heard a similar opinion from the president of a small business.
(This is what prompted me to write this article.)
In other words, this is the discussion.
If you think that the decision of the examiner who rejected the application is definitely wrong,
→Request a trial without amending the claims (trial ②)
→The trial examiner shall make the decision in priority over the other trials ①
→And if the trial is overturned and the application is granted a patent...
What about "refunding" the costs of the trial against the rejection decision.
If I had to say, it could be said that this is related to the "loser pays principle."
It's true that the number of trials may increase.
However, I think that such a system would be good for the following reasons.
✔ Applicants feel satisfied
✔ It also leads to improved and standardized quality of examinations
✔ If patent applications are on the decline, the Japan Patent Office can handle an increase in the number of trials
Increased applicant satisfaction → This may lead to an increase in the number of patent applications!
Isn't this truly user-friendly?
What do you think?
This article may be a minority opinion.
However, I feel that the very act of pitting opinions against each other is important.
Thank you for reading to the end.
