권리범위확인(특)
The appeal is dismissed.
The costs of appeal shall be assessed against the plaintiff Dongdong-gu Co., Ltd.
The grounds of appeal are examined.
1. Article 2 subparag. 3 of the Patent Act is classified into “an invention of a product”, “an invention of a method”, and “an invention of a method of manufacturing a product”.
In the case of an invention whose entire patent claims are written as a product and which contains a description of the manufacturing method (hereinafter referred to as “product invention in which the manufacturing method is written”), even if the manufacturing method is written, the subject of the invention is not the manufacturing method, but the final obtained of the product itself, and thus, it constitutes “an invention of a product” among the aforementioned types of inventions.
The claim for invention of a product must be stated in a way that specifies the composition of the product as the subject matter of the invention. Thus, the method of manufacturing described in the claim for the invention of a product is only one means that specifies the structure, nature, etc. of the product as the final product.
Therefore, in determining the patent requirements for a product invention described in the manufacturing method, the technical composition of the invention is not limited to the manufacturing method itself, but it is necessary to examine whether there is newness, inventive step, etc. compared with prior art publicly notified prior to the filing of the application by identifying it as an object with the structure, character, etc. specified by all descriptions of the patent claim including the description of the manufacturing method.
Meanwhile, among inventions in the field of biotechnology, high molecules, mixtures, metal, etc., there may be circumstances under which it is impossible or difficult to specify the goods obtained by any manufacturing method directly due to the structure, nature, etc., or it is difficult to specify the goods only by manufacturing method. However, even in cases of an invention of a product in which manufacturing method is stated, the essence of the invention is “the invention of a product” and the manufacturing method indicated in the claim specification the structure, nature, etc. of the product.