[Representation] IP

Barun Law Protects Client’s Patent Validity Against the Alleged Lack of Inventive Step Claim Based on Prior Art Modeling

Case Overview

Defendant holds a patent related to a ventilation device for air respirator masks. Plaintiff (a competitor) filed an invalidity trial, arguing that the defendant’s patent lacked an inventive step. On December 7, 2023, the Korean Intellectual Property Tribunal (KIPT) dismissed the invalidity claim. The plaintiff then filed a lawsuit to cancel the KIPT decision in the Patent Court, presenting a modeling result based on prior art to support its inventive step challenge.

Key Legal Issue

• Can a patent be deemed obvious based on a modeling result derived from prior art, rather than the prior art itself?

Court’s Decision

On January 23, 2025, accepting our arguments, the Patent Court upheld the validity of the defendant’s patent and dismissed the plaintiff’s claims (Patent Court Decision No. 2024Heo10634, dated January 23, 2025).

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Significance of the Decision

This decision clarifies that a prior art-based model cannot serve as direct evidence of lack of inventive step unless the modeled result is explicitly disclosed in the prior art. This decision sets an important precedent for future patent disputes allegedly based on modeling techniques used to challenge inventive step.

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□? Attorneys in charge: Jung Young-Hun

?Attorney Jung, Young Hun's profile