CAFC、DJ提起の条件について判示

CAFCの近時の判決 Hewlett-Packard Co. v. Acceleron Llc は、DJ提起のためのcare or controversyの要件を明確にし得るものと思われます。

例えば、同判決では、
Thus, a communication from a patent owner to another party, merely identifying its patent and the other party’s product line, without more, cannot establish adverse legal interests between the parties, let alone the existence of a “definite and concrete” dispute. (同判決5頁)
The purpose of a declaratory judgment action cannot be defeated simply by the stratagem of a correspondence that avoids the magic words such as “litigation” or “infringement.” . . . . But it is implausible (especially after MedImmune and several post-MedImmune decisions from this court) to expect that a competent lawyer drafting such correspondence for a patent owner would identify specific claims, present claim charts, and explicitly allege infringement. (同5-6頁)
などと述べています。

タウンゼント知財総合事務所/ 穐場 仁

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