Definition of Invention
Article 2, paragraph 1, of the Patent Act of Japan defines invention as "the highly advanced creation of technical ideas by which a law of nature is utilized". This definition was introduced in 1959 following German jurist Josef Kohler's definition. Although the substance of the definition is almost accepted, there is opposition against giving a definition of "invention" in a written law (in many other patent systems, invention is not defined directly).
In the generally accepted interpretation, the phrase highly advanced does not imply a requirement for an inventive step since the matter of inventive step is dealt with in Article 29, paragraph 2. The definition may have been included in light of the Utility Model Act of Japan which gives a definition of a device as "the creation of technical ideas by which a law of nature is utilized".
Read more about this topic: Japanese Patent Law
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