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IP Court Case Summary:H22 (gyoke) 10301: 

On July 19, 2011, the Intellectual Property High Court (IP High Court) supported JPO board of appeal’s decision that the claimed invention is easily invented. The appellant applied for the patent related to “Combination of Brimonidine and Timolol for Topical Ophthalmic Use”. The claim is as follows;

An ophthalmic pharmaceutical composition useful in the treatment of glaucoma or ocular hypertension comprising an effective amount of Brimonidine and Timolol in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier therefor.
Brimonidine

Timolol
  
The cited invention is “Ophthalmology medicine for measures of glaucoma or high intraocular pressure symptom to use in combination with the effective amount of Brimonidine and Timolol.” The cited invention uses the carriers which include Brimonidine and Timolol separately (in the different carriers respectively).

On the other hand, claimed invention uses the carriers which include Brimonidine and Timolol in the same carriers. The cited invention can improve the compliance for patients.

IP High Court mentioned as follows. When plural medicines are administered to a patient of ophthalmopathy such as the glaucoma, the problem of the compliance of the patient is well known to those skilled in the art in those days of the present invention. It was well-known art of those skilled in the art that plural medicines are incorporated in the same carrier from the viewpoint of improvement of the compliance of the patient or reduction of the side effect. Therefore, the claimed invention (the same carrier) is easily invented from the cited invention (the separate carrier).

As a conclusion, IP High Court supported the JPO board of appeal’s decision that rejected the inventive step.

http://www.ip.courts.go.jp/hanrei/pdf/20110721104514.pdf