Protection Of Computer-related Inventions Increased In Japan

One of the main considerations when filing an application for a patent is where to seek protection. If the application proceeds to grant in a country, then the patentee will be able to enforce their rights and prevent others from using the invention anywhere within that country. The other side of this principle of territoriality is that a patent is only enforceable in a territory in which it has been granted. For example, a patent in the United States could not prevent someone from working the invention in Canada.

These lines start to blur considerably when only a portion of an invention is performed in a territory. For example, suppose a patent granted in a certain country protects a method of two steps. If only one of the steps is performed in the protected country, then the patent may not be infringed. This is a problem for many inventions using distributed computer systems, because the servers implementing those systems may be located in multiple jurisdictions.