Guide: mere production of important parts of products incorporating registered design may constitute infringement.

 

Brief: The patentee owns a design patent. The accused infringer is a manufacturer of tread rubber for tire and does not directly produce tires. The tread rubber produced by the accused infringer is eventually used for altered tire to be sold by an altered tire factory. Since the patterns of the tread rubber produced by the accused infringer were not substantially distinguished from the tire patterns incorporating the design of the patentee, and the tread rubber was not used for other purposes in addition to the production of a tire similar to the involved patent, we filed a lawsuit before the court for indirect infringement. However, the court of first instance did not hear the main content of indirect infringement, and, on the grounds that tire and tread rubber are not like products, determined that infringement was not constituted. The court of second instance fully supported our holding, determining that indirect infringement was constituted, and that the accused infringer immediately ceases to infringe the patent right and assume reliability of damages.