제조방법이 기재된 물건 청구항(제법기재물건 청구항)의 해석

Interpretation of a Product Claim Where a Manufacturing Process is Described: Supreme Court 2019Hu11541 Decision

In some cases, a manufacturing process is described in a claim of a product. The Korea Supreme Court 2019Hu11541 decision presented a new legal principle regarding the interpretation of such a claim. The claim at issue regarding a three-dimensional fabric shape (blind) included terms that appear to be descriptions of manufacturing processes. The Korea Patent Court interpreted the target claim as a product-by-process claim, a so-called ‘PbP claim’. However, the Korea Supreme Court established the legal principle for the first time that even if a manufacturing process is included, if the manufacturing process does not affect the structure or property of the product, the claim should be interpreted without considering the manufacturing process. That is, such a claim is to be interpreted the same as a general product claim despite the description of the manufacturing process. This article endows such a claim the term, product-plus-process claim (PpP claim) (as distinguished from a product-by-process claim (PbP claim)). Therefore, in the future, even if a manufacturing process is described in a claim, the court will classify a claim as a PbP claim or a PpP claim based on whether the description affects the structure or property of the product, and depending on the classification, interpret the claim.