Japan: First ruling on the scope of extended patent right.

The article discusses a court case in Japan which deals with the scope of granting registration of patent term extension (PTE). Topics covered include the basis for the registrations of PTE for the patent of an invention granted to the plaintiff, Debiopharm International SA, a Swiss-based global biopharmaceutical group of companies, and the allegations of Debiopharm against the defendant, Japanese pharmaceutical firm Towa Pharmaceutical Co, Ltd.