At the end of the year, we have some big news. The long-running patent litigation related to self-checkout between machine maker Asterisk and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo) has been settled (related past article 1, related past article 2, related past article 3). Released by Asterisk Inc.).
It is said that "We will not disclose any other settlement terms related to patent infringement lawsuits, etc.", so I do not know the details,
It is said.
For a moment, I thought that Asterisk (NIP) approved Fast Retailing's prior user rights, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Roughly speaking, a prior user right is a provision under the Patent Act that a patent right cannot be exercised if the same invention was accidentally worked before the patent application was filed. However, since the release says "before publication" rather than "before filing", the provision of prior use under the Patent Act may not have been applied. no). I believe that the decision was made to withdraw the lawsuit and invalidation trial as an agreement between the parties.
There is no way to know whether there was any money payment for this (unless the amount of money that affects performance moves and is disclosed as IR information). The way this release is written may not result in the payment of a license fee. What can be said with certainty is that Fast Retailing (Uniqlo, GU) can continue to use the self-checkout system, and companies other than Fast Retailing will be required to pay a license fee if they use the self-checkout system for which Asterisk (NIP) holds the patent. (On NIP's site, the license fee is 1,000 yen per day). Anyone who has used the UNIQLO self-checkout can appreciate the convenience, so the possibility of Asterisk (NIP) monetizing this patent has expanded.
It is undeniable that this lawsuit was disadvantageous to Asterisk (NIP), which is inferior in terms of funds, by adopting a "starvation" strategy such as repeated invalidation trials. Personally, I wanted the Asterisk (NIP) side to attack more, but in reality, this reconciliation may have been a good compromise.