On January 24, 2019, the Tokyo District Court delivered a non-infringement ruling for Daicel Corporation (Head Office: Kita-ku, Osaka, President& CEO: Misao Fudaba) in an alleged infringement of Japanese Patent 5946489 (“489 patent”). Daicel participated as a Defendant-assisting intervener in the accused patent infringement case. The case was decided in favor of Daicel.

The case, which was brought by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Plaintiff, Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo, President: Tatsuo Higuchi) in the Tokyo District Court on October 20, 2017, alleging that the Defendant’s product infringed the Plaintiff’s 489 patent and requesting an injunction against the Defendant’s product. Daicel　participated in the case as a Defendant-assisting intervener, as Daicel sells its product “Equol EQ-5” to the Defendant, which is utilized as raw material in the Defendant’s products.

The Court dismissed the Plaintiff’s claim and decided the case in favor of the Defendant, ruling that the Defendant’s products, including Daicel’s Equol EQ-5, do not fall under the technical scope of the claim of the 489 patent.

Daicel has long been positioning intellectual property rights as crucial management resources and tying them closely to its business and R&D activities. Daicel respects the valid and enforceable intellectual property rights of others and deals with patent cases with a resolute attitude. Daicel will protect its own products by its intellectual property rights in order to continue providing a stable supply to our customers.