Firms involved must not abandon the customer. It is only natural for companies to protect their rights and products after spending years on development.

A recent court decision symbolizes just how crucial intellectual property is for both the company and the individual. The Tokyo District Court has ruled that all sales of the Japanese word-processing software ``Ichitaro'' must be stopped.

``Ichitaro,'' developed entirely in Japan, was created in 1985 by Justsystem Corp., soon after the first practical personal computer appeared in Japan. It will reach its 20th birthday in August. At one point, it was the No. 1 Japanese word-processing software.

Although its top spot has now been taken over by Microsoft's ``Word,'' ``Ichitaro'' has sold more than 18 million copies and has a very strong following. Even if they don't use the Ichitaro software per se, countless numbers of people have relied on ``ATOK,'' a conversion system that changes romanized inputs into Chinese characters and Japanese hiragana or katakana. ``ATOK'' is the heart and soul of the ``Ichitaro'' software.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. took Justsystem to court, arguing that a Matsushita patent had been violated.

Users of ``Ichitaro'' can learn about the program by clicking on the question mark icon on the computer screen. Subsequently clicking on other icons, the printer icon for example, will provide an explanation of that icon's functions.

Matsushita argued that this process of clicking on two icons in sequence for easy access to computer help infringes on its patent acquired in 1998. The Tokyo District Court fully concurred with Matsushita's claim.

But in a similar lawsuit involving an abridged version of ``Ichitaro,'' the same court with the same presiding judge ruled last August that the function was outside of Matsushita's patent.

In the abridged version, the user first clicks the question mark on the screen, but the question mark was not an icon with full-fledged graphic designs. The court at the time judged that since the main feature of Matsushita's patent was to click on an icon, just clicking on a question mark would not constitute a violation of its patent.

Although the two lawsuits both deal with question marks, the definition of what an icon is makes a world of difference and either wins or loses the lawsuit. These details are what makes the world of patents such a cutthroat realm.

Everything from production of semiconductors to auto-focus on cameras, Japanese companies have suffered under the bind of foreign patents.

But Japanese companies have begun to fight back, suing companies both here and abroad for violating their patents. It is only natural for companies to protect their rights and products after spending years on development.

There are now several hundred lawsuits each year that deal with intellectual property, and the numbers are increasing. These cases usually need a quick ruling because a long and drawn-out legal battle would be meaningless.

In the ``Ichitaro'' case, Matsushita filed the complaint last August, and the court reached a ruling in as little as six months. It seems the case will be appealed, but we hope for a quick decision there as well.

However, we also hope that both companies, no matter who wins the case, will think about the users and not leave them out in the cold or cause them serious damage.

The latest court ruling does not affect users who have already bought the ``Ichitaro'' software, but there is an uneasiness about the future of the software.

Many people use ``Ichitaro'' on Matsushita computers. Companies that leave consumers out in the cold will never be trusted.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 4(IHT/Asahi: February 5,2005)