Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

Falls under Trademark Act Article 3(1)(iii) → Refusal “Health and productivity management” (健康経営) is a dictionary-listed compound meaning “a management approach that maintains and improves the health of people working in a company and enhances organizational soundness.” (Translation of the quoted definition.)

Invalidation not established (Trademark Act Article 4(1)(x), (xv)) Well-known status of the cited “SCANTEC” mark: Not established (1) Domestic market share

(First instance: Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 6 (Wa) 70003) The first-instance judgment (Tokyo District Court) that Internet forwarding settings and an on-screen video display did not infringe the “2ch” trademark was upheld.

1. The issue For composite marks combining a place name and a shop name, the issue in JPO registrability examination is which of two approaches to take. Some decisions extract a portion, excluding the weakly distinctive place name and comparing only the remaining characters with other marks; others compare the mark as a whole. This appears inconsistent.

[AFURI / Afuri] (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) ⇒ Similar (violation of Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act). (1) Similarity of concept:

[Gomisar] (Presiding Judge Takahashi) 1. Around 1992, the defendant began manufacturing and selling commercial food-waste treatment machines under the product name "Gomisar" and obtained trademark registration, but the right expired in 2009. 2. In 1996, the plaintiff entered into a sales agency agreement with the defendant for the defendant's products and sold those products.

[Aoba Dermatology Clinic] (Presiding Judge Nakadaira) *No violation of Article 3(1)(iv) of the Trademark Act. As to the textual portion "Aoba" in the trademark, it is unclear to consumers whether it is used in the sense of "green, young leaves, fresh greenery," etc., as a surname, or as a place name.

[Ethical Grain] (Presiding Judge Masuda) The Japan Patent Office consistently wrote and interpreted "logical" (ronriteki), where it should have said "ethical" (rinriteki), in the core of its determination!! ⇒ Trial decision revoked.

Applied-for trademark: "タイロン" (figurative mark) Cited trademark: "TYRONE" ⇒ Not similar

[MAJESTY] (Presiding Judge Morisaki) <Sale of the defendant's products manufactured by another company, as they are> The first-instance defendant Marushu purchased them from Erimu Trading with hangtags bearing the defendant's mark attached, and that sale itself does not constitute trademark infringement.