Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

[Kirin Foods] (Presiding Judge Nakadaira) Falls under Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act. ⇒ Invalid. <1> Separate observation of the figurative and textual portions

[Direct Marketing Agency] (Presiding Judge Honda) *Falls under Articles 3(1)(iii) and 4(1)(xvi). ⇒ Refusal. • "Direct marketing" is listed in dictionaries as an established expression meaning "a sales promotion method that provides product information directly to consumers through various media."

Trademark at issue: "HIKKY" (standard characters) Cited trademarks: "HIKKI," etc. ⇒ Not similar

"AFURI / 阿夫利" (Presiding Judge Hasegawa) The plaintiff (AFURI) had brought a trademark infringement action concerning the sake "雨降 (Afuri)" sold by the defendant (Yoshikawa Jozo). The defendant (Yoshikawa Jozo) requested a trial for invalidation of the plaintiff's "AFURI / 阿夫利" trademark in the alcoholic beverages field, asserting similarity to the cited trademark "阿夫利大山."

A review of 34 articles published in January 2026 by attorney Hideki Takaishi, covering divisional applications, invalidity arguments, claim interpretation, international jurisdiction, standard-essential patents and employee inventions.

日本語版 / Japanese version Article information Type: Lectures and videos Classification: Patents, Trademarks, Designs, Copyright, Unfair competition law, Other Japanese law, United States, Other foreign jurisdictions Topics: IP management, Divisional applications, Added matter, Numerical limitations and parameters, Extraterritorial application First published on this site: 2023-12-30 Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14 <New YouTube Video> [Patents] IP Strategy That Se

日本語版 / Japanese version Article information Type: Case note Classification: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks First published on this site: 2023-12-16 Case number: Heisei 28 (Gyo-Ke) 10164 Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14 [Trademark] Heisei 28 (Gyo-Ke) 10164 Trademark at issue: Genkotsu Menchi Cited mark: Genkotsu ⇒ Dissimilar; cannot be separated. The word menchi is not particularly widespread as a noun meaning menchi-katsu (minced-meat cutlet).

日本語版 / Japanese version Article information Type: Case note Classification: Trademarks Topics: Trademark infringement, Licensing First published on this site: 2023-12-15 Case number: Reiwa 4 (Wa) 18610 Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14 [Trademark] Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 4 (Wa) 18610 <Kokubu> Sales by the bankrupt company (Onkyo) after expiration of the agreed six-month period following termination of the license agreement during which it could use the trade

日本語版 / Japanese version Article information Type: Case note Classification: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks First published on this site: 2023-12-09 Case number: Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) 10063 Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14 [Trademark] Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) 10063 <Miyasaka>, the VENTURE case — Composite marks Separation is permitted ‘... (1) ... (2) ... (3) where, in light of the appearance, etc. of the trademark, the mark as a whole has little structural unit

日本語版 / Japanese version Article information Type: Case note Classification: Trademarks Topics: Licensing, Cancellation of JPO decision First published on this site: 2023-12-03 Case number: Reiwa 1 (Gyo-Ke) 10157 Display and classification checked: 2026-11-14 [Trademark] Reiwa 1 (Gyo-Ke) 10157, the NUDE NAIL case <Honda> <Agent of a foreign trademark owner> Five deliveries during the relevant period, totaling JPY 12.61 million. Premised on an ongoing trading relationship.