Patent Case Law and Intellectual Property Practice Blog

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Issues discussed in the text First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / Cancellation for non-use] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10054 “General retail and similar services” means “a case where clothing, food and beverages, and household goods are handled at a single establishment, each on a substantial scale and on a continuing basis.”

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Distinctiveness, Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10038 Applied-for mark: “新生甘酒” (Shinsei amazake) → No distinctiveness (contrary to Article 3(1)(iii) of the Trademark Act). 1. If understood as “新生” + “甘酒” It could ordinarily be used for amazake whose ingredients, manuf

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Issues discussed in the text First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10117 — “Besurikai Tokyo TMS Clinic” (Judge Honda) Applied-for mark: “ベスリ会 東京TMSクリニック” Cited mark: “東京TMSクリニック” *“ベスリ会,” the name of a medical corporation, has a source-identifying function, but “東京TMSクリニック” can be extracted as the esse

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks、Distinctiveness First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / Similarity] Tokyo High Court, Heisei 12 (Ne) No. 6252 *During prosecution, the applicant emphasized the distinctive spelling “BeaR.” → Dissimilar to “bear.” (Excerpts from the judgment, translated; portions omitted) [...] In the market for clothing and other desi

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Issues discussed in the text First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10071 — “Taishoken” (Judge Miyasaka) *An implied agreement granting a non-exclusive trademark license requires objectively verifiable, clear and affirmative intent to confer a right, going beyond mere acquiescence. → Cancellation for no

日本語版 Article information Article type: Administrative decision note Category: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks、Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / JPO decision] Opposition No. 2023-900278 Although “UNIQLO” is well known, it is dissimilar to “UNIPRO,” and there is no likelihood of confusion in the broader sense (suggesting some form of affiliation). “There is no risk of con

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Similarity of trademarks First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / Similarity] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10091 — “Connect One” (Judge Shimizu) The applied-for mark was held similar to the cited “コネクトワン” (Connect One) mark in standard characters. The applicant argued that its mark was pronounced “Connect Dot One.” However, where two or

日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Examination and appeal practice、Contracts First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10061 — “CONART” (Judge Honda) *Take care with jointly owned trademarks! The trademark was jointly owned by the plaintiff (Raffles Global) and Japan Raffles. The JPO decision found that only Japan Raffles had entered into the l

日本語版 Article information Type: Administrative decision note Category: Trademarks Topics: Trademark similarity First published on this site: 2026-10-09 Case / source information: Appeal No. 2024-5257 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-09 [Trademarks / JPO decision] Appeal No. 2024-5257 *The applied-for mark, which added “The” to the cited mark and used a stylized design, was held dissimilar. (Excerpt from the decision, translated) A. The applied-for mark As shown in A

日本語版 Article information Type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Public order and morality First published on this site: 2026-10-09 Case / source information: IP High Court, Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10128 Display and classification checked: 2026-10-09 [Trademarks / Article 4(1)(vii)] IP High Court, Reiwa 5 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10128 — “MARK GONZALES” (Judge Honda) From 2020, as termination of the license approached, the plaintiff filed numerous applications in Japan, South Korea, Ch