Supreme Court, Heisei 4 (O) No. 1491 — Earth belt
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Damages First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 Supreme Court, Heisei 4 (O) No. 1491 — Earth belt Where a party acquired well-known status for its product indication through a series of acts contrary to accepted principles of morality, including placing “PAT,” which could be confused with a patent marking, on products and displaying the same letters in advert
[Trademarks / False marking] Osaka High Court, Heisei 3 (Ne) No. 1003 — Choco Krispies
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Misleading quality indication First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / False marking] Osaka High Court, Heisei 3 (Ne) No. 1003 — Choco Krispies The appellant argued that Kellogg’s continued use of “クリスピー(R)” on packaging after registration of the Japanese-character mark “クリスピー” had expired falsely suggested registration, contrary to Article 74
[Trademarks] Osaka District Court, Reiwa 4 (Wa) No. 9818 — “熱中対策応急キット” (Heatstroke countermeasure emergency kit) (Judge Takemiya)
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Distinctiveness First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] Osaka District Court, Reiwa 4 (Wa) No. 9818 — “熱中対策応急キット” (Heatstroke countermeasure emergency kit) (Judge Takemiya) *At the date of the registration decision, “熱中対策” was understood to mean “heatstroke countermeasures.” → No distinctiveness (contrary to Article 3(1)(iii) of the Trademark
[Trademarks / Cancellation for non-use] IP High Court, Heisei 22 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10083 — “ECOPAC”
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Trademarks Topics: Examination and appeal practice First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks / Cancellation for non-use] IP High Court, Heisei 22 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10083 — “ECOPAC” *Prosecution history estoppel prevents an argument that the registered mark conveys the concept of “environmentally friendly packaging.” → The registered mark “ECOPAC” is not equivalent to “エ
[Trademarks] Trial decision, Appeal against refusal No. 2023-10504
日本語版 Article information Article type: Administrative decision note Category: Trademarks Topics: Examination and appeal practice、Distinctiveness First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Trademarks] Trial decision, Appeal against refusal No. 2023-10504 Applied-for mark: “完全” (complete) → No distinctiveness (contrary to Article 3(1)(vi) of the Trademark Act). (Excerpt from the trial decision, translated) Even if the applied-for mark,
[Unfair Competition / Indication of goods or business] Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 5 (Wa) No. 70036 — Catheter connector (Judge Kokubu)
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Unfair competition law Topics: Injunctions First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [Unfair Competition / Indication of goods or business] Tokyo District Court, Reiwa 5 (Wa) No. 70036 — Catheter connector (Judge Kokubu) The court recognized dimensions compared with similar products as an “indication of goods or business.” → Injunction granted! *It is unusual for a likelihood
[Trademarks / Cancellation for non-use] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10054
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.”
IP High Court, Reiwa 2 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10094 — Agent for suppressing recurrence of reflux esophagitis (Judge Mori)
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: Patents Topics: Inventive step First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 IP High Court, Reiwa 2 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10094 — Agent for suppressing recurrence of reflux esophagitis (Judge Mori) *Common general knowledge at the priority date: completion of a phase II clinical trial led to denial of inventive step. Phase I clinical trial: safety trial Phase II clinical trial: efficacy tr
[United States] CAFC, August 2, 2023 — Realtime Data v. Array Network
日本語版 Article information Article type: Case note Category: United States Topics: Patent eligibility First published on this site: 2026-10-10 Display/classification checked: 2026-10-10 [United States] CAFC, August 2, 2023 — Realtime Data v. Array Network [Alice, step one] → Directed to an abstract idea The claims do not clearly define a particular technology for performing data compression; they merely state results abstractly. [Alice, step two] → No inventive concept The spec
[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10038
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
