[Unfair Competition Prevention Act Article 2(1)(i)] 2023 (Ne) 10048 <Miyasaka> “Dr. Martens” Case — Special Distinctiveness Found
Updated: 6 hours ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Category: Trademarks, Unfair competition law
Topics: Distinctiveness
First published on this website: 2026-11-01
Display and classification checked: November 2, 2026
Originally published on Ameblo: 2024-08-18 (Japan time). Full English translation.
[Unfair Competition Prevention Act Article 2(1)(i)] 2023 (Ne) 10048 <Miyasaka> “Dr. Martens” Case
*Special distinctiveness found ⇒ Rights holder prevailed
Cf. 2023 (Gyo-Ke) 10003 <Honda> denied distinctiveness of the yellow-stitching position mark, citing, among other things, other companies' products with yellow stitching in the same position.
⇒ Under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, numerous commonalities with the defendant's products beyond yellow stitching were asserted, and “special distinctiveness” was recognized for the combination. <<*This does not mean that different approaches were taken to trademark distinctiveness and special distinctiveness under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act!!>>
(Excerpt from the court's reasoning)
Most models of the appellee's products have the following formal features: yellow welt stitching (feature (a)), sole edges ((b)), heel loops ((c)), sole patterns ((d)), a sloping heel portion of the outsole ((e)), a rounded forepart of the shoe ((f)), Puritan stitching ((g)), and eight eyelets ((h)). Particularly in features (a), (b), and (c), they have conspicuous characteristics differing from other goods of the same kind and exert strong source-identifying power. Further, when viewed as a whole in combination with features (d) through (h), which individually cannot be called particularly distinctive, they possess conspicuous characteristics entirely absent from other goods of the same kind. Accordingly, the appellee's products having all features (a) through (h) are found to possess so-called special distinctiveness.
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November 1, 2026: First published on this website.
November 2, 2026: Added article information, classification, topics, language navigation, related articles where the same case was confirmed, consultation guidance, and SEO. The original text and first-published date were preserved.
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