[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Ne) 10068, “2ch” (Presiding Judge Moritomi)

Read the Japanese version / 日本語版を読む

Article information

Article type: Case note

Display and classification checked: 2026-09-30

Categories: Trademarks

Topics: Trademark use / Similarity of trademarks

Published on this website: 2026-09-29

[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Ne) 10068, “2ch” (Presiding Judge Moritomi)

(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.

The appellate court upheld the finding that entering a domain name on the DNS forwarding-function settings screen does not constitute “use” of a mark under Trademark Act Article 2(3)(viii). Configuring the Internet domain name system (DNS) is a technical system-setting act, not an act directly seen by consumers, and therefore is not “use” under trademark law.

The argument presupposes that the video displays the plaintiff’s “2ch” mark. However, the video first shows “2” and an animal character; the character approaches “2” and kicks it apart, whereupon “5” replaces “2,” and a small flag marked “CH” appears. In appearance, pronunciation (“go-shī-eichi” or “go-channeru”), and concept (“5channel, not 2 [Loki’s bulletin board]”), the video cannot be regarded as either identical or similar to the plaintiff’s “2ch” mark.

https://lnkd.in/gh6DsQBe

https://lnkd.in/gUtDCjsm

hanrei-pdf-95306.pdf — courts.go.jp

Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510494434782887936/

Related articles

Shared topic: Similarity of trademarks — [Trademark] Appeal No. 2025-3433

Shared topic: Similarity of trademarks — [Trademark] Appeal No. 2024-10532

Shared topic: trademark use — [Publication review] [Article / Trademarks] Non-trademark use to avoid conflict (Tsuyoshi Nakamura, Patent, May 2025)

Updates and corrections

This log starts on 30 September 2026. Display and classification checks are distinct from a review of the legal analysis.

2026-09-30 — Presentation update: added the article type, this change log and a link to consultation options. The existing article text was preserved.

2026-10-01 | Related articles: added reciprocal links with shared-topic or comparative grounds; original text unchanged.

2026-10-01 | Name notation: replaced verified Japanese-script personal names with Roman-letter forms in this English article and its navigation. Legal analysis and original publication date unchanged.

Intellectual property enquiries

Contact Hideki Takaishi about legal advice or speaking engagements

Find the right consultation option