[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) 10032 <Judge Miyasaka>
Updated: 3 days ago
Article information
Article type: Case note
Categories: Trademarks
Issues: Trademark similarity
Published on website: 2026-10-08
Display and classification checked: 2026-10-08
[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 6 (Gyo-Ke) 10032 <Judge Miyasaka>
* Contrary to Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act: the marks are similar and likely to cause confusion as to the source of the services.
(Excerpt from the judgment, translated)
In appearance, the textual portion constituting the essential part of the applied-for mark and the upper textual portion constituting the essential part of cited mark 2 differ in the initial lowercase “i” versus uppercase “I,” and in the use of katakana versus Roman letters. However, considering the widespread understanding of English in Japan and of “デンタルクリニック” and “DENTAL CLINIC” as referring to a dental clinic, those differences cannot be said to give traders and consumers a strong impression of a conspicuous visual distinction as indicators of source.
In pronunciation, both yield “Ai Dentaru Kurinikku” and are identical.
In concept, neither gives rise to any specific concept, so the two cannot be compared conceptually.
Figures: see the original article.
Original article (2025-10-12):
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7513415458100772864/
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Update history
The update history records only changes actually published, with dates.
2026-10-08: First publication of the LinkedIn original; display, classification, and consultation link set.
2026-10-08: Updated issue tags and classification.
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Original AMEBLO article
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