[Trademarks] IP High Court, Reiwa 7 (Ne) 10068, “2ch” (Presiding Judge Moritomi)
更新日：10月14日
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.
Originally posted on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7510494434782887936/
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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 | 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.
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