Have a Break

- Written by Patent Attorneys, Patent Engineers, Trademark Engineers, Translators, and Administrative staff -

“TRICK OR TREAT” Snack Package

  • October 12, 2022
#trademark

It is October, and the end of this month is Halloween.
Although not as many as in the past, Halloween goods can be seen everywhere in town, reminding us that autumn has arrived.
The most familiar Halloween goods are the standard snacks sold in supermarkets and other stores. Illustrations of pumpkins, ghosts, witches, skeletons, bats, black cats, etc., are colored orange, black, and purple for Halloween. All of the cute illustrations are eye-catching.
Looking closely, it seems that many large bags of snacks are sold with Halloween illustrations. Just because the package design is different from the usual, it gives a fun and rich feeling.

TRICK OR TREAT

Incidentally, the “TRICK OR TREAT” on the top of the package of the product introduced here was registered as a trademark, but the registration date is 47 years ago. I was surprised to learn that they had already registered a trademark related to Halloween nearly 50 years ago, when the word “Halloween” had not yet taken root. (Time)

Registered Trademark
Owner: Morozoff Limited
Japanese Trademark Registration No. 1114436
Registration Date: April 9, 1975

Cooling Ring

  • October 5, 2022
#patent

Early this summer, my daughter asked me to buy her a cooling ring to wear around her neck, and I purchased the product shown in the photo.

Cooling Ring

Inside the ring-shaped tube is a liquid that freezes (becomes solid) at temperature below 28 Celsius. When placed in the freezer, etc., it solidifies quickly and stays cold.

Cooling Ring Cooling Ring

Since it is used around the neck, it cannot cool the whole body, but my daughter says that the part of the body that touches the ring feels cool and comfortable.

By the way, the enclosed instruction sheet mentioned the patent number (Japanese Patent No. 6895671).

Cooling Ring

If you are interested in the contents of the patent, please check it on J-Plat Pat. (Hiro)
JP,6895671,B : The neck cooling device

Okin Mochi

  • September 28, 2022
#trademark

The other day, I received an “Okin Mochi” from a friend who went to Mie Prefecture for a visit. Okin mochi are flat and round grass-covered rice cakes covered with a generous amount of potato starch and filled with sweet bean paste. In addition to its simple and good taste, the small size of each rice cake made me want two or three more.

Okin Mochi

The Okin mochi can only be purchased at Okin Chaya in Taki County, Mie Prefecture, so if you are interested in Okin mochi, please take a drive and visit Okin Chaya. I would like to go there.

The trademark “Okin Mochi” was registered on November 1, 1975 for the designated goods “confectionery and bread” (Japanese Registration No. 1168921). (Sakuramochi)

Emergency Food and Patents

  • September 21, 2022
#patent #trademark #utility model

September 1 was Disaster Prevention Day.
In our family, we check our emergency supplies every year on this day.
For rolling stock, we especially check items with expiration dates and use-by dates, such as water, emergency food, and dry cell batteries, and replace those that will expire before next year’s Disaster Prevention Day.

rolling stock

Disaster prevention supplies are not only for huge earthquakes, but also for flood damage during this season of frequent typhoons. Not only can emergency food be stored for a long time and do not require heating, but they have become so tasty that they exceed the image of emergency food, and I feel that efforts are being made to make them as close as possible to meals in normal times.
Efforts are also evident from the large number of patents, utility models, and trademarks found when searching for keywords such as “emergency food” on J-PlatPat.

Every year, every time I check my stockpile, I try to put this and that in it, and I have trouble keeping it in my backpack. (Syszo)

Disaster prevention supplies

The Age of AI Painting?

  • September 14, 2022
#copyright #design

This is Swimmer.
These days, the social networking sites are talking about an app that lets AI learn and draw pictures.

AI

To make it learn, you have to change the approach many times and make adjustments, and you need to have a good artistic sense to make a proper work. It seems to be very easy to complete a picture if you are not concerned about the final result. It is very interesting.
If the original material to be studied is something to which you own the rights, there is no problem. However, if you use someone else’s work, what happens to the design rights and copyrights of the material? What are the terms and conditions of the app?

We will continue to keep a close eye on the evolution of AI, which has both pros and cons, including the rights to the resulting pictures.

Joshinko

  • September 7, 2022
#trademark

Joshinko is used to make Steamed Cakes, Mitarashi Dumplings, Kashiwa Mochi, etc. The trademark and registration number on the Joshinko packaging made me want to pick up the product.

Joshinko

I enjoyed Joshinko made into Steamed Cakes and Mitarashi Dumplings.
The “Kyo-nokambutsuya” is a registered trademark of Sanada Co., Ltd (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 5034924).
I am interested in the “Kyoーnohoshiimoya (Kyo-no- Dried Sweet Potato- ya)” product (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6580836) and the “Protein Kinako ” product (Trademark application filed on April 13, 2022), and other products that Sanada Co., Ltd. owns. (Raspberry)

Intellectual Property Supporting Food Loss Reduction

  • August 31, 2022
#patent #trademark

In Japan, more than 5 million tons of food is thrown away annually (Ministry of the Environment estimates 5.22 million tons in 2020). It is said that one of the factors causing food loss is the distribution system from producers to consumers. In order to contribute to food loss reduction, it is recommended that consumers purchase food products from supermarkets and convenience stores, starting with products that are close to their expiration or consumption dates.

food loss

With the aim of reducing food loss, in October 2021, NTT DOCOMO launched a service using the “ecobuy” application. DOCOMO users can earn points by purchasing products that are close to their expiration or consumption date at participating stores, taking a picture of the receipt with their smartphone, and sending it to the system.

https://d-card.jp/kakeisoudan/articles/r825y7k5r1p/

https://r-tsushin.com/sdgs/nttdocomo_ecobuy/

For this system, NTT DOCOMO has obtained the “ecobuy” trademark (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6082392) and a patent for “information processing equipment and information processing system” (Japanese Patent No. 6462105). The patent gazette describes the effect of the invention as “the user is motivated to purchase that type of product because he or she is rewarded for purchasing products that are close to their expiration date, thereby reducing the amount of products that are discarded due to expiration, so-called food loss.” In this way, we can contribute to the challenges of the SDGs through intellectual property. (Conan)

food loss

Hamanako Garden Park

  • August 24, 2022
#copyright #trademark

I visited Hamanako Garden Park. There were six characters in the Garden Park: “Notane,” “Papa Hula,” “Mama Hula,” “Kyutan,” “Joron,” and “Hatchie,” which were created during the Hamanako Flower Expo and were based on lyricist Yasushi Akimoto’s works.

Hamanako Garden Park

As I walked around the park, I noticed that only “Notane” had a copyright mark.

Notane

I wondered why, and when I looked at the official website, it seemed that all six characters were copyrighted as part of the “NOTANE” series. I wondered about the trademark, and found that only “Notane” was registered here as well (the right holder is Shizuoka Prefecture).

The days are still hot, but I want to visit again to see different flowers when the weather gets a little better.

Hamanako Garden Park “Notane” Website(Japanese)
https://www.hamanako-gardenpark.jp/notane/

Himaka Island

  • August 17, 2022
#trademark

Last weekend I visited Himaka Island in Aichi Prefecture with a friend. It’s about an hour drive from Nagoya and you can reach Himaka Island in about 10 minutes by high-speed boat from Morozaki Port.
It is close to Nagoya, so it is an enjoyable one-day trip, and I felt like I had taken a trip even though I was within the prefecture.

I bought some “Himaka Island Island Seaweed” as a souvenir for my family. “Himaka Island Island Seaweed” is a seaweed sold by the Himaka Island Fishery Cooperative Association, and its package is a registered trademark (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 4481826).

Himaka Island Island Seaweed

I would like to visit the island again in a different season, as it is close to Nagoya and fresh seafood can be enjoyed all year round. (Rabbit)

Reference:
Himaka Island Sightseeing Navigation (Japanese)
https://www.himaka.net/
Himaka Island Fishery Cooperative Association (Japanese)
http://jf-himakajima.com/

Takuma-style boiler

  • August 10, 2022
#Inventions of the Day #patent

I would like to introduce an invention closely related to today, August 10. The invention is the “Takuma-style boiler” invented by Tsunekichi Takuma (1872.2.8~1953.12.22), a Meiji-era born industrialist, inventor, and founder of Takuma Corporation.

It is said that Tsunekichi Takuma applied for a patent for the Takuma boiler, Japan’s first domestically produced boiler, to the Patent Office, a foreign bureau of the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce at the time, 107 years ago (1915) today. Some sources say that he invented the boiler in 1912 and patented it the following year.
Tsunekichi Takuma was a successful lumber merchant in his thirties, but after investing in a boiler manufacturing business, he failed and incurred a large amount of debt. However, he later went on to develop boilers on his own and completed the Takuma-style boiler. This was so successful that it put a stop to the import of foreign-made boilers.

In 1936, Tsunekichi Takuma established the Takuma Tsunekichi Research Institute at his home (now Takuma Co., Ltd.). Takuma Corporation is now a research and development company that applies for 10~30 patents every year.

Related link(Japanese):
8月10日 – Wikipedia
田熊常吉 – Wikipedia
タクマ (企業) – Wikipedia
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