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Center Test (the Common Test for University Admissions) and Intellectual Property

  • July 7, 2021
#intellectual property

Is knowledge of intellectual property useful for college entrance exams? In the modern society of the 2020 Center Test, there was a question 5 of the 4th question section to select the most appropriate description of the concept and legal system related to modern information and communication technology from four options. It was something like this:
“③ In Japan, there is no court specializing in cases related to intellectual property.”
Since Japan has the Intellectual Property High Court (established in 2005), this option is incorrect.

In a high school “information” textbook, in the section “Law in the Information Society” in the chapter “Society Supported by Information Systems”, industrial property rights (patent rights, utility model rights, design rights, and trademark rights) and an overview of copyright are given. “Information” is not an examination subject at present, but in March this year, it was announced that “Information” will be added to the subjects of the Center Test in 2025 and onwards.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20210324/k10012933181000.html (Japanese Only)

This may increase the interest of general high school students in intellectual property rights to some extent. However, in the “Information” sample questions presented by the National Center for University Entrance Examinations, basic communication knowledge, programming, and statistical processing questions are selected. In common tests, where the ability to think is more important than memorizing knowledge, it seems that the possibility of intellectual property rights knowledge questions being selected is basically low. However, if public interest in intellectual property increases depending on national policies, the tendency to ask questions may also be affected. (Conan)

Trademark applications related to Damon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Part 2

  • June 30, 2021
#trademark

I have mentioned in one of my previous articles that trademark applications were filed for the haori (jacket) patterns of the characters that appear in Damon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. The first examination results came out.
My previous article: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba-related trademark application

The Giyu, Shinobu, and Rengoku patterns were registered as trademarks on June 3, 2021. (Registration numbers 6397486, 6397487, and 6397488)
If you are interested, select “Trademark Number Inquiry” from “Trademark” of J-PlatPat and enter the above number in the registration number field to see the detailed information.

Personally, I thought Shinobu and Rengoku patterns had possibilities of being registered, but Giyu pattern might be difficult, so it was rather as expected. The haori with two-side-patterns of Giyu may have contributed to his discriminating power.

In addition, on the same day, the character names of 炭次郎(Tanjiro), 禰豆子(Nezuko), 善逸(Zenitsu),伊之助(Inosuke), and 義勇(Giyu) as well as 全集中(Full Concentration), 無限列車(Infinite Train), and 鬼殺隊(Demon Slayer corps) were registered as trademarks in standard characters. The right holder for all of them is Shueisha Co., Ltd.

On the other hand, the reasons for refusal were notified for the Tanjiro, the Nezuko, and the Zenitsu patterns. All applicable articles are Article 3, Paragraph 1, Item 6 and are certified as having no discriminating power.
There is a good chance that the applicant, Shueisha, will respond to the three reasons for refusal, so I would like to continue to look at future examination results. (Marron)

Print Club “Purikura” (Photo Sticker Machine)

  • June 23, 2021
#design

The familiar design I will introduce this time is “Purikura”. Print club, or “Purikura” for short, are often found at arcades. Recently, there are also stores specializing in print sticker machines, which is familiar as one of the Japanese cultures.
FURYU Corporation is a company that focuses on “fashionable things” for the younger generation, such as photo booths and colored contacts. Most of the photo booth models that were popular when I was a high school student were FURYU products.

When I took a picture with this print sticker machine before, I was interested in the difference in appearance from the conventional model, and when I searched with Jplat-pat, it turned out that the application and registration were made for the partial design. Models that utilize this partial design are “AROUND 20”, “PURi BOX”, “PURi BOX more”, etc.

It is a Japanese culture, and I felt a sense of familiarity with the existence of designs around me. (Rabbit)

Japanese Design Registration No. 1651555
Registration Date: January 9, 2020
Right Holder: FURYU Corporation

Print Stickers; FURYU Corporation HP (English)
FURYU Corporation; Print Sticker Machines Lineup (Japanese)

Webinars of WIPO Japan Office (3rd week of June)

  • June 14, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic has made to review convenience of seminars and the number of webinar-style events has increased. Even in the intellectual property industry we are in, webinars are being held one after another and their use is expanding.

Meanwhile, I would like to introduce the webinars of the WIPO Japan office, which has been held frequently since last year. Here are the webinars that will be held in the 3rd week of June. Both are in Japanese so you can easily participate. After the presentation, you can also ask questions using the web tools.

1. Patent Ecosystem in Silicon Valley (Japanese)
Tuesday, June 15th 11:00-12:00 (Japan time)
Speaking of Silicon Valley in the United States, it is a birthplace of tech giants such as Apple and Google and developed many start-up companies. This webinar will introduce the latest patent applications from the area and the trends in patent business.

2. The Hague system; How to use the online application tool “eHague” and the update tool “eRenewal” (Japanese)
Friday, June 18th 17:00-18:00 (Japan time)
The personnel from WIPO headquarters in Geneva will introduce the procedure on the web of the Hague system, which is the international registration system for designs, using the actual screen.

Of course, it is not only this week, but WIPO webinars are held at any time. If you are interested, please check the event calendar of the Japan Patent Office and the WIPO Japan Office HP.

Japan Patent Office Event Calendar (Japanese)

WIPO Japan Office (English)

(blink)

Light Glasses

  • June 9, 2021
#trademark

Recently, I’ve had my new glasses made for desk work.

After consulting with a shop assistant, I chose glasses of the inhouse brand called “Cotori”.
The registered trademark logo and attached illustration match the brand concept of “heart-tweeting lightness” and I felt it was easy to imagine the characteristics of the glasses because it properly expressed them.

I was thrilled to get new glasses that look and feel light.
The special case and the wiping cloth that came with the glasses as gifts are also wonderful ♪
Even though I took a long time to make various requests, the shop assistant said, “I enjoyed making them.” and I was able to leave the store with a better feeling. (Cacao)

●Japanese Trademark Registration No.6259543 (J-PlatPat)
●Cotori brand shop (Japanese only)

Easy Note

  • June 2, 2021
#patent

Shortly after the beginning of the new semester, I found one of the teaching materials that my child brought back from school that said, “patented product”. On the front cover, it was labeled “Repeating Keisan Drill Raku Raku Note(Repeating Calculation Workbook Easy Note)”, and a nostalgic illustration of “3-chome Tama” on it.

I wondered what kind of content was in the patent on the notebook, so I looked it up on the familiar J-Plat Pat, and the summary said, “To provide exercise notebooks and problem practice materials that allow students to learn how to properly write and use notebooks by solving problems using problem workbooks.”

I looked through the contents of the workbook, and even in them, I could see the ingenuity that went into making it easy for children to learn and write. I was impressed that this was a great invention, and I was reminded again that there are various forms of invention. (Marigold)

Japanese Patent Registration Number: 5031612
Introduction page of Easy Note (Shingakusha Co. Ltd.) (Japanese)
https://www.sing.co.jp/shop/g/gdnote-kei/

Hotarium

  • May 28, 2021
#trademark

The nights are getting shorter, the days are getting longer, and summer is gradually approaching. The rainy season has started in Nagoya and when looking up at the sky, it is cloudy and dull. The dazzling sunshine has faded into the shadows, and the trees in the city are drenched with rain.
New members of the insect family have appeared to accompany the season, and we can feel the change of the seasons.

By the way, did you know that the firefly viewing season is during the rainy season?
It is well known that fireflies can be found in places where the water is clean, the water flow is calm, and it is dark and quiet.
However, the Tobu Zoo (located in Saitama prefecture) has the world’s first “Hotarium” where you can see fireflies all year around. (time)

Trademark : Hotarium
Japanese Trademark registration number: No. 4870447
Date of registration : June 10, 2005
Right holder : Tobu Railway Co.
※The word “Hotarium” is a combination of two words, hotaru (meaning firefly in Japanaese) and ~rium (a suffix which indicates a place).

Tobu Zoo Website (Japanese)
https://www.tobuzoo.com/zoo/feature/hotariumu/

Old medicine

  • May 19, 2021
#trademark

Hello, this is Hiro.
When I returned to my parents’ house the other day, I was shown the old medicine they found in the back of an old chest. When I shook the bag, I heard the sound of the medicine grains hitting the bag.

I searched the internet for words “BAOF”, “Baof (in katakana)”, “Ristoma”, and “Ristoma (in katakana)” written on the front of the bag, but I could not find any information on the corresponding medicine.
When I Google translated “Gastritis” and “Magendarmkatarrk” on the “BAOF” bag, they were translated as “gastritis” and “gastrointestinal disorder” from German. “Anamie” and “Herzklopfen” in the “Ristoma” bag were translated as “anemia” and “palpitations”. It seems to be a medicine to relieve or treat these symptoms.

The paper in the bag stated, “Showa 15” (1940), so I knew that the medicine was about 80 years old. It was probably used by our grandparents or great-grandparents’ generation.

On the back of the bag, it says “Yakuka Kin Goen” (medicine price 5 yen). When I converted the 5 yen at that time into the current money by referring to the following page of the Bank of Japan, it was about 2000 yen.
“How much would it be to convert 10,000 yen in 1965 into current money?” (Bank of Japan (Japanese))
https://www.boj.or.jp/announcements/education/oshiete/history/j12.htm/

I also did an Internet search for “Kyushu Rikagaku Seizaisho (Kyushu physics and chemistry pharmacy)” which is written on the back of the bag, but the corresponding pharmacy could not be found. It seems that this pharmacy no longer exists.

I searched for a Japanese trademark on J-Platpat to see if the dragon figure displayed with the letters “TRADE MARK” on the surface of the bag was registered.
When I entered “24.11.17” (Ryū (dragon in Japanese)) and “4.3.3” (dragon in katakana) in the “Classification of shapes, etc.” field, 1201 trademarks containing dragon figures were found (as of May 12, 2021). Furthermore, when “01B01” (drug, etc.) was entered in the “Similarity group code” field and additional conditions were added to the search, the number was narrowed down to 62 results. However, there was no registered trademark among these 62 results that was identical or similar to the dragon figure on the bag. It may have been registered as a trademark at that time, but it does not seem to be registered now.

My sister-in-law, who is a pharmacist, was interested in this medicine and said that she wants to look up on it so now it is in her possession.
If you know anything about this medicine, please let us know through the comments section.

Peko-chan Ningyo-yaki

  • May 12, 2021
#trademark

The other day, I came across a very cute sweets called “Peko-chan Ningyo-yaki” from Fujiya Co., Ltd. As it is named, it is a ningyo-yaki (doll-shaped cake) that imitates the face of “Peko-chan” and has several flavors such as mashed sweet bean paste, smooth sweet bean paste, and custard cream. I chose “Uji Matcha” which was a limited time offer. The fluffy sponge matched the matcha cream and it was very delicious. I will buy a different flavor next time.

When I searched on J-PlatPat for a trademark related to this product, the trademark “GINZA FUJIYA Peko-chan Ningyo-yaki” was registered as the designated product “Ningyo-yaki” (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6368159). It is used at the top of the product package in the photo below. (Sakuramochi)

Keeping images forever

  • May 7, 2021

On the page of the electronic exhibitions, available on the National Diet Library (Japan) homepage, there is the exhibition “The Meiji and Taisho Eras in Photographs”.

You can see the old look of the city you know well and many people walking on the road. From looking at these photos, you can feel the passion of wanting to keep the images of what you see forever with a camera that was still rare in those eras.

According to Wikipedia, photography was invented in 1827 by the Frenchman Joseph Nicéphore Niépce. Until then, there was a projector that showed photograph-like images, but capturing moving images was not possible. (Swimmer)

History of photography – Wikipedia
Electric Exhibition Website: The Meiji and Taisho Eras in Photographs: From photographs in publications held by the National Diet Library – Tokyo, Kansai, Tohoku in Photographs (ndl.go.jp)

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