Have a Break

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

Sponge Cake (Castella)

  • October 14, 2020
#trademark

Recently, I received a sponge cake (castella) from Nagasakido. When I took off the paper on the back of the sponge cake, the rough texture of the coarse sugar was scattered and it looked like a pattern. It was delicious.

Looking at the wrapping paper and historical writings, the shape of the ship says “Kurofune Denrai”(= meaning to be imported by the black ships). I only had the head of “Black Ships are Perry’s steamships”, so I was curious, and looked it up a little. According to “Free Encyclopedia”, all large Western-style ships that have visited Japan since the 15th century were the “black ships”. Speaking of which, sponge cake (Castella) was also brought in by trade with the Portugal, and it is certainly “Kurofune Denrai”.

Nagasakido’s “Kurofune Denrai” was registered in 1931 (Japanese Registration No. 229713). There are various brands of sponge cake (castella), but it seems that the only trademark with the ship mark is that of Nagasakido.

By the way, sponge cake (castella) is commonly called Nagasaki castella, but it should be noted that “Nagasaki castella” is now a regional collective trademark (Nagasaki Confectionery Industry Association, registered in 2006, Japanese Registration No. 5003044).
(blink)

At Gacha Gacha no Mori

  • October 7, 2020
#patent

“Gacha Gacha no Mori”, which was newly opened in Asunal Kanayama in front of Kanayama Central Station, is a capsule-toy-specialized store with many capsule toy machines piled up.

From popular character mascots to things you would be surprised to find as a toy, there are more capsule toys than you can imagine, such as miniature figures, and you will be thrilled just by looking at them.
Usually, there is a box to return empty capsules, so I looked around and found it!

It’s a simple mechanism of inserting an empty capsule from the capsule inlet, rolling three slopes and dropping it into the collection box that seems to be installed inside, but it is playful and makes you want to insert the capsule. Put unnecessary paper and plastics in another slot and roll the capsule. This makes sorting fun and easy, and easy processing after collection. With this system, there is only merit for both the customer and the shop assistant.

And there it was! The word “patent application is in processing” is in the upper right corner of the recycling box!
Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-116620
From the application number, it seems that the application was made around July this year. Since it has not been published yet, I cannot see the contents of the invention on J-PlatPat, but I am interested in what kind of patent application it is.
By the way, the goods that I got of Gacha Gacha are not disclosed ♪ (Cacao)

Kuri-kinton (Sweet chestnut paste)

  • September 28, 2020
#trademark

It’s September and it feels like it’s finally autumn. Kuri-kinton is what you want to eat in this season. The other day, I bought it for the first time this year at a Japanese sweets shop “Yoshihara-Suzume” near our firm.

There are some famous Kuri-kinton shops in Nakatsugawa, Gifu prefecture.When I checked it with J-PlatPat, it was registered as a regional group registered trademark in 2019 (JP Trademark Registration No. 6190590).

The depressing days will continue, but why not enjoy the delicious taste of autumn? (Marigold)

“Tokuno” Ken-chan

  • September 23, 2020
#trademark

I feel like eating cold food when it’s hot.
In such a time, it would be great to have a cold tofu that is easy and nutritious.

When I look through tofu section in a supermarket, my eyes always find a certain product.
It is a tofu by Otokomae (Handsome guy) Tofu.
The graphic illustrations of the package are unique and totally different from other tofu packages, and it is a product that you cannot miss seeing even if you do not buy it.

As for the taste, it seems that it is rich and has a good reputation as advertised as “Tokuno” i.e. super rich and creamy. It also has a unique, long and thin shape. Depending on how you arrange it, it could become a gem food that is like a flower to the dining table. (time)

“Ken-chan” is registered as the standard character for “Tokuno Ken-chan” for ” Otokomae Tofu”.
● “Ken-chan” trademark registration number: 5345081

Men’s tofu store https://otokomae.jp/

Smoked Olive Oil

  • September 18, 2020
#patent

Hello. This is Hiro.
Following on from the previous article, I will introduce another olive oil-related product.
This olive oil is added a smoked scent by patented technology (Patent No. 4783463: a method for smoking liquid and its device).

I tried it on tofu with soy sauce on top.

The smoked aroma spread in my mouth and it was very delicious. I felt it was a taste for adults that goes well with alcohol.

The contents of this patent can be checked at the link below (J-PlatPat).
Patent No. 4783463 (Click “English” on top right corner)

Reference：kazusa-smoke “patented technology for smoking liquid” (Japanese)

Oi Ocha (a product name of Japanese green tea)

  • September 8, 2020
#trademark

Sota Fujii won the crown title in one of the eight major title matches in the shogi world, with 4 wins and 0 losses, and became the two-crown holder.
I often saw ITO EN’s “Oi Ocha” in the video of the matches and press conferences.
I looked up about this and found out that Itoen sponsored the crown title match and provided “Oi Ocha” to the players. I’m not sure of a fact, but I wonder if the reason for the sponsorship is because the names of both the title match and the tea product are similar, “Ohi”(meaning throne/crown in Japanese) and “Oi.”

By searching J-PlatPat for this “Oi Ocha” trademark, not only the well-known logo trademark but also the sound trademark “Oi Ocha” in 2015 was designated as “Ocha”, Tea drink” (Registration No. 5805757).
You can play the sound on J-PlatPat, so if you are interested, please search and listen to the sound. (Sakura Mochi)

Chicken Ramen

  • September 7, 2020
#patent #trademark

Today, August 25th is the day of the birth of chicken ramen and the anniversary of instant ramen. Invented by Momofuku Ando, the founder of NISSIN FOODS, the world’s first instant noodle “Chicken Ramen” was launched on August 25, 1958.

Initially, it seemed that sales were not active due to the high price setting, but when similar products and counterfeit products began to appear in the early 1960s, Nissin Foods tried to maintain their brand by causing a lawsuit for their trademark and patent registration.
At the same time, the licensing of the acquired patent was described in the NHK morning drama “Manpuku” broadcast from 2018 to 2019.

In the simple search of J-PlatPat, if you search for “Chicken Ramen” as a keyword, 2 patents and 16 trademarks will come up.
Also, try searching for keywords such as “instant noodles”. (Syszo)

J-Platpat
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/
Wikipedia: Chicken Ramen (English)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissin_Chikin_Ramen
Wikipedia: Momofuku Ando (English)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Momofuku_Ando

About black tea

  • August 19, 2020

My name is swimmer.
This year, we spend a lot of time at home, so I order various teas online and enjoy them at home.
The so-called green tea we drink daily is the evergreen tree of the camellia family that grew naturally in the mountainous regions of Asia, and it seems that it was originally taken as a medicine.
We are not certain when green tea, which was roasted with fresh green leaves in boiling water, become fermented and drinkable oolong tea or black tea or who even discovered it.
There may have been various elements of people’s history and times.

From the history of black tea, Japan Tea Association (Japanese only)
https://www.tea-a.gr.jp/knowledge/tea_history/

Moisturizing lip balm

  • August 13, 2020
#trademark

We use lip balm to care for our lips. The other day, I found “Curél” lip balm, which had a trademark written on the package.

When I checked it on J-plat pat, it was registered Japanese trademark registration number 6085488 under cosmetics. This company has branded products in cosmetics, skin care/hair care, human health care, etc. Curél is a brand of Kao that is designed for dry and sensitive skin. Based on Kao’s 30 years of dermatological research, they focused on “ceramide” as the cause of dry and sensitive skin for their products. They keep skin moisturized.

See below for details.

https://www.kao.co.jp/curel/ (Japanese website)
https://www.curel.com/en-us/japanskincare/ (English version of the website)

(raspberry)

U.F.O. and UFO

  • August 11, 2020
#patent #trademark

[U.F.O.=Product name of Nisshin Yakisoba]
“U.F.O.” is the brand name for cup fried noodles, which has been a huge hit since its release in Japan in 1976. U is for “umai” which means delicious, F is for “futoi(thick) noodles”, and O is for “ookii(big) container”. The logo on the container is registered under Japanese Trademark Registration No. 5971287 (designated product: printed matter, calendar).

[UFO=unidentified flying object]
　Let’s change the story and introduce a case of the Intellectual Property High Court concerning “UFO”.
The “detailed description of the invention” in the patent specification must be clearly and sufficiently described so that a person skilled in the art can carry out the invention. This is called “enablement requirement”. A patent application (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2015-145675) having “UFO flight device based on UFO flight principle” as the title of the invention describes in detail description of the invention by those skilled in the art to produce “UFO flight device”. In addition, it received a decision of refusal in the examination as it was not clearly and sufficiently described so that it could be used. On the other hand, the applicant has filed a lawsuit for canceling the trial decision (case number of filing of action JP2019-10122), but the Intellectual Property High Court rejected the request based on the following judgment (decision made on February 4, 2020 ). “… The “UFO flight device” of the present invention can change its speed without receiving any external force or changing its mass… Momentum… It violates the law of conservation, and also violates the law of action-reaction. “

In modern science and technology, it can be said that it is impossible to produce and use a “UFO flight device”. (Conan)

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