utility model

Work of “Intellectual Property”

  • 2023年04月26日
#design #intellectual property #patent #trademark #utility model

The TV Drama series “Isn’t that Plagiarism?” has started!
I have been looking forward to the drama even more after reading the original novel. I am writing this article after the first episode aired, but I am very much looking forward to the future development of the drama as it has been reconstructed for the drama and there are many parts that differ from the original story from the very first episode. I was impressed by the lines “patents are a battle of words” and “the job of intellectual property is to protect the crystallization of someone else’s sweat and tears”.

In the first episode of the drama, the company where the main character works does not yet have an intellectual property department (IP department). How will the activities of the newly established IP department be depicted in the second and subsequent episodes? I think the content will be realistic as it is supervised by a patent attorney, so you will be able to gain knowledge that you can learn while enjoying the drama.

The original story has a subtitle “The Work of a New Intellectual Property Department Employee”.
I think it will help those companies that do not have an IP department but have a development department or a general affairs department that is concurrently in charge of IP. We would like to better understand the role of the IP department at our firm and utilize this information to provide services that are needed by our customers.

Isn't that Plagiarism? Isn't that Plagiarism?

By the way, the JPO also paid attention to this drama and tweeted about it.
It seems that they also cooperated in the filming of the drama, and you can see places that are not usually seen at the JPO. This is also noteworthy♪ (Cacao)

https://www.ntv.co.jp/sorepaku/original/ (Japanese only)
https://shueisha.online/culture/121224 (Japanese only)
http://www.jipa.or.jp/coffeebreak/hitokoto/hito2303.html (Japanese only)
https://twitter.com/jpo_NIPPON/status/1645696954343788545

Electronic Thermometer

  • 2022年10月20日
#design #patent #trademark #utility model

My long-time electronic thermometer broke, so I bought a new one.
The built-in battery seems to have worn out, not only because of infection prevention measures, but also because my elderly family members have more opportunities to take their temperatures regularly.
Without time to do any preliminary research, I went to the sales floor of a local drugstore and was surprised to find several electronic thermometers available and surprisingly inexpensive despite their high functionality.

I remember that in the past, most thermometers did not have replaceable batteries to prevent infants from accidentally ingesting button batteries, but now they sell thermometers with replaceable batteries. I guess they have devised a way to prevent easy removal of the battery.
Some were waterproof and washable, which seems to be in high demand in this day and age, and some had an attached case that could be easily cleaned with alcohol.

After much deliberation, I chose the Terumo thermometer we had been using previously and purchased a thermometer with a sound pressure about twice as loud and easy to hear at the end of a temperature test. It can predict temperature in about 20 seconds and measure temperature as speedily as a temperature check at a hospital.

Terumo's electronic thermometers Terumo's registered trademark

The Terumo logo in the image is naturally a registered trademark (Japanese Registration No. 6191923 Protective No. 01), but a further search on J-PlatPat revealed more than 250 patents, utility models, and designs for Terumo’s electronic thermometers.

By the way, Terumo thermometers have had a 100-year history. What is the 100th anniversary commemorative thermometer sold last year! If you are interested, check the following site♪ (Cacao)
100th anniversary commemorative thermometer website (Japanese only)

Emergency Food and Patents

  • 2022年09月21日
#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

Massage Gun “SIXPAD Power Gun”

  • 2022年04月22日
#design #patent #trademark #utility model

Recently, I have come across a device called a massage gun (or power gun). As the name suggests, a massage gun is a type of massage device that is shaped like a gun and whose tip vibrates at high speed.
I was a little curious about it because I heard that it can help relieve stiff shoulders and back pain as well as take care of muscles. I had a chance to try it out and was very pleased with how it felt, so I bought it.

SIXPAD Power Gun

To use it, simply press the tip of the power gun lightly against the area of the body you want to relieve. The SIXPAD Power Gun from MTG Corporation, which I purchased, allows you to adjust the vibration speed of the tip in five stages, from about 1,800 rpm (revolutions per minute) to about 3,000 rpm. When I first used it, I was surprised at the speed and power of the vibration. The tip attachments, such as U-shaped and ball-shaped ones, can be changed to suit the part of the body being used, and I feel that the vibrations reach deep into the muscles very well. I use it when I have stiff shoulders or when I feel muscle fatigue after exercise. I recommend it to anyone who is similarly concerned.

MTG Co., Ltd is a company located in Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. If you search for “MTG Co., Ltd” on J-PlatPat, a great number of patents, utility models, designs, and trademarks will hit. Also, 21 trademark were hit for “SIXPAD”. (Syszo)

SIXPAD Power Gun Website (Japanese)
https://www.mtgec.jp/wellness/sixpad/products/powergun/

Noodles from Aichi, Japan

  • 2022年03月23日
#utility model

If there are any noodles from Aichi, Japan, miso nikomi udon and kishimen (flat noodles) are famous, but curry udon such as “Toyohashi curry udon” is also one of the local gourmet foods. Flat dried noodles are easy to stick to, and once they stick together, they will become uneven and it is difficult to boil them well. The curry-nikomi udon I was given as a gift the other day is made with the special shape of the noodles, which is hard to stick to, and was registered as a utility model by the company called Kintobi Shiga, whose head office is in Gamagori (Japanese Utility model registration No. 3231972).

Kintobi Shiga curry-nikomi udon Kintobi Shiga curry-nikomi udon

There seems to be miso nikomi udon in the same series, so I’d like to try it next time. (Marron)

Fuku-Can and Good Luck Charms

  • 2022年03月02日
#design #intellectual property #patent #trademark #utility model

One of the stores I like to stop by regularly is MUJI. While I have a variety of favorite products, I was able to buy the pre-ordered “Fuku-Can (Fortune Can)” for the first time last year, which I had been curious about for a long time. This year, I won the lottery and was able to buy one.

The “Fuku-Can” has a gift card with an amount equal to the purchase price (2,022 yen this year) and Japanese lucky charms in it. There are cute and interesting lucky charms in the can, and it’s fun just to look at the enclosed flyer that introduces them on both sides. It is also an opportunity to become familiar with Japanese culture rooted in the region.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Fuku-Can, which was launched on New Year’s Day 2012 with 14 kinds of lucky charms from four prefectures in Tohoku, with the intention of supporting Tohoku’s recovery from the earthquake.
“CREATIVE IMAGINATION” exhibition was held at ATELIER MUJI GINZA in Ginza to celebrate the 10th anniversary the other day. I would have loved to drop by if it was close by.

Now, a search on J-PlatPat shows that there are 94 trademarks that hit the keyword “mujirushi ryouhin”. All of them are already registered. A search for the company name “Ryohin Keikaku” shows 224 trademarks, 368 designs, and 40 patents and utility models, indicating that the company is making extensive use of intellectual property.

Fuku-Can and Good Luck Charms

The photo shows the lucky charms that were included in last year’s and this year’s Fuku-Can. (I bought two of each).
From left to right, Kyoto City’s “Kyoto Ceramic Doll Koban (Ox),” Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture’s “Fukutaro,” Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture’s “Oku Hariko (Tiger),” and Tamana County, Kumamoto Prefecture’s “Mud Mask (4 pieces).
The cans can also be used as pen holders, and I’m sure I’ll be collecting them every year♪ (Cacao)

CREATIVE IMAGINATION| ATELIER MUJI | 無印良品

Pokayoke; Ingenuity to prevent accidental mistakes

  • 2022年01月20日
#patent #trademark #utility model

The TV programs I often watch include “0655” and “2355”. The content varies from day to day, but “Pokayoke” is sometimes introduced. “Pokayoke” is a mechanism or device installed in a production line, for example, in a factory to prevent work mistakes (from Wikipedia). “Pokayoke”, a solution to make people notice their mistakes and thus to prevent “Poka”, accidental, small mistakes, may be famous as one of the basic concepts of Toyota Production System. It seems to be sometimes called “Poka-Yoke” even outside Japan.

In the program, one “Pokayoke” was introduced. When cleaning the inside of a large tank, you will go inside with a deck brush, you can prevent forgetting to take out the deck brush by connecting a string to the deck brush and keeping the string out of the tank. With such a little ingenuity, you can prevent big mistakes.

If you search for “Pokayoke” on J-PlatPat, 34 patents and utility models and 10 trademarks will be found. Mistakes are common in any job, not just in the factory production line. I also want to do my daily work while devising with “Pokayoke”. (Syszo)

Pokayoke; Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poka-yoke
E-Tele(NHK) 0655:https://www.nhk.jp/p/e0655/ (Japanese Only)
E-Tele(NHK) 2355:https://www.nhk.jp/p/e2355/ (Japanese Only)

Local Sake Handago

  • 2021年08月18日
#design #patent #trademark #utility model

The other day, I found an advertisement that caught my attention. The words “Thanks to you, we’ve won first place in the U.S.” drew my attention, and upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a sake that had won the Grand Prix at the American Sake Competition.

中埜酒造國盛半田郷

I checked my local supermarket to see if they had it, and luckily I was able to purchase it.

中埜酒造國盛半田郷

Drinking well-chilled sake on a hot day is the best. Eating it with refreshing somen noodles made it feel like summer. It was a well-balanced sake, not too heavy and not too light. A search of the J-Plat Pat database for Nakano Sake Brewery Co., Ltd,, the maker of Handa-Go, revealed a total of six patent and utility model applications, one design application, and 207 trademark applications, including Handa-Go. The number of trademarks is overwhelmingly large, and I wondered if the company was developing its business with a strategy to increase its brand power.

Nakano Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.’s website, Handa-Go page (Japanese only) https://www.nakanoshuzou.jp/handago/pc/

I was a little excited to find out that there are many delicious local delicacies that have yet to be discovered. (Marigold)

Toge no Kamameshi

  • 2021年02月17日
#trademark #utility model

The other day, I went to the “National Ekiben (Lunch Box sold at train stations) Fair” held at a grocery store near my house and purchased “Toge no Kamameshi” lunch box.
“Toge no Kamameshi” is an ekiben sold at Yokogawa Station in Gunma Prefecture, where ingredients such as quail eggs, chestnuts, and burdock are put on rice cooked with kelp (seaweed) and secret soup stock. It’s a very delicious lunch box that you will never get tired of eating many times.

As shown in the photo, the trademark registration number (No. 1731043) and the utility model registration number (No. 3094454) were found on the wrapping paper, so I searched for them with J-Platpat.

Regarding the trademark right, the vertical writing “Toge no Kamameshi” was registered as a designated product “Kamameshi”.
On the other hand, the utility model right was registered as the title of the device, “Kamameshi container”, which is “related to the Kamameshi container that can be effectively used as an air freshener container after being used for its original purpose”. The utility model right has already expired, but you can see the contents on J-Platpat, so if you are interested in what it was, please search. (Sakuramochi)

Mobile rice ball

  • 2020年12月21日
#utility model

The other day, I received a “mobile rice ball” from an insurance agent.
It was made from Alpha rice (processed quick-cooking rice) which can be stored for a long time. I also received an advice that the food included in the normal disaster prevention set is not enough in case of emergency.

“Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 3197867” was written on the back side of the package, so I looked it up with J-PlatPat. The title of the device was “container”, which means that the registration was not for the rice ball, but for the container.
By changing the form of “rice” to “rice ball”, chopsticks and spoons are not required, and you can eat while walking, but with this container, you can mold and eat the rice ball without touching directly with your hands. You can eat the rice ball without any hesitation even when it is difficult to keep your hands clean in certain situations.
It seems that it is used not only as a preserved food for emergencies, but also as a food to carry for outdoor activities such as mountain climbing and overseas travel.
I would like to add what I received this time to our stockpile, and hope that we will consume them in a non-emergency situation.
That is all from Cacao, who has the urge to try it.

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