Category: blog

Episode 21 When a company formulates a brand strategy, the trade name and trademark are at the heart of it. A company’s name is its trade name (Article 6, Paragraph 1 of the Companies Act). A trademark is a character, figure, symbol, etc. that is used in connection with goods or services (Article 2, Paragraph…

Episode 20 In recent years, the number of AI-related patent applications has increased, and the rate of patent grants has also risen (https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/patent/gaiyo/sesaku/ai/document/ai_shutsugan_chosa/hokoku.pdf).The Japan Patent Office has published a total of 25 AI-related cases in Annexes A and B of the Patent and Utility Model Examination Handbook (https://www.jpo.go.jp/system/laws/rule/guideline/patent/document/ai_jirei/jirei.pdf).By the way, AI-related inventions are one type…

Episode 19 A request for examination of a patent application can be made within three years from the filing date (Patent Law, Article 48-3, Paragraph 1), and if no request for examination is made within that period, the patent application is deemed to be withdrawn (Patent Law, Article 4, Paragraph 4). When one year and…

Episode 18 It is possible to apply for design registration for three-dimensional shapes, and it is also possible to apply for registration as a three-dimensional trademark. Since design rights are creations resulting from human mental activity, registration requires novelty and creatability, and the term of the right is limited (25 years from the application date).…

Episode 17 Intangible property rights (intellectual property rights) include rights to creations that are the result of human mental activity and rights to goodwill (Basic Jurisprudence 3: Property, p. 281, “Intangible Property Rights” by Nakayama Nobuhiro). Creations that are the result of human mental activity include patent rights, utility model rights, and design rights. Rights to…

Episode 16 It has been pointed out that the Stockinette Knitting Machine Case (Supreme Court, Grand Court Decision, Case No. 28, 1967 (Gyo-Tsu), March 10, 1976; Minshu Vol. 30, No. 2, p. 79) and the Chetwa Case (Supreme Court, Third Petty Court Decision, Case No. 37, 1988 (Gyo-Tsu), April 23, 1991; Minshu Vol. 45, No.…

Episode 15 The Kilby decision (Supreme Court, 1998 (O) No. 364, April 11, 2000, Third Petty Bench, Minshu Vol. 54, No. 4, p. 1368) ruled that the infringement court can determine whether or not there is a reason for invalidation of a patent, and that if there is a reason for invalidation, a claim for…

Episode 14 Even if a trademark or design is not registered, it is possible to seek an injunction or damages for infringement under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act. However, while the hurdle for proving the requirements for an injunction or damages under the Unfair Competition Prevention Act is high, the existence of a trademark right…

Episode 13 There is a debate about whether or not applied art should be subject to overlapping application of design rights and copyright. The conventional view was that for applied art to be protected as a work of authorship, it was not enough for the expression to be recognized as creative, but that it also…

Episode 12 In Episode 11, we explained about designs based on functional beauty. In this case, if an item that is the subject of a design registration focuses on its function, it becomes the subject of a utility model registration. In the United States, both designs and utility models are incorporated into the patent system…