A recent addition to the drink offerings in Japanese shops and vending machines has been “Wonda TEA COFFEE,” produced and of course trademarked by major drink company Asahi Soft Drinks Co., Ltd (Tokyo). Drinks in this line combine cafe latte…
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Japan is not an easy place to drive a car, but Mari Mobility Development Inc. has built a popular tourist-oriented business partly on its “MariCAR” go-cart tours. The “MariCAR” tours offer superhero outfits, including for Nintendo Co.’s classic video game…
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Japan is like the United Kingdom a constitutional monarchy with an emperor residing in the palace at the heart of Tokyo. And to this day, the imperial era names selected for each successive emperor (empress) are used to date many…
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The Japanese Trademark Act has been revised as of May 30. The changes force all divisional trademark registration applications filed from June 9, 2018 to stem from a properly paid-for trademark registration application. Until this, the Trademark Act Article 10…
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Imabari City and the Imabari Towel Industrial Association (ITIA) of Ehime Prefecture in western Japan filed an opposition with the Chinese Trade Marks Bureau on May 25, 2018, after they found a Shanghai company had been allowed a trademark for…
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Kikkoman Corporation, a major producer of soy sauce in Japan, succeeded with its trademark application for its well-known sauce dispensing bottle. The JPO registered it as Trademark No. 6031041 on March 30, 2018. The dispenser is easily recognized by its…
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Japan’s Customs enforcement caught and prohibited entry of attempted imports of infringing items in about 30,600 cases, up from about 26,000 in 2016, according to the Ministry of Finance. 92.5% of the cases were caught going through the Postal Services…
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Asia, Japan, News, Trademarks
The Beijing Municipal Administration of Industry and Commerce recently performed a product-focused crackdown on pirated sneakers of ASICS (Kobe, Japan) in the city and online. The haul of suspected pirated goods (over 31,000) was estimated to have a market value…
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An old trademark associated with a failed business’s old products, such as tape cassettes, seems like a hard sell. However, Japanese brand “aiwa” is reincarnating under a venture to use the Japanese trademark, purchased from Sony by one of Sony’s…
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The JPO is making its procedures for examining trademark applications that have been preceded by defectively filed applications more transparent after some confusion that caught up the media in Japan. Defective (often, with official fees unpaid) applications frequently are attempts…
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