Udon (ooh-dohn), thick white wheat noodles, are a popular food in Western Japan, particularly in Kagawa Prefecture. There, firm udon noodles of the “Sanuki” area attract aficionados to “pilgrimages” of the famous udon shops. This relatively rural part of Japan (on Shikoku Island) prides itself on Sanuki udon. On August 27, 2020, national and regional news stations took up an IP battle starting up there.
A local taxi company, Kotohira Bus of Kotohira Town, registered a trademark for “Udon Taxi” with the JPO in 2004. Using this name, it offers to shuttle clients from udon shop to udon shop in reserved taxis. Now, it is taking the nearby Takamatsu City’s airport shuttle company to court for using the same phrase. Kotohira Bus wants 1.2 million yen (about US$11,000) in damages and usage fees from the shuttle company.[2]
The defendant asserted at the first hearing on August 27, 2020 that the trademark is not legitimate because for the Sanuki area, such a name as “udon taxi” is widely recognized and a general phrase. Thus, arguing that the name is hardly original to the trademark holder, it sought a rejection of the litigant’s claims. The litigant, on the other hand, filed the action in June demanding a stop to use of the name and reparations. Its lawyer claims that Kotohira Bus did business research and developed its taxi service [1].
This small battle far from Japan’s megacities draws attention perhaps because the noodles are popular, but also because the litigation scene is so remote from most Japanese. Litigation over intellectual property remains fairly rare, and when it does come up it can be less over financial implications and more over name recognition of the parties involved (as in the case of the Osaka University-University of Osaka dispute reported recently).
Sources
[1] KSB Seto Inland Sea Broadcasting. “うどんタクシーの名称使用を巡る裁判 被告側「一般的な言葉として認識されている」 高松地裁 [Court trial over use of ‘udon taxi’ name; defendant says ‘this is recognized as a general phrase’; Takamatsu District Court].” https://www.ksb.co.jp/newsweb/index/18431 August 27, 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020.
[2] NHK News Web, Kagawa NEWS WEB. “うどんタクシー商標訴訟始まる [Udon taxi trademark trial begins].” https://www3.nhk.or.jp/lnews/takamatsu/20200827/8030007800.html August 27, 2020. Accessed September 1, 2020
Head image cropped, from peaksignal from Pixabay.
