On January 31, 2012, the IP High Court of Japan delivered a groundbreaking appellate decision concerning the registrability of a trademark.
On January 31, 2012, the IP High Court of Japan delivered a groundbreaking appellate decision concerning the registrability of a trademark in a lawsuit seeking to reverse a decision of an appeal trial board of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) rejecting a trademark application.
The appeal to the IP High Court against the JPO was conducted by our firm on behalf of a client, Shiraken Kamaboko Co Ltd.
Shiraken Kamaboko had filed with the JPO an application to register the mark ‘海葉’, which comprises two Chinese characters, designating kamaboko (boiled fish-paste). The JPO examiner decided to reject the trademark application on the grounds that the applied-for trademark is similar to the prior registered trademark ‘海陽’, which also comprises two Chinese characters, and the designated goods of the applied-for trademark are identical to those of the cited trademark.
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similar trademarks, Shiraken Kamaboko, JPO, TANTO
