The rainy season has begun

  • June 29, 2022
#patent

The rainy season began in the middle of June in the Tokai region where our firm, Hattori & Partners is located, and even as I write this blog, it is raining and gloomy outside.
During this season, I always take a folding umbrella with me when I go out, and every time I put a portable umbrella in my bag, I feel that it has become much smaller and lighter than it used to be, which is another advancement.
When I search for “umbrella patent” on the Internet, I see various umbrellas that have been devised from various aspects, and just reading about them makes me excited and want to try them. The plastic umbrellas that abound in the streets are convenient and easy to use, but it is the season to be interested in the latest umbrellas that have been devised with new functions and materials.

Well, the rainy season is finally here! but this year’s rainy season seems to have rushed away. Once confirmed, it is expected to be 13 days, the shortest since statistics began in 1951. That’s a surprise, isn’t it? (Swimmer)

Pon Pon Flowering Dahlia

  • June 22, 2022
#design #patent #trademark

It is June and I am looking forward to the blooming of the dahlias that I planted the bulbs in April.
The blooming period of dahlias is generally June to November. It appears that a design and two or more trademarks are used for this dahlia package.

Pon Pon Flowering Dahlia

The backing paper in the photo attached to the mesh bag that contained the bulbs was registered as “backing paper for an article” Japanese Design Registration No. 1068135.
Hana-no-Yamato Corporation, a general gardening manufacturer, seems to own not only the registered design and the registered trademark but also the patent. (Raspberry)

Carbon Neutral Patent Application

  • June 15, 2022
#patent

 On October 26, 2020, Japan’s Prime Minister Suga (at that time) declared in his policy speech to the Diet, “We aim to achieve a carbon neutral, decarbonized society by 2050”. This declaration was also extended to the Japan Business Federation. Now, a year and a half after October 2020, I checked the published gazettes to verify whether the number of patent applications related to carbon neutrality surged along with this declaration.
 I searched the Patent Information Platform (J-PlatPat) for the number of gazettes containing the term “carbon neutral” in the specification by year of application, and found the following results (as of May 31, 2022).

Carbon Neutral Patent Application

 Already in 2001, there were applications with the term “carbon neutral” in the specification. For example, in Japanese Patent Publication 2003-129058, it is stated that “Biomass, in particular, is carbon neutral and should be actively used to replace petroleum, coal, etc., in order to fulfill the international commitments made at the Kyoto Conference on Climate Change Prevention (COP3).” This seems to reflect the growing interest in global warming and climate change triggered by the Kyoto Protocol of December 1997.
 Subsequently, the number of applications describing the term “carbon neutral” increased, but peaked in 2009 (the year COP15 was held in Copenhagen) and has been declining since then, with a leveling off trend since around 2015. Incidentally, the Paris Agreement, which sets reduction targets for each member country, was adopted at COP21 in 2015. As of the end of October to the first half of November 2020, when Prime Minister Suga’s declaration was made as introduced at the beginning of this report, there was no particular upward trend in applications.
 I hope that many carbon neutral related inventions will be created for the future global environment. (Conan)

Delicious appetizer

  • June 8, 2022
#patent #trademark

“Kazuchee” is a popular appetizer sold at Kaldi and other stores. It is one of my favorite appetizers because of the unique crunchy texture of herring roe inside the cheese. I eat it not only as an appetizer but also as a snack…

Kazuchee

On the package I just bought the other day had the words “patented” on it! I don’t remember much about this before, and there is no mention of “patented” in the package photo on the online store of Ihara & Co., Ltd., the manufacturer.
I got curious, so I looked it up on J-PlatPat and found that it was registered on August 31, 2021. (Japanese Patent No. 6936457, Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Law, with an exception for loss of novelty)
As I thought, it was a relatively new patent! (Marron)

“Kazuchee” is a Japanese Trademark of Ihara & Co., Ltd.
Kazuchee.com (Online Shop) (Japanese)

Original Aomori Nokkedon (Trademark Registration No. 6042537)

  • June 1, 2022
#trademark

Aomori was the first prefecture I had traveled domestically by plane. I thought it was very far from Nagoya, but I was actually surprised in 80 minutes from Komaki Airport. It was cold in Tohoku as expected, but the food was very good. Above all, the seafood was excellent. At the Aomori Fish Center in Aomori City, I made an original seafood bowl.

Original Aomori Nokkedon

How to Use
1. Purchase “Nokkedon” meal tickets (10 tickets: 1,500 yen, 5 tickets: 750 yen)
2. Go to exchange the tickets for rice bowl (normal serving: 1 ticket, large serving: 2 tickets)
3 Exchange for your favorite toppings from about 30 stores in the building (the number of tickets varies depending on the store and the amount of toppings)
4. Completion of the original seafood bowl!

Original Aomori Nokkedon

There are about 30 stores, and I was very confused about which store to exchange for which toppings. I felt that communication with the clerk at each store created a cozy atmosphere in the place.
If I have a chance to go to Aomori again, I would like to visit. (Rabbit)

Reference:Original Aomori Nokkedon (Japanese Only)