Multicolor penlight patent; what happened to it afterwards

  • March 30, 2022

#patent

There is a TV program that introduces the work and life of the people who TV crew visited at the location and revisit them after a few years. Following that method, this time, I will inform you about what happened to the patent for “multicolor penlight” (Japanese patent publication No. 5608827, registered on September 5, 2014) introduced in my blog six years ago (December 16, 2015).

This patent was filed with trial for invalidation of a patent on March 19, 2019, five years after registration on the ground of inventive step. The patentee, TurnON co.,ltd., corrected claims 1 and 2, but the JPO stated that “this invention could easily be come up with by those skilled in the art based on the technical matters and well-known techniques described in Exhibit A1 and Exhibit A2” and on July 28, 2020, an invalidation decision was made. In response, the patentee filed a lawsuit to revoke the trial decision in the Intellectual Property High Court.

On October 6, 2021, the Intellectual Property High Court ruled that the trial decision made by the JPO had an error in finding the subject of the invention of Exhibit No. 1 and decided to revoke the trial decision. As this decision was finalized, the JPO ruled on January 13, 2022 that the Patent was not invalid.
After all the twists and turns, the patent has survived. The “multicolor penlight”, which is the target product of this patent, is also posted on the TurnON website. (Conan)
Link
https://turnon.co.jp/patent/ (Japanese Only)

Noodles from Aichi, Japan

  • March 23, 2022

#utility model

If there are any noodles from Aichi, Japan, miso nikomi udon and kishimen (flat noodles) are famous, but curry udon such as “Toyohashi curry udon” is also one of the local gourmet foods. Flat dried noodles are easy to stick to, and once they stick together, they will become uneven and it is difficult to boil them well. The curry-nikomi udon I was given as a gift the other day is made with the special shape of the noodles, which is hard to stick to, and was registered as a utility model by the company called Kintobi Shiga, whose head office is in Gamagori (Japanese Utility model registration No. 3231972).

Kintobi Shiga curry-nikomi udon Kintobi Shiga curry-nikomi udon

There seems to be miso nikomi udon in the same series, so I’d like to try it next time. (Marron)

Agatha Christie

  • March 16, 2022

#trademark

The writer who wrote the original story of the film “Death on the Nile”, released in February this year, is Agatha Christie, a writer famous for her mystery novels. After reading “ABC Murder” when I was a student, I’ve always liked her novels and I’ve bought a set of 3 books “Death on the Nile”, “The ABC Murder,” and “Murder on the Oriental Express” before. This time, when I saw the trailer for the movie, I remembered about them and recently started reading “Death on the Nile”.

Agatha Christie Death on the Nile

When I searched for “Agatha Christie” on J Plat-Pat, I found 3 trademark registrations for “AGATHA CHRISTIE”. All applications were filed on March 4, 1996 and are registered. There was no registration for Japanese wording of “Death on the Nile”, “ナイルに死す”, but “DEATH ON THE NILE” is internationally registered.
After reading the original, I would like to go see a movie. (Rabbit)

TV Game

  • March 8, 2022

#Inventions of the Day

Today, I would like to introduce an invention related to March 8th. Introducing this time is a home video game console invented by German-born American inventor Ralph Henry Baer (March 8, 1922-December 6, 2014). He was born exactly 100 years ago today in Pirmasens, in the southwestern Germany.

Being a Jew, he left Germany with his family in 1938, when the Nazi persecution of Jews became fierce. In the United States where he fled, he studied by himself and worked as a factory worker. In 1943, he was convened in World War II and served in the army. After the war, his took a bachelor’s degree in television engineering (1949) and began his life as an inventor.

In 1966, while working on airplane radar at the munitions company Sanders Associates (currently part of BAE Systems), he began prototyping game consoles such as the “Brown Box.” The licensed Magnavox was launched as the “Odyssey” in 1972, leading to the subsequent rise of the video game industry. However, even though it produced the most profitable business at that time, it was not recognized by Sanders. However, his willingness to invent was never lost, and it is said that he obtained more than 150 patents in his lifetime. (blink)

Related link:
Ralph H. Baer – Wikipedia

Fuku-Can and Good Luck Charms

  • March 2, 2022

#design #intellectual property #patent #trademark #utility model

One of the stores I like to stop by regularly is MUJI. While I have a variety of favorite products, I was able to buy the pre-ordered “Fuku-Can (Fortune Can)” for the first time last year, which I had been curious about for a long time. This year, I won the lottery and was able to buy one.

The “Fuku-Can” has a gift card with an amount equal to the purchase price (2,022 yen this year) and Japanese lucky charms in it. There are cute and interesting lucky charms in the can, and it’s fun just to look at the enclosed flyer that introduces them on both sides. It is also an opportunity to become familiar with Japanese culture rooted in the region.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Fuku-Can, which was launched on New Year’s Day 2012 with 14 kinds of lucky charms from four prefectures in Tohoku, with the intention of supporting Tohoku’s recovery from the earthquake.
“CREATIVE IMAGINATION” exhibition was held at ATELIER MUJI GINZA in Ginza to celebrate the 10th anniversary the other day. I would have loved to drop by if it was close by.

Now, a search on J-PlatPat shows that there are 94 trademarks that hit the keyword “mujirushi ryouhin”. All of them are already registered. A search for the company name “Ryohin Keikaku” shows 224 trademarks, 368 designs, and 40 patents and utility models, indicating that the company is making extensive use of intellectual property.

Fuku-Can and Good Luck Charms

The photo shows the lucky charms that were included in last year’s and this year’s Fuku-Can. (I bought two of each).
From left to right, Kyoto City’s “Kyoto Ceramic Doll Koban (Ox),” Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture’s “Fukutaro,” Setouchi City, Okayama Prefecture’s “Oku Hariko (Tiger),” and Tamana County, Kumamoto Prefecture’s “Mud Mask (4 pieces).
The cans can also be used as pen holders, and I’m sure I’ll be collecting them every year♪ (Cacao)

CREATIVE IMAGINATION| ATELIER MUJI | 無印良品