Smelly Glass

  • November 16, 2023

#trademark

This is Swimmer.
When shopping at the supermarket, I often see rows of capsule toy instruments. Looking at them, I feel that the number of acrylic key chains and stand toys has increased in the past few years. Various items, such as characters that have become popular on the Internet and regional limited editions, are colorfully printed on transparent acrylic resin, and when I see something that interests me, I try my hand at turning it.

Smelly Glass

Acrylic resin is called by various names, including “Smelly Glass,” which is the title of my blog this time. Acrylic resins seem to have many trademark names, and one of them is “Plexiglas” made by Evonik of Germany.

Wikipedia – Poly(methyl methacrylate)

Akafuku Tsuitachi Mochi

  • November 10, 2023

#trademark

Some time ago, an acquaintance of mine gave me a “tsuitachi mochi” (first day of the month rice cake).
“Tsuitachi mochi” is a seasonal rice cake sold on the first day of each month, excluding New Year’s Day, to welcome people who visit the Ise Jingu Shrine on “Tsuitachi mairi” (first day of the month visit).

Akafuku Tsuitachi Mochi Akafuku Tsuitachi Mochi

At the Akafuku main store in Oharaimachi of Ise Jingu Shrine, many people line up from early in the morning for the tsuitachi mochi. For take-out, numbered tickets distributed the day before are required, but reservations can also be made online, and department stores in Mie, Aichi, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hyogo also carry them.

Akafuku is a standard souvenir of Mie Prefecture, but the tsuitachi mochi is only sold once a month, making it very special. (Syszo)
Akafuku Tsuitachi Mochi (only in Japanese) https://tsuitachi.akafuku.co.jp/okuru

Akafuku Tsuitachi Mochi, Tsuitachi Mochi, has four registered trademarks (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 1949801, No. 2016873, No. 2300175, and No. 2707540).

There are many registered trademarks around us. The reason is that by registering and continuing to use a company’s logo, original product name, or service name as a trademark, you will have great brand power. Not only can you expect to increase your name recognition and sales. It is also important for any business, as it prevents other people from registering your trademark and selling inferior products.
If you have any questions or concerns about your company’s trademark registration, please feel free to contact us at Hattori &Parners by clicking “here“.

Kids Design Award

  • November 1, 2023

#design #invention #patent #trademark

The other day, while using the Internet, I came across the term “Kids Design Award”. Somehow I thought it might be related to design, so I read the article “Kids Design Award for ‘Eye Care Clip’ to Control Children’s Myopia“.

The Kids Design Award is an award system for products, services, spaces, activities, and research that fulfill the objectives of “living safely,”, “nurturing sensitivity and creativity,” and “creating a society where it is easy to have and raise children.”. With the aim of disseminating this information to society at large, it appears that in addition to designs for children, designs developed for adults and the general public are also eligible as long as they are child and child-rearing friendly.

Kids Design Award

The “Eye Care Clip” introduced in the article is a product developed by Clear Electronic Co., Ltd. in Tokyo I searched J-Plat Pat to see if the company had also owned patent and registered design, and found, as expected, 2 Japanese Patent applications, 4 Japanese Designs registrations, and 18 Japanese trademark applications.

Also, “Kids Design Award\KIDS DESIGN AWARD” was registered as a trademark. (Japanese Trademark registration No. 5010693, right holder: Non-profit organization Kids Design Association)

I was interested in the Kids Design Award because I felt that the award and intellectual property are a bit similar.
It would be nice to enrich our lives with useful inventions for children and families raising children. (Rabbit)

Kids Design Award (website) https://kidsdesignaward.jp/

Kuro Shichimi

  • October 25, 2023

#trademark

 Shichimi is often associated with a red-based coloring, but “Kuro Shichimi” is made by roasting the ingredients, and it looked really black.

Hararyokaku Kuroshichimi

 I looked up the “registered trademark” printed on the wooden container and found that not only the overall design (Japanese registration No. 4224606), but also “Kuro Shichimi” in vertical brushstroke characters (Japanese registration No. 5157375) had been registered. The registration information for No. 5157375 shows that the decision of refusal was made on the grounds that “since the overall design is easily recognizable as ‘black seven spice chili pepper,’ it is recognized as merely indicating the quality of the product (omitted),” but a subsequent appeal against the decision of refusal was filed. However, at a subsequent appeal against the decision of refusal, the trial court ruled that “it is reasonable to consider that the word as a whole is recognized and understood as a kind of coined word (omitted), and can fully fulfill its function as a mark to distinguish between their own goods and other goods,” and the decision was made to register the mark.

 The color of the word “Shichimi” is usually red, and the word “Shichimi” is black and the vertical brushstroke characters. The trademark has been registered.

 The taste is savory and it seems more mildly spicy than typical shichimi, and we enjoyed it over stewed beef tendon. (Marron)

Hararyokaku Corporation “Kuroshichimi”
http://www.hararyoukaku.co.jp/lineup/yakumi.html

Two-Stage Keyboard Piano

  • October 20, 2023

 I would like to introduce an invention closely related to today (October 20). This time, I will introduce the “Emanuel Mohr Pianoforte,” a piano with a two-tiered keyboard that looks like a harpsichord.

MIM Double Manual Piano CN5266

 Today, in 1931, is the date of the death of the Hungarian composer, pianist, and inventor of musical instruments, Emánuel Moór. Moór was a composer whose legacy includes five operas and eight symphonies, but he was also known for inventing musical instruments, most notably the two-stage keyboard piano.

Emánuel Moór

 The Mohr piano has two tiers of keys, one above the other, so that the player can grasp two octaves of pitch with one hand. I also took piano lessons when I was young, and it is true that if I could play chords two octaves wide with one hand, I would have a much wider range of expression. Moll actively used the Moll-style piano on his concert tours in Europe and the United States to promote its use.

 Upon further research, I found an article about the two-stage keyboard piano. The article compactly describes how various variant pianos were developed and disappeared during the development of the piano as an instrument.

 I think that I rarely think of musical instruments as inventions, but I felt that musical instruments are also a part of the history of inventions and technology. (blink)

Unemenagon

  • October 11, 2023

#trademark

When I visited Mie Prefecture the other day, I bought “Unemenagon”, a famous confectionery in Yokkaichi.

Unemenagon

It is made and sold by “Nagamochi Sasaiya Co., Ltd.” in Mie Prefecture, which is famous for “Unemenagon” a type of rice cake with a water wheelhouse inside, and filled with sweet bean paste and gyuhi.

Unemenagon Unemenagon

The combination of the delicate monaka, which crumbles when eaten, the generous amount of sweet bean paste, and the soft gyuhi is the best.
The filling is so rich that you will be satisfied with just one piece, but after a while you will want to eat it again.

The “Unemenagon” trademark was registered on March 6, 2009 for the designated product “confectionery and bread” (Japanese registration No. 5211846). (Sakuramochi)

Patents regarding Drones

  • October 4, 2023

#patent

 Currently, drones are widely used in the fields of aerial photography, surveying, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries (e.g., agricultural chemical spraying), inspection (e.g., inspecting deterioration of high structures), transportation and logistics, and security surveillance.

Drone

 The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism is considering the use of highly versatile drones to obtain a wide range of information and speed up initial response in disaster areas in the event of a natural disaster. According to the “Survey and Analysis of Drone Patent Application Status” in April this year, the number of PCT applications (international applications) for 2016-2020 is ranked first by China, second by the United States, and third by Japan. By technical field, applications are related to airframe structure, flight control, flight support, communications, and drone port systems.

 Looking at applications in Japan, an average of about 500 patent applications per year for drone-related inventions were filed between 2016 and 2021. Among them is the invention of a “ball launcher” (Japanese Patent No. 6918384, Patentee: For Nature Co., Ltd.) that launches fire extinguishing balls from a drone at the scene of a fire.
 We hope that drone-based firefighting systems will be used effectively to extinguish wildfires, which are increasing worldwide due to the effects of global warming, as well as fires that occur in areas affected by earthquakes and other natural disasters. (Conan)

 
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism “Technical Study Group on the Utilization of Highly Versatile Drones to Meet Administrative Needs” (Only in Japanese)
https://www.mlit.go.jp/sogoseisaku/gijyutu/sosei_safety_tk2_000041.html

Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, “Survey and Analysis of Drone Patent Applications (April 2023) (Only in Japanese)(PDF)
https://www.mlit.go.jp/sogoseisaku/gijyutu/content/001603643.pdf

Otsukimi

  • September 25, 2023

#trademark

Otsukimi (Moon Viewing) will soon be upon us.
Otsukimi is an event held on the most beautiful day of the year, and the date is different every year according to the calendar. This year (2023), it will be held on September 29 (Friday).
The reason why the autumn moon is the most beautiful of the year is because there is less water vapor in the air, the moon appears clearer, and the height at which the moon is visible is just right.
During “Otsukimi,” people appreciate the “Mid-Autumn Moon” while giving thanks for the harvest and praying for a good harvest.

The other day, I found a box of Japanese sweets with a cute design associated with “Otsukimi”. It is “Sasaragata Tsukimi,” a new product from Ryoguchiya Korekiyo, a long-established Japanese confectionery in Nagoya.

Ryoguchiya Korekiyo Sasaragata Tsukimi

The box of five pieces is decorated with a full moon, a rabbit, and a Japanese pampas grass, depicting rabbits looking up at the big full moon in the night sky and moon-watching (otsukimi). (Time)

Ryoguchiya Korekiyo Sasaragata Tsukimi

Registered trademark:
Standard character trademark: Sasaragata
Japanese Registration number: No. 5528598
Date of registration: October 19, 2012
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-2012-028325/E50EC86B647DBB4719B95C4B948BABA589C69DE91E8C4FFF3A247D049AC633B5/40/en

Heart-shaped grapes

  • September 22, 2023

#intellectual property

I received grapes from my neighbor.

My Heart

They said that they buy them at Komadachi in Okazaki City.
The grapes are a rare heart-shaped variety called “My Heart” and can be eaten without seeds and with the skin intact. They are sweet and delicious, and the beautiful heart-shaped grapes make me very happy. It is a treat every year during this season.

My Heart

I found out that “My Heart” is a grape variety developed by Shimura Grape Research Institute, which is a cross between “Shine Muscat” and “Wink”.
https://dr-tomio.com/pages/myvariety (Only in Japanese)

Excellent varieties can be protected under the variety registration system (Seed and Seedling Law).
The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has a variety registration data search page that shows that “My Heart” is not registered, but “Shine Muscat” and “Wink” are registered.

Intellectual property is also important in the field of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries.
The Japan Patent Attorneys Association (JPAA) website provides an overview of agricultural and fisheries intellectual property, including agribusiness that utilizes intellectual property.
https://www.jpaa.or.jp/nousui-ip/index.html (Only in Japanese)

Leave your agricultural and fisheries intellectual property matters to us. We look forward to hearing from you.

Now, Komadachi is famous for grapes in Okazaki City.
Grapes picking seems to be open until around October 10, so if you are considering leisure activities in the Okazaki area, I recommend you visit. (Cacao)
https://www.coma-grape.com/ (Only in Japanese)

“Tokkyo Tawan Ningen Hoshiki” -Unno Juza

  • September 13, 2023

#copyright #patent #patent attorney

 I would like to introduce a novel in which a patent attorney is the main character. The title is “Tokkyo Tawan Ningen Hoshiki (Patent Multi-Armed Human Method)” and it is a novel written by “Unno Juza” (海野十三), a writer in the early Showa period.

 Unno Juza (real name: Sano Shoichi) published many mystery and science fiction novels and is called the “father of Japanese science fiction novels”. After his debut as a writer, in 1936, at the age of 39, Mr. Unno qualified as a patent attorney, and two years later, he opened “Sano Electric Patent Office.

 The “Tokkyo Tawan Ningen Hoshiki” was published in 1941, when Mr. Unno was 44 years old. The story begins when an inventor visits a patent attorney who runs a patent office and requests a patent application for a “third arm”. A humorous and surreal scene appears in which the patent attorney writes the specification for the application while interacting (playing two roles) with the 100-yen bill (a large sum of money in those days) received from the inventor as the application fee and the application stamp fee. There is also a scene in which the patent attorney shows off his skills as a patent attorney by using the expression “at least” in the description of the claims, claiming that he has expanded the scope of the patent (scope of rights), and another scene in which he receives a notice of reasons for refusal after filing an application, meets with the examiner, and struggles to resolve the reasons for refusal. I feel that this is a story that is also relevant to the current practice of patent attorneys.

Tokkyo Tawan Ningen Hoshiki (Patent Multi-Armed Human Method)

 There is a lot of humor scattered throughout, and the punchline is quite good. Because it is a short novel, I finished reading it in no time.
 Since more than 50 years have passed since Mr. Unno’s death and the copyright protection period has expired, this work can be freely read at Aozora Bunko and other libraries (Hiro).

Tokkyo Tawan Ningen Hoshiki (Aozora Bunko) (only available in Japanese)