Have a Break

- Written by Patent Attorneys, Patent Engineers, Trademark Engineers, Translators, and Administrative staff -

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)

Toyota Ecoful Town

  • September 8, 2023

#intellectual property

　The other day, I went to “Toyota Ecoful Town” in Toyota City.
Toyota City has been selected by the government as an “SDGs Future City” to lead activities to achieve the SDGs.
The city is expanding its efforts to achieve the SDGs, focusing on “energy,” “mobility,” and “wellness”.
The Toyota Ecoful Town is a base for prosperous lifestyles and a facility where visitors can experience examples of new initiatives that look 10 to 50 years into the future.

Toyota Ecoful Town

　The Toyota Ecoful Town had exhibits on compact mobility, global issues, drones, Toyota City’s history, and the SDGs, including a hydrogen station, a plant cultivation unit, and an off-grid trailer house.
Visitors were also able to see a device that converts water in the air into drinking water and can generate 4 liters per day. This can be expected to help with water shortages in emerging countries where water is cut off during disasters and clean water is not available.

　It was very impressive to learn about both the vision and the direction of society, from a manufacturing town to a town where things, matters, and people are created, and also to see the society 50 years from now, with the video of Toyota City 50 years from now.
If you are interested in the contents, please visit Toyota Ecoful Town. (Raspberry)

Toyota Ecoful Town https://toyota-ecofultown.com/en/

Asserting a Registered Trademark

  • August 30, 2023

#trademark

This is Swimmer. This is another Hokuriku story.
When I visited Toyama Prefecture, I bought these sweets as a souvenir.

Hankontan

I was very interested in the design of the wrapping paper, which had a trademark registration number blended into the design in a cute way, and it was a very interesting gift so I picked it up.
It is a very casual and eye-catching way of asserting the right to use the trademark.

Mitsuya Corporation Hankontan
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-1960-026872/2F99BCDA77B870542CFA25CF779804849C728A7FB45D45655A43ACE3F2231CB0/40/en
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-1958-021282/03561336DC7912C5C68F75FDC5A5F719F399260CA7D1FBB31DF6AB69CADABD0D/40/en

Kiyome-pan

  • August 23, 2023

#trademark

The other day, I saw a product called “Kiyome-pan” (Kiyome-bread) and bought it.
Kiyome-pan is a product of Kiyome Mochi Sohonke, a long-established confectionary store located near the east gate of Atsuta Shrine in Nagoya City.

The signature product of Kiyome Mochi Sohonke is Kiyokemochi, a famous sweet made of sweet red bean paste wrapped in soft Habutae rice cakes, which has long been a favorite souvenir of pilgrims to Atsuta.

Kiyome-pan (Kiyome-bread)

According to the leaflet inside the package, Kiyome Mochi Sohonke was once used to make bread for rationing during the chaotic postwar period, and is a reincarnation of the “KIYOMEPAN” of that time, a “manju like bread”.
Indeed, the moist and chewy texture of the dough is a little different and mysterious from bread.

Like “Nago-Nyan” introduced the other day, a derivative of a well-known product attracts a lot of attention, and I would like to buy it together with “Kiyome Mochi”. (Syszo)

“KIYOME” of Kiyome Mochi Sohonke was registered as a Japanese trademark in 1954.
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-1952-003921/8B5623A71A4A77B0B352B1E399F4D4C8D5662B52E2EFE0D13AC831629BE22C42/40/en

Pokémon Sleep

  • August 16, 2023

#trademark

I downloaded Pokémon Sleep, a game app for smartphones released in July of this year. It is a game that allows you to measure and record your sleep by simply running the app when you go to bed and placing your smartphone next to your pillow. The concept is “to look forward to getting up in the morning”. When I actually played the game, I could see my own sleep data and came to realize anew the importance of sleep. Also, the sleeping faces of the Pokémon in the game are so cute that I can’t help but keep playing.

smartphone next to your pillow

“Pokémon Sleep” is a registered trademark (Japanese Trademark No. 6271841) and is a joint application by Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and Game Freak Inc. As you can see from the application date (May 22, 2019) and registration date (July 21, 2020), it was released this year after several years of planning and development (Rabbit)

Pokémon Sleep official website: https://www.pokemonsleep.net/en/

Whereabouts of X

  • August 9, 2023

#trademark

　The service name of Twitter has been changed to “X”. In response, YOSHIKI of the rock band X JAPAN tweeted, “I think X JAPAN trademark is registered”. Indeed, if you replace the “Twitter” part of Twitter JAPAN with “X”, it becomes “X JAPAN”.

X

　Under the Japanese Trademark Law, “a trademark consisting solely of an extremely simple and common mark” cannot be registered (Article 3.1 of the Trademark Law), and the Examination Guidelines provide an example of an “extremely simple and common mark” as “a mark consisting of one or two Roman characters. In other words, “X” alone, without a logo, has no distinguishing power and will not be registered as a trademark.

　The above-mentioned “X JAPAN” has been registered as a trademark in standard characters (Japanese Registration No. 4750523). In the U.S., Microsoft and Meta have also registered “X” as a trademark, although not in standard characters. There are many other registrations for the letter X as well.

　It will be interesting to see the future of the branding of Twitter and “X”. (Marron)

Reference URL:
Twitter” is now “X” and “Twitter Japan” is now “X Japan” ……?　YOSHIKI: “I think it’s trademarked…”
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/e32abb6c2170e977c0e6e91e5ac751ba7dd7e1ee

Meta and Microsoft have already trademarked X in the US
https://news.yahoo.co.jp/byline/kuriharakiyoshi/20230725-00359274

The Comfort of Writing with a Fountain Pen

  • August 2, 2023

#trademark

　I have never had any connection with fountain pens, which had been in vogue long before the Corona disaster, nor with the popular buzzword “ink swamp,”. I have recently started using a fountain pen, though it is an inexpensive one with a regular price of about 1,000 yen, and I like it because it is very easy to write smoothly with almost no pressure.

　There are many kinds of fountain pens in the affordable price range these days, but I chose a fountain pen called “Kakuno” by Pilot Corporation (Japanese trademark registration 5641486, 5697648), which I noticed in the writing instruments section of my local bookstore. I bought one with a transparent body and cap, which is convenient because it is easy to check the remaining amount of ink cartridge. It is inexpensive, so you may purchase one for each ink color.

Fountain Pen "Kakuno"

Fountain Pen "Kakuno"

　The package says, “You will surely enjoy writing”, and the nib has a humorous illustration. The company’s website has an introduction on how to use the pen written in an easy-to-read format for children, so even those who are new to fountain pens should have no trouble using it.

　The fountain pen is light and smooth to write with, so it is said to be easy to use for a long time without getting tired. It is also understandable that writers love to use fountain pens. When I get used to Kakuno, I will try another fountain pen. (blink)

← Newer Posts
Older Posts →