Have a Break

　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”.

　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

　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.

　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)

　The other day, I went to an event called “Let’s learn about assistance dogs”. which was held at a commercial facility in my neighborhood.
When you think of “Dogs that support people”, you may have a strong image of guide dogs, but service dogs support people with physical disabilities, and hearing dogs support people with hearing disabilities.

　At the event, booths for guide dogs, service dogs, and hearing dogs were set up in a large commercial facility, and each dog demonstrated how they support people.

　At the guide dog booth, visitors could experience walking with a guide dog, and I participated in it.
I participated in a series of movements, such as “putting on an eye mask, walking straight, making a U-turn, and sitting on a chair”, but it was difficult to maintain a proper distance from the guide dog, and I sometimes moved too far away and sometimes too close.
I was impressed by the harmonious walking that I see on the street between guide dog users and their guide dogs, which is the result of a lot of practice and a trusting relationship between them.

　At the event, goods were sold, and I bought the cookies shown in the photo.

　“The dog looking up” on the orange sticker is called “Ai-chan”, and the Ai-chan mark was registered as a trademark for the designated service “teaching knowledge about eye dogs” on March 18, 2011 (Japanese Registration No. 5400234).
I would like to collect various goods with the Ai-chan mark from this time as feelings of support. (Sakuramochi)

Chubu Guide Dog for the Blind Association：http://www.chubu-moudouken.jp/
Japan Assistance Dogs Association：https://s-dog.jp/english
Japan Hearing Dogs for Deaf People：https://www.hearingdog.or.jp/index.php?f=hp&ci=10289&i=10286
Ai-chan’s mark(Japanese Registration number T5400234)：https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-2010-078746/C9BB55A100809B47EA22F1BDC970E6C8A68B5B124C45A7A56B0F96906AB73C5C/40/en

　I recently attended the eve of Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival held at Tennogawa Park as part of our office event. Tsushima Shrine and Tennogawa Park are located in Tsushima City, Aichi Prefecture. The Tenno Festival had been canceled or held on a reduced scale for the past five years, but this year, a sightseeing pier was set up and the festival was held as usual. For the first time in 11 years, our clients, staff, and their families gathered at the Tenno Festival’s sightseeing pier and had a wonderful time of conversation and food.

　The Tenno Festival is considered one of the three largest river festivals in Japan and one of the three largest lantern festivals in Japan. It has a great scale, history, and venerable tradition.
The Tenno Festival has been held for nearly 600 years as a festival of Tsushima Shrine, and includes events such as Saichidate, Funawake, Chigo (Children) Uchi-mawashi, Yoimatsuri (evening festival), and Asamatsuri (morning festival).

　The origin of Tenno Festival is unknown, although it is said to have been based on the Jinryo ritual of Tsushima Shrine during the Muromachi period (1336-1573). At that time, Tsushima had five villages (Komenoza, Imaichiba, Raftaba, Shimomizo, and Tsutsumishita), which were rich in economic power, and the festival was grandly held on this basis. Nobunaga Oda, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, and the feudal lord of Owari were among the visitors to the Tenno Festival.

　The Tenno Festival was designated as a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset in 1980. Furthermore, the Tenno Festival was registered as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2016.
In addition, “Owari Tsushima Tenno Matsuri” is registered as Japanese Trademark No. 6117611.

　During the evening festival, more than 500 lanterns are displayed and five Maki-wara boats are rowed across the Tenno River.
At Kurumakawado, the straw boats are lit by lanterns and set sail for the Otabisho.

　The straw boats are magnificent, and the sight of the lanterns, emblems, and lights shimmering on the surface of the water is impressive.
The Owari Tsushima Tenno Festival was atmospheric, and I felt the history and atmosphere of several eras from the ancient times of Japan to the present day.(Raspberry)

“Uiro” is a Japanese confectionery that I want to eat regularly. It is also famous as a Nagoya specialty, and one of our long-time customers, Toraya Uiro Co., Ltd. specializes in raw Uiro in Ise City, Mie Prefecture. Unlike Nagoya Uiro, which is generally made of rice flour, Toraya Uiro is made of wheat flour.
It is easy to stop by as there are stores in department stores in Nagoya, and the “Raw Uiro” which does not use preservatives is beautifully arranged in the showcase and looks delicious to look at.
This time, I chose “Tanabata Uiro,” which is only available in summer.
It is a black Uiro that looks like the night sky and is sprinkled with chestnuts like stars, and as I love brown sugar Uiro the most, I couldn’t get enough. The Uiro was pleasantly sticky and very delicious.

The registered trademark that we helped to obtain is the tiger mark (Japanese registration number 3058956) used on the packaging and the tiger mark with “ya” (Japanese registration number 4149016) used on the handbag. The trademark registered more than 25 years ago is still in use and continues to support the store.

Toraya Uiro celebrated its 100th anniversary in March this year, and will continue to make delicious Uiro for the next 100 years.

By the way, we also recommend the Kotorayaki in the shape of the Toraya logo. It is cute and delicious.

https://www.torayauiro.com/

The “Morinaga Biscuit” series by Morinaga Seika Co., Ltd. is a biscuit that has been popular for many years.
Among them, “Moonlight” has a sweet and slightly moist texture, and is a particular favorite of mine, so I sometimes like to buy it.
It goes well with tea or milk.

A check on J-PlatPat shows that it was registered on June 30, 1983, 40 years back from this year (2023), which gives a sense of its long history.
Almost 40 years after the registration date, on June 28, 2023, a product called “Moonlight with a reason” was put on the market.
The product is filled with “moonlight” that has been broken or chipped during the manufacturing process in order to reduce food loss, and the content is about three times larger than the normal amount.
I welcome this kind of initiative because I always break it when I eat it and the content volume is large.
The product will be sold through a mail order site, but I hope that it will also be available at supermarkets and convenience stores. (Time)

Registered trademark “Moonlight”
Japanese Registration number: No. 1596290
Registration date: June 30, 1983
URL:https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-1979-060552/F1A61BF7B3F991657F142A0E7BA6AD413BCEA8E2519E3C59BD7A88B734029160/40/ja

This is Swimmer.
When I went for a drive the other day, I found this signboard at a service area on the Hokuriku Highway.

If you look closely, you will see a small sign that says Registered Trademark.
I immediately searched for it on the JPO Information Platform and sure enough, there it was.
The owner of the “Hokuriku Expressway Dou-Raku” trademark is Central Nippon Expressway Company Limited, and the Japanese Trademark registration number is No. 5434280.
Among the three designated products are printed materials, and I found an information magazine with the same name at a store in the service area, so I took one home with me.
The contents are quite worthwhile, including traffic information, history of tourist attractions near the road, and gourmet food information.
It is important to contribute to the development of the surrounding area in this way.

Behind the service area was the coast of Hokuriku with a very nice view of the Sea of Japan.

Hokuriku Doraku(J-PlatPat)
https://www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp/c1800/TR/JP-2011-018496/FF08C77B2B9232EA38A77560F9A324A9C0C008F3F99EE2577553D482CD6ED19F/40/en