Fuku-Can and Good Luck Charms

  • 2022年03月02日

#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

Looking for earphones

  • 2022年02月16日

#design #patent #trademark

The other day, my old earphones broke, so I decided to buy new ones. When I went to the electronics store, I was overwhelmed by the sheer number of products and the range of prices. After much deliberation, I bought one that was similar in design to the previous one, but the Bluetooth function did not work properly, perhaps due to an early defect, and I had an embarrassing experience of sound leaking on the train. I was so traumatized by this that I ended up buying a new one with a cord, but it didn’t fit my ear size and kept coming off, so I took the plunge and bought another new cordless one. Here it is.

earphones

This time, I chose a less expensive one, but I am very satisfied with it. It doesn’t leak sound, fits well in my ears, and is very comfortable. The more expensive ones may have a better sound, but once you get used to them, you won’t mind so much. I am amazed at the convenience of wireless.

I searched for “wireless earphones” on J-plat pat and found 194 patents, 200 designs, and one trademark. There was no result of the one I bought, but I would like to thank the people who invented such useful thing and use them carefully. (Marigold)

Throat care

  • 2022年01月27日

#design

The other day, I bought Ryukakusan (powder type medicine for throat). I used to lick throat lozenges when my throat became dry and irritated, but I heard that this medicine was good for throat problems, I promptly tried it. Certainly, the throat feels more refreshing and comfortable than a throat lozenge. I would like to keep my throat healthy with this medicine, in addition to gargling this winter.

Ryukakusan

Since this throat medicine is a powder type, the product comes with a spoon to scoop the powder. The spoon has three holes so that the scooped powder can quickly fall into the mouth, and this design is registered as a design (Japanese Design Registration No. 1573114, Japanese Design Registration No. 1574669). (Sakuramochi)

Ryukakusan Spoon

Local Sake Handago

  • 2021年08月18日

#design #patent #trademark #utility model

The other day, I found an advertisement that caught my attention. The words “Thanks to you, we’ve won first place in the U.S.” drew my attention, and upon closer inspection, I realized that it was a sake that had won the Grand Prix at the American Sake Competition.

中埜酒造國盛半田郷

I checked my local supermarket to see if they had it, and luckily I was able to purchase it.

中埜酒造國盛半田郷

Drinking well-chilled sake on a hot day is the best. Eating it with refreshing somen noodles made it feel like summer. It was a well-balanced sake, not too heavy and not too light. A search of the J-Plat Pat database for Nakano Sake Brewery Co., Ltd,, the maker of Handa-Go, revealed a total of six patent and utility model applications, one design application, and 207 trademark applications, including Handa-Go. The number of trademarks is overwhelmingly large, and I wondered if the company was developing its business with a strategy to increase its brand power.

Nakano Sake Brewery Co., Ltd.’s website, Handa-Go page (Japanese only) https://www.nakanoshuzou.jp/handago/pc/

I was a little excited to find out that there are many delicious local delicacies that have yet to be discovered. (Marigold)

Print Club “Purikura” (Photo Sticker Machine)

  • 2021年06月23日

#design

The familiar design I will introduce this time is “Purikura”. Print club, or “Purikura” for short, are often found at arcades. Recently, there are also stores specializing in print sticker machines, which is familiar as one of the Japanese cultures.
FURYU Corporation is a company that focuses on “fashionable things” for the younger generation, such as photo booths and colored contacts. Most of the photo booth models that were popular when I was a high school student were FURYU products.

When I took a picture with this print sticker machine before, I was interested in the difference in appearance from the conventional model, and when I searched with Jplat-pat, it turned out that the application and registration were made for the partial design. Models that utilize this partial design are “AROUND 20”, “PURi BOX”, “PURi BOX more”, etc.

It is a Japanese culture, and I felt a sense of familiarity with the existence of designs around me. (Rabbit)

Japanese Design Registration No. 1651555
Registration Date: January 9, 2020
Right Holder: FURYU Corporation

Print Stickers; FURYU Corporation HP (English)
FURYU Corporation; Print Sticker Machines Lineup (Japanese)

Volleyball

  • 2021年04月07日

#design #patent

My child has become crazy about volleyball lately, partly due to the influence of the anime “Haikyu !!”. The ball we have at home is from Mikasa Corporation, and it seems to correspond to the Design Registration No. 1318937.

However, looking at Mikasa’s homepage, it seems that the one with design registration No. 1574960 is currently the mainstream. The one with this design also had a “patent registration” label. When I searched with J-PlatPat, I found some patents of Mikasa Corporation. I was not sure which patent corresponded to this volleyball, but I realized once again that the things that children use on a daily basis are also supported by intellectual property. (Marron)

Mikasa Corporation: https://mikasasports.co.jp/e/

Note: “Haikyu !!” is a registered Japanese trademark of Shueisha.

PS5

  • 2020年11月27日

#design #patent #trademark #utility model

Hello. This is Hiro.
The latest generation of PlayStation 5 (PS5), the home video game console, was released the other day (November 12, 2020). The number of people who wanted to purchase it exceeded that of the initial shipment, making it difficult to obtain. However, I was lucky enough to win the reservation lottery and got it on the release date.

High resolution and high frame rate image output, load time significantly shortened by adopting high-speed SSD, controller using high-precision haptic technology (tactile technology), 3D audio technology, and a lot of other latest technology are put in place, and the performance is greatly improved, compared to PlayStation 4 (PS4). Perhaps because I work on the patent field, I’m more interested in what kind of technology is currently used in game consoles and how far game-related technology has advanced, rather than playing the game itself. After playing with it for a while, I was particularly surprised by the haptic technology of the controller. The controller vibrates in various patterns and the repulsive force of the button changes according to the scene and situation in the game. It’s clearly different from the existing vibration technology. I felt that I could have an unprecedented gaming experience.

I searched patents and utility models on J-PlatPat by entering “Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.” (actually I could only type in up to 20 characters of the name due to the character number limit) in “Applicant / Right holder / Author Affiliation” column and 876 domestic documents were found (585 when narrowed down by “Registration date”). Some of the technologies described in these references may be used on the PS5.

Then, in the design search of J-PlatPat, when the same input was entered in the “Applicant / Right holder” field and searched, 55 domestic publications were found. The latest registration example (Design Registration No. 1671045) seems to be compatible with the wireless headset released on the same day as the PS5 main unit. In the future, there is a possibility that design registration and publication will be published for PS5 main units and controllers with innovative designs.

Furthermore, in the trademark search of J-PlatPat, when the same entry was made in the “Applicant / Right holder” field and the search was performed, 535 application / registration information was hit.

The “PS” logo (No. 4440718-2), “PS5” logo (Trademark application 2020-14898), and “PlayStation” (No. 5698539, etc.) are displayed on the right side from the center on the package front.

It can be seen that the “PS” logo (No. 4440718-2) is recognized as a well-known trademark because the same mark is registered as a defensive mark (No. 4440718-2 Protective No. 01, etc.).

Regarding the “PS5″ logo (trademark application 2020-14898), the trademark application was filed in Jamaica on December 2, 2019, secured a priority date, and then was filed in Japan on February 12, 2020, claiming the priority of the Paris Convention. This might have been done because when applying in Jamaica, it is difficult for the applied trademark to be known to the general public or others”, so that the “PS5” logo would not be known to the general public until the announcement date, outside Jamaica. Also, this is thought to be due to reasons such as preventing other people from preemptively applying for and registering in other countries. The “PS5” logo was announced at the consumer electronics trade fair “CES 2020” (Las Vegas, USA) on January 7, 2020, after the filing date for Jamaica and before the filing date for Japan.

Partial design of the mask

  • 2020年10月27日

#design

Partial design is one of the effective means for applying for design registration.
By using the partial design system, the scope of rights can be the shape, pattern, color, etc. of only the part of the entire article that is to be registered as a design.
The part other than the part for which the design registration is to be received is also called the “disclaim part”.
In the drawing, for example, the part to be registered as a design is drawn with a solid line, and the disclaimed part is drawn with a broken line.
When filing a color drawing, you can also color-code the disclaimed part to identify it.

For example, the “sanitary mask” disclosed in Japanese Design Registration No. 1540049 (design right holder: Kowa Co., Ltd.), the position, shape, and size of the pleats (folds), welded parts, mesh seals, etc. of the mask body are partial design registered.
On the other hand, the part of the ear strap shown by the broken line is disclaimed. (The names in the figure have been added by the author.)

Therefore, even if a third party implements a mask with the shape of the ear strap changed for the registered design, it will be an infringement if the shape of the mask body is similar.
The mask corresponding to this registered design is commercially available as a “three-dimensional mask”. (Conan)

Apple Watch

  • 2020年10月16日

#design

Under the influence of corona, I feel a lack of exercise these days. I bought an Apple Watch to increase my motivation for exercise. Apple Watch is a watch sold by Apple Inc. which is based in the United States. I was surprised to find out that the many of the functions are the same as that of a cell phone, although the size is the same as that of a wristwatch that I usually wear. I wear it on my day-offs and thought it would be a great alternative to a cell phone when going for a bit of walking or running.

Apple Watch is registered as a design and its Japanese Design Registration No. is 1539652. There is also a related design registration as the Japanese Design Registration No. 1549019. I can’t help but to keep an eye on Apple products that are being upgraded one after another. (Rabbit)

Hair Dryer

  • 2020年07月15日

#design

Before, when I traveled with my family, I found a hair dryer that I had never seen before in the public bath at the accommodation.
The dryer had no blades and had a hollow in the middle. I’d seen a fan without a blade on a TV commercial before, so I knew it was Dyson.
The name of this dryer is Dyson Supersonic Ionic Hair Dryer. The price is quite high at USD470 (tax included). When I tried using it, I felt that the wind power was stronger and the hair dried faster than the one I used at home.
This dryer is registered under Design Registration No. 1513825.
If you are interested, you can find the information on J-plat pat. (Rabbit)