2018.07.22

Vol.1 (POWER)

This blog shows decisions or judgments regarding trademarks in the JPO (Japan Patent Office) or courts. I am called an otaku for trademarks by my colleagues, which means a geek or an anorak. That’s why the title of this blog is OTAKU®️. I will post summaries and my thoughts thereabout on this blog. The first one is indicated below.

Appeal No.2014-21456

1. Summary

The subject mark having strong distinctiveness and weak one was judged to be dissmilar to the prior mark having weak distinctiveness. While the word “パワー” (translietration of “POWER”) can be recognized as “high ability to kill insects” and thus would not give a strong impression, the design and “KINCHO” give a strong impression because of their fame. Therefore, an attention would not be paid to only the part “パワー”.

2. My comments

Under Japanese practice, two marks having the same pronunciation are generally considered similar to each other. It was better for the owner of the prior mark to register the mark “パワー” (translietration of “POWER”) alone in order to prevent the subject mark from being registered. Even if the owner had thought that registering only the part “パワー” was difficult due to lack of distinctiveness, the mark comprising the device and “パワー” would have prevent the subject mark from being registered rather than the prior mark.