Saiko Saibansho Daisan Sho Hotei [Supreme Court Third Petit Bench] July 11, 2000
Japan Supreme Court
Heisei 10 (Gyo-hi) no. 85, 54 Saiko Saibansho Minji Hanreishu [Minshu] (2000)
- Written by Eric Miller, JD
Facts
A Japanese trademark consisted of horizontally written French letters designating luxury perfumes. [Editor’s Note: Japanese writing is traditionally vertical.] Later, another party obtained registration for a horizontally written trademark that used Japanese katakana characters and designated several types of products, including cosmetic utensils, hair ornaments, and body ornaments. The holder of the earlier trademark (the perfumes trademark holder) (plaintiff) requested a trial for invalidation of the trademark held by the later registrant (the cosmetics trademark holder) (defendant) with the Japanese patent office (JPO). The JPO dismissed the request on the ground that the earlier trademark was famous only among dealers and consumers of luxury perfume products—not the Japanese public as a whole. The perfume trademark holder appealed to the Japan Supreme Court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Okuda, Chikusa, Motohara, Kanatani, J.J.)
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