À propos de la propriété intellectuelle Formation en propriété intellectuelle Respect de la propriété intellectuelle Sensibilisation à la propriété intellectuelle La propriété intellectuelle pour… Propriété intellectuelle et… Propriété intellectuelle et… Information relative aux brevets et à la technologie Information en matière de marques Information en matière de dessins et modèles industriels Information en matière d’indications géographiques Information en matière de protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV) Lois, traités et jugements dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle Ressources relatives à la propriété intellectuelle Rapports sur la propriété intellectuelle Protection des brevets Protection des marques Protection des dessins et modèles industriels Protection des indications géographiques Protection des obtentions végétales (UPOV) Règlement extrajudiciaire des litiges Solutions opérationnelles à l’intention des offices de propriété intellectuelle Paiement de services de propriété intellectuelle Décisions et négociations Coopération en matière de développement Appui à l’innovation Partenariats public-privé Outils et services en matière d’intelligence artificielle L’Organisation Travailler avec nous Responsabilité Brevets Marques Dessins et modèles industriels Indications géographiques Droit d’auteur Secrets d’affaires Académie de l’OMPI Ateliers et séminaires Application des droits de propriété intellectuelle WIPO ALERT Sensibilisation Journée mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle Magazine de l’OMPI Études de cas et exemples de réussite Actualités dans le domaine de la propriété intellectuelle Prix de l’OMPI Entreprises Universités Peuples autochtones Instances judiciaires Ressources génétiques, savoirs traditionnels et expressions culturelles traditionnelles Économie Égalité des genres Santé mondiale Changement climatique Politique en matière de concurrence Objectifs de développement durable Technologies de pointe Applications mobiles Sport Tourisme PATENTSCOPE Analyse de brevets Classification internationale des brevets Programme ARDI – Recherche pour l’innovation Programme ASPI – Information spécialisée en matière de brevets Base de données mondiale sur les marques Madrid Monitor Base de données Article 6ter Express Classification de Nice Classification de Vienne Base de données mondiale sur les dessins et modèles Bulletin des dessins et modèles internationaux Base de données Hague Express Classification de Locarno Base de données Lisbon Express Base de données mondiale sur les marques relative aux indications géographiques Base de données PLUTO sur les variétés végétales Base de données GENIE Traités administrés par l’OMPI WIPO Lex – lois, traités et jugements en matière de propriété intellectuelle Normes de l’OMPI Statistiques de propriété intellectuelle WIPO Pearl (Terminologie) Publications de l’OMPI Profils nationaux Centre de connaissances de l’OMPI Série de rapports de l’OMPI consacrés aux tendances technologiques Indice mondial de l’innovation Rapport sur la propriété intellectuelle dans le monde PCT – Le système international des brevets ePCT Budapest – Le système international de dépôt des micro-organismes Madrid – Le système international des marques eMadrid Article 6ter (armoiries, drapeaux, emblèmes nationaux) La Haye – Le système international des dessins et modèles industriels eHague Lisbonne – Le système d’enregistrement international des indications géographiques eLisbon UPOV PRISMA UPOV e-PVP Administration UPOV e-PVP DUS Exchange Médiation Arbitrage Procédure d’expertise Litiges relatifs aux noms de domaine Accès centralisé aux résultats de la recherche et de l’examen (WIPO CASE) Service d’accès numérique aux documents de priorité (DAS) WIPO Pay Compte courant auprès de l’OMPI Assemblées de l’OMPI Comités permanents Calendrier des réunions WIPO Webcast Documents officiels de l’OMPI Plan d’action de l’OMPI pour le développement Assistance technique Institutions de formation en matière de propriété intellectuelle Mesures d’appui concernant la COVID-19 Stratégies nationales de propriété intellectuelle Assistance en matière d’élaboration des politiques et de formulation de la législation Pôle de coopération Centres d’appui à la technologie et à l’innovation (CATI) Transfert de technologie Programme d’aide aux inventeurs WIPO GREEN Initiative PAT-INFORMED de l’OMPI Consortium pour des livres accessibles L’OMPI pour les créateurs WIPO Translate Speech-to-Text Assistant de classification États membres Observateurs Directeur général Activités par unité administrative Bureaux extérieurs Avis de vacance d’emploi Achats Résultats et budget Rapports financiers Audit et supervision
Arabic English Spanish French Russian Chinese
Lois Traités Jugements Recherche par ressort juridique

Japon

JP066-j

Retour

1991 (O) 1805, Shumin No. 165 at 407

Date of Judgment: September 22, 1992

 

Issuing Authority: Supreme Court

 

Level of the Issuing Authority: Final Instance

 

Type of Procedure: Judicial(Civin( �b>

 

Subject Matter: Trademarks

 

Main text of the judgment (decision):

 

1. The judgment in prior instance shall be reversed.

 

2. The present case shall be remanded to the Tokyo High Court.

 

Reasons:

 

Regarding the reasons for the final appeal according to Appellant's attorneys, ●●●● and ●●●●.

 

1. The fact situation having been confirmed in the court of prior instance is as follows.

(1) Appellant has the trademark right of Registration No. 1856899 (hereinafter referred to as "Trademark Right", and the registered trademark as "Trademark"), for which an application for trademark registration was filed on December 8, 1983, and registration was established on April 23, 1986, with the designated goods of "Soaps and detergents; Dentifrices; Cosmetics and toiletries; Perfume and flavor materials" in Class 4. The Trademark consists of the kanji characters, "大森林", written horizontally in block style.

(2) Appellee, who engages in the business of manufacture and sale of cosmetics and toiletries, sells hair growth tonic and shampoo for scalp care (hereinafter referred to as "Appellee's Products") by affixing thereto the marks, which are indicated in List of Marks attached to the judgment in the first instance (hereinafter referred to as "Appellee's Mark"), and also uses Appellee's Mark for advertisement. Appellee's Mark consists of the kanji characters, "木林森", written vertically or horizontally in semi-cursive style.

Under the above fact situation, the court of prior instance found and determined that Appellee's Mark is not similar to Trademark in any of appearance, pronunciation, and concept, even when these factors are considered comprehensively. As such, the court of prior instance dismissed the appeal made by Appellant against the judgment in the first instance, which dismissed the principal action made by Appellant seeking an injunction of the manufacture and sale of Appellee's Products and the like on the premise that Appellee's Mark is similar to Trademark.

 

2. However, the above judgment of the court of prior instance cannot be approved, for the following reasons.

(1) The similarity between trademarks should be judged holistically by comprehensively taking into consideration factors such as the impression, memory, and association which are given to traders from the appearance, concept, and pronunciation and the like of the trademarks when they are used on identical or similar goods, and furthermore, as long as it is possible to clarify the actual circumstances in which goods are traded, the determination should be made based on the specific circumstances of trading (refer to Supreme Court Judgment 1964 (Gyo-Tsu) 110; the judgment rendered on February 27, 1968 by Third Petty Bench; Minshu Vol. 22, No. 2, page 399), and sometimes the trademarks, which are not similar in regards to the individual factors of appearance, concept, and pronunciation under close observation, may actually be similar depending on the specific circumstances of trading. Accordingly, attention should be paid to the fact that the applicability of similarity, when considered comprehensively in terms of appearance, concept, and pronunciation, is subject to change depending on the specific circumstances of trading.

(2) When the above is considered for the present case, Trademark and Appellee's Mark are identical in two of the characters used; namely, "森" and " 林". Considering that the characters, "大" and "木", which are not identical, can be confusingly similar depending on how the characters are written, and that Appellee's Mark is a coined word that has no meaning, and that , given the characters constituting the trademarks, the two trademarks both evoke a tree that is suggestive of producing the effect of hair growth, it is clear that the two trademarks are, upon holistic observation for comparison, confusingly related in terms of appearance and concept at least, so that, depending on the circumstances in which the goods are traded, the likelihood of customers mistaking one for the other cannot be denied, and resultingly, it must be said that there is room for acknowledging that the two trademarks are similar.

(3) Upon explaining as to whether or not there is similarity in terms of concept, the court of prior instance stated that the customers of products such as hair growth tonic for scalp care affixed with Trademark and Appellee's Mark are men who strongly desire hair growth, and made the presumption that such consumers are deeply interested in the marks with which such goods are affixed and pay close attention upon product selection. However, it is clear from the empirical rule that it cannot be concluded that all customers are necessarily as described above. In addition, since Appellant makes the assertion that non-exclusive rights are granted for Trademark Right and that holders of non-exclusive rights affix Trademark to hair growth tonic for scalp care and sell the goods through affiliated companies, the circumstances in which goods are traded and which may possibly come out of this asserted fact must be taken into account upon determining the similarity between Trademark and Appellee's Mark. Accordingly, it must be said that the presumed fact alone, which was made by the court of prior instance as described above, is not sufficient to constitute grounds for determining that the two trademarks are not similar. The court of prior instance merely concluded, in addition to the above, that it cannot be acknowledged that the two trademarks are similar in concept even when consideration is given to the circumstances of trading, as can be conceived from the designated goods for which Trademark is used, as well as the circumstances of trading that is currently conducted for Appellee's Products by using Appellee's Mark. As such, the court of prior instance found and determined the issue of whether or not Trademark and Appellee's Mark are similar without making specific findings about circumstances of trading such as whether Appellee's Products are sold via door-to-door sales or via over-the-counter sales, and in the case of the latter, how the goods are exhibited. Accordingly, it must be said that the judgment in prior instance has illegality of application of incorrect interpretation of law, or inadequacy of reason, which would clearly have influence on the judgment.

 

3. Therefore, the gist of the argument which makes the above point is reasonable, reversal of the judgment in prior instance cannot be avoided, the present case shall be remanded to the court of prior instance for further examination, and the judgment of this court is rendered unanimously by all judges, as per the main text, by application of Articles 407, paragraph (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure.

 

(This translation is provisional and subject to revision.)