Sounds, Movements Recognized as Trademarks in Japan for 1st Time

Tokyo, Oct. 27 (Jiji Press)--The Japan Patent Office on Tuesday announced its first registration of new-type trademarks, including sounds and movements of objects in commercials, after the trademark law was revised last year. Of the 43 novel trademarks, 21 were sound trademarks, including a melody in which the name of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical Co. <4530> is sung and a particular way the name of a tea product of Ito En Ltd. <2593> is called out in their respective commercials. "Amid the diversification of media for advertisement, sounds can also be an important mark of the company that helps consumers recognize our products," a Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical official said. Sixteen others were movements of objects, including those of the company logos in commercial videos of film distributor Toho Co. <9602> and the Wacoal lingerie brand of Wacoal Holdings Corp. <3591>. The new trademarks also included five arrangements of words and objects on product packages and others. Meanwhile, trademark applications on colors submitted by a major convenience store operator and others were turned down. The patent office began to receive applications for new-type trademarks on April 1. By Friday, a total of 1,039 applications had been submitted, including 481 filed on the first day. END