■Consultation

It is said that the design of a product is important as well as its function, performance and price. In fact, if the price and performance are the same, it is the fact that the overwhelming majority of users choose by design.

 

On the other hand, recently, the revision of the Design Law has been rapid. In the past, the object of protection has been limited to "articles (movables that are tangible)", but due to the revision, the scope of available protection has been expanded to "images", "interior" and "building" other than “articles”. It is expected that various revisions will be made in the future, riding the wave of the times.

• What kind of design rights can be obtained for our business?
• I want to compete with new products, but what kind of design should I use?
• It's a good design, but how can I prevent it from being imitated by others?

 

If you have such questions or concerns, our experienced patent attorneys will respond to your questions in an easy-to-understand manner before application.

 

We will catch the movement of law revisions in a timely manner and support you to protect and expand your business.

 

■Support for Application Procedures

With the expansion of the digital society, screen designs on the Internet, which could only be protected by copyright, are now also protected by designs. Since copyright is a relative exclusivity, a copyright may be acknowledged to a person who created the same design without imitating it. However, since the design right is an absolute exclusivity, you can eliminate similar or imitated designs regardless of presence or absence imitation.

 

However, since similarities and imitations are becoming more sophisticated year by year, it becomes difficult to completely eliminate them with just one overall design. Therefore, multifaceted and strategic design applications such as partial designs, related designs, and setup designs are required.

 

Based on the client's request, we will propose what range of design should be protected based on the information obtained through close communication with the client, and support application procedure.

 

In addition, a design can be an effective tool for improving brand power in connection with a trademark. It is also recommended to strengthen the brand strategy by winning the Good Design Award (G mark), which is sponsored by the Japan Institute of Design Promotion every year and is given to extraordinary designs.

■Support for Drafting and Filing of Argument, Amendment, etc. in Response to Notification of Reason for Rejection

Since examination on design is a special examination related to design sense, a lot of knowledge and experience are required to deal with it. Therefore, we are focusing on expanding the range of variations that can be helpful by being aware of the JPO's examination of various reasons for rejection from the stage of creating all the basic drawings.

 

In the prosecution procedure, we will accurately investigate into the reason for rejection and its validity, and then accurately examine the main parts of the design related to the application and the cited designs, and judge the similarity of the designs from abundant knowledge and experience.

■Support for Various Trials Such as Appeal against Decision of Rejection, Appeal against Dismissal of Amendment and Appeal for Invalidation

The Design Law, like the Patent Law, provides a remedy called appeal. Therefore, if you are not satisfied with the examination result, or if you want to acquire a wider range of rights strategically, you can try to overturn the examination result by using a request for appeal.

 

We also support from the design side by making full use of the experience and know-how cultivated over many years so that we can maximize the attraction of our clients' products.

■Support for Appraisal
■Support for Solving Infringement Cases
■Other Design Legal Support (License Agreement, etc.)

While the movement to effectively utilize intellectual property to build an advantage in business activities is becoming popular, the effectiveness of design rights and the presence or absence of conflicts are becoming more important in business strategy.

 

In addition, disputes regarding intellectual property are increasing, and responding to design right infringement cases is a major factor that influences business activities. However, these judgments and responses are extremely specialized and require advanced knowledge and experience.

 

We provide services such as appraisal report creation that makes the best use of our high expertise and experience. In addition, we have a close tie-up with law firms that is familiar with intellectual property rights, and infringement cases can be dealt with promptly and appropriately with the cooperation of attorneys at law and patent attorneys. In addition, we provide services related to design legal affairs in a wide range of fields, such as support for license agreements.