table of contents
Scope of registered designs
Scope of registered design: Determined based on the design described in the application and the drawings attached to the application (Article 24, Paragraph 1 of the Design Act)
Similarity of designs: Judgment is based on the aesthetic impression evoked by the consumer's visual sense (Article 24, Paragraph 2 of the Design Act)
→ In determining whether designs are similar, there is no explicit provision in the law that states that if the articles are not identical or similar, they will be considered dissimilar designs.
Case Law:The design is integral to the article(Omitted) In order to refuse registration under Article 49, paragraph 3 of the Law, the article to which the design relates must first be identical or similar, and the design itself must also be recognized as identical or similar. *Supreme Court decision of March 19, 45 (Case No. 45 of XNUMX (Gyo-Tsu) "Flexible Expandable Hose")
Precedent: "The judgment of similarity of goods should be based on the use and function of the goods, and whether the markets to which the goods are supplied are the same, as argued by the appellant, cannot be the basis for such judgment.Articles with the same use and function are considered to be identical articles, while those with the same use but different functions are considered to be similar articles.It is reasonable to interpret it as such." *Osaka High Court Decision, September 56, 9 (28 (Ra) No. 55 "Storage Facility" Case)
→ Because a design is an integral part of an article, in order for the designs to be considered similar, the articles must be identical and similar.
However, the purpose and function of the product will not be interpreted strictly (this is not compatible with the design system, which protects the appearance*).
*In the case of architectural designs, "hospital" and "cafe" areBoth involve people entering and spending a certain amount of time inside.Uses and functions are similar
* In the case of an image design and a design that includes an image in the article portion, the use and function of the article will also be taken into consideration.
* In the case of image designs, the purpose and function of the item on which the image is displayed will not be taken into consideration.Input image≒Phone numberInput image）
Cases in which the certification of goods was disputed
The article is identified according to the article classification described in the "Article related to the design" column.
Intellectual Property High Court Judgment, October 17, 10 (Heisei 31 (Ne) No. 17 "Carabiner" Case)
"The scope of the article in the registered design should be determined by the classification of the article described in the "Article to the Design" column.The description in the "Description of the Article to the Design" column is intended to aid in understanding the article described in the "Article to the Design" column. Therefore, the description in the application regarding the article is determined in principle by the classification of the article described in the "Article to the Design" column of the application, and the classification of the article is not affected by the description in the "Description of the Article to the Design" column.
Intellectual Property High Court Judgment, January 4, 1 (Reiwa 12 (Gyo-Ke) No. 3 "Injector Cartridge" Case (Fukumune 10067-2020))
"We will consider what the article to which the design of the present application pertains is based on the description in the application documents, etc. Looking at the description in the application documents, etc. (Otsu 1), in addition to the description of "injector cartridge" as an "article to which the design pertains," (omitted) the application documents, etc. do not have a column for "explanation of the article to which the design pertains," and no description of the article to which the design pertains is given in any other column. The only description in the application documents, etc. that suggests an article is the wording "injector cartridge" and the drawings."The meaning of "injector cartridge" is inferred from dictionaries, patent publications, and other sources.It is appropriate to recognize that "injector cartridge" means "a small container filled with replaceable liquid, gas, etc. for use in a syringe."
Summary
- In order for designs to be similar, the article to which the design relates must be identical or similar, so the "article to which the design relates" has an extremely large impact on the scope of rights.
The article is determined by the description in the [Article to which the design pertains] column, and the [Explanation of the Article to which the design pertains] column is used to aid in understanding when the use and function of the article to which the design pertains cannot be understood from the description in the [Article to which the design pertains] column.
・If the article to which the design relates is new, its intended use and function should be described in the “Description of the article to which the design relates” section.
・Even if multiple items are listed in the [Description of the Article to which the Design pertains] column, the design will ultimately be judged based on the intended use and function of the items as derived from the [Article to which the Design pertains] column and the drawings.