Design Industry Hints

[Design] To those in the pachinko and pachislot industry

(1) Introduction

Pachinko and pachislot are played by one in every 14 people in Japan, and are enduringly popular as mass entertainment. The first pachinko parlor opened nationwide around 1, and pachislot, which started out as a slot machine, has been loved by many people as an amusement device since around 1930.

Recently, these gaming machines have become popular with cartoon and anime characters and celebrities as their image characters. Also, with the advancement of LCD technology, the large LCD screen placed in the center of the gaming machine creates a spectacular display, making it the ultimate entertainment.

”HARAKENZO more " has created this page to support those in the pachinko and pachislot industry and to provide information that will help them understand design registrations.

(2) Design of pachinko and pachislot machines

Pachinko equipment is roughly divided into five categories in design classification: pachinko game machines, pachinko game machine parts and accessories, pachinko game machine front parts, pachinko game ball containers, and pachinko game frames. On the other hand, slot machines are divided into two categories: slot machine game machines, and slot machine game machine parts and accessories.

E Group (amusement and entertainment products)
(Tohokushinsha Co., Ltd., from left: Registered designs no. 1519290, 1514581, 1514582).

As mentioned above, in recent years, pachinko and pachislot machines that feature anime, manga, and TV dramas in collaboration with these works have become mainstream.

These designs are registered designs for the frame of pachinko game machines and express the world view of the works on which they are based.

E Group (amusement and entertainment products)
(Asahi Electric Co., Ltd., Registered Designs Nos. 1276024, 1276431, 1276432, 1276433).

These designs relate to indicator lights for gaming.

A gaming indicator is a data display unit that is installed on the top of gaming devices such as pachinko and slot machines. It mainly displays the number of jackpots, the number of chance wins, the number of spins, etc. In today's world where data is important, it is an essential item for pachinko and pachislot machines.

These designs use the related designs system.

The related design system allows for greater protection by protecting variations of designs that are born from a single design concept.

[Point]
Under the revised Design Act that came into effect on April 2020, 4, it is now possible to file an application for a related design of a basic design and a design similar to the related design within 1 years from the application date of the basic design. For more information about the revised related design system, please see here.
*The design first selected as the principal design is called the “basic design” (Article 10, Paragraph 7 of the Design Act).

(3) Determining whether pachinko machines and slot machines are similar

The image below is an actual case in which a partial design right for a data display unit installed on the top of gaming devices such as pachinko and slot machines was contested (Heisei 27 (Gyo-Ke) No. 10004).

E Group (Hobby and entertainment products)
(Daiichi Electric Industry Co., Ltd., Registered Design No. 1264441)

In this case, the issue was whether the design in question was similar to the cited designs 1 to 4 with regard to the black LCD display portion, and whether the design in question could have been easily created based on the cited designs 1 to 4.

The Intellectual Property High Court's ruling was that the design in question was not similar to any of the cited designs 1 to 4, and could not easily be created based on designs 1 to 4.

As such, determining whether a design is similar or easy to create requires highly specialized knowledge and is difficult for the general public to make.

You may be infringing a third party's design rights without knowing it. Also, something that you thought would not be registered as a design may actually be registered.

Please feel free to contact us.

(4) We support everyone in the pachinko and pachislot industry.

The pachinko and pachislot industry supports Japan's entertainment industry, is a very familiar industry for general users, and is also an industry closely related to the world of intellectual property, including patented technology.

”HARAKENZO more " supports everyone in the pachinko and pachislot industry and is equipped to handle a wide variety of inquiries. Please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.

Check out our article on trademarks!To everyone in the pachinko and pachislot industry

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