The Trademark Registration System in Japan: A Firsthand Review and Exposition

One current topic of trademark law that has become a major issue in recent years is foreign trademark rights. The business world is shrinking, and large international outfits need to protect the goodwill in their trademarks on a global scale. The key to gaining international trademark rights is in understanding foreign countries\u27 trademark systems. Masaya Suzuki, a trademark examiner in the Japanese Patent Office, offers insight to the Japanese trademark system. Mr. Suzuki provides a history of Japanese trademark law and rationales for the current system. He explains the workings of the system on a step-by-step basis giving the structure and procedure for obtaining trademark protection in Japan. Mr. Suzuki also addresses recent amendments to the system. Finally, Mr. Suzuki discusses the issues of actual rights garnered, requirements for registration, and the special case of protection for famous marks