Meaning and Limitations of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act for the Prohibition of Illegal Use of Ideas

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-173
Author(s):  
Hyun Sook Kim
Keyword(s):  
Unfair Competition ◽  
Prevention Act

Japan (‘.jp’)

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Hattori ◽  
Nodoka Nakamura
Keyword(s):  
Unfair Competition ◽  
Commercial Code ◽  
Prevention Act ◽  
Japanese Law

Two types of trademarks are protected under Japanese law: (1) trade and service marks, protected by the Trademark Act and the Unfair Competition Prevention Act1 (hereinafter the UCA); and (2) business names, protected by the Companies Act, the Commercial Code, and the UCA.

Nintendo v. MariCar: is street kart rental business free riding on the popular video game characters prohibited in Japan?

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-54
Author(s):  
Makoto Shimada
Keyword(s):  
Common Sense ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Free Riding ◽  
Unfair Competition ◽  
Patent Office ◽  
Case Review ◽  
Legal Basis ◽  
Prevention Act ◽  
Intellectual Properties

You must not make a profit by using a well-known character belonging to someone else without licence. This is a commercial common sense, but a question is on what legal basis such an activity is banned? A character business may involve various intellectual properties, including copyright, trademark, design rights, etc., however, none of these IP rights is directly aimed at protecting characters. Besides, trademarks and design rights shall not take effect unless they are registered at the Patent Office, and characters are not always copyrightable. In several cases, Japanese courts suggest that the Unfair Competition Prevention Act of Japan takes a certain role to protect characters. This case review examines a recent judgment in the case, which deals with the application of this Act for the prevention of free riding on the video game characters.

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