Regular readers know that we like to write about trade mark
similarity and likelihood of confusion cases from around the world.
In this article, we continue our love affair with virtual
globe-trotting and discuss a case in Japan as well as one in the
EU.
Japan: The Monster case
The case that we're discussing, Monster Energy v Pocket
Monsters (aka Nintendo), was a trade mark opposition.
*Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
The facts
In 2022, Nintendo filed an application in Japan to register the
trade mark POCKET MONSTERS in a wide range of classes, namely 3, 9,
14, 16, 18, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 30 and 41. For the benefit of those
who do not live and breathe trade marks, this basically means that
Nintendo was seeking to protect its trade mark for a very wide
range of goods and services, including electronic goods, sporting
goods, clothing and entertainment services.
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