New services are developed and provided to keep pace with the ever-increasing usage and importance of the internet. One such service is the online distribution of TV programs. This service typically entails a provider (an internet venture company, in many cases) using servers for the recording or real-time streaming of TV programs. The provider then transmits such data through the internet to users who view the TV programs on their individual PCs. As might be expected, the provider, due to the provision of these services, may face copyright infringement claims by the copyright owners of such TV programs.
On June 20, 2008 the Tokyo District Court rendered a decision regarding real-time streaming of TV programs (“Maneki-TV”). The Court ruled
that such service did not infringe the copyrights.
In its review of the Japan Patent Office (JPO)'s decision in The Coca Cola Company v. Japan atent Office (IP High Ct., May 29, 2008), the IP High Court overruled the JPO's rejection of Coca Cola's application to register the shape of its returnable bottle, and held that Coca Cola's eturnable bottle shape would be registered and protected as a three-dimensional (3D) trademark. 3D trademarks were introduced into the Japanese rademark Act in 1996. 3D trademarks had also been protected by the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, but only if they were famous. In he Coca Cola case, the court found on the facts that Coca Cola's returnable bottle shape had acquired distinctiveness through Coca Cola’s use.
These facts include: (i) the Coca-Cola returnable bottle shape's long history in Japan (since
.jpg)
.jpg)
