Requirement of “Another Person’s Goods” under Art. 2, para. 1, item 3 of the UCPA
(Conclusion)
Goods exhibited in an exhibition (not for sale yet) can be “another person’s goods” protected by the UCPA if they have been completely developed, commercialized, and have reached the stage of being ready for sale.
This is a case in which it is contested whether the act of importing or selling tube-like humidifiers by the defendant (the appellee), which have a similar shape to the plaintiff’s (the appellant’s) exhibited in an exhibition (being not for sale yet), constitutes the imitation of the configuration under Art. 2, para.1, item 3 of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act (“UCPA”).
The Tokyo District Court ruled that the humidifiers of the plaintiff (the appellant) were not goods (“another person’s goods”) protected by the UCPA because the humidifiers exhibited by the plaintiff (the appellant) were only a prototype in the process of development at the time of the exhibition.
However, the IP High Court (“IP High Court”) ruled that even if the goods of the plaintiff (the appellee) were not actually marketed, they could be protected by the UCPA as “another person’s goods” if it became apparently clear that they have been completely developed, commercialized, and have reached the stage of being ready for sale.
The IP High Court determined that in this case, unless there are special circumstances, the goods of the plaintiff (the appellee) exhibited in the exhibition had apparently reached such stage and therefore they could be protected by the UCPA.
<Writer: Masakazu KOBAYASHI (Attorney-at-law and Patent Attorney)>
https://www.ip.courts.go.jp/app/files/hanrei_en/125/002125.pdf