Novelty (related to prior arts)
(Conclusion) Novelty should not be found.(Applicant lost.)
General consumers, which are the main users of this designation, pay special attention to the overall shape of the gripping portion with emphasis on the easiness of gripping and operation.
Therefore, as the whole shape is common between the applied design and the prior art, they are similar to each other.
Though the applicant asserted that the difference in the number of buttons formed on the front side of the main body (small circular parts) is the main portion, such difference was not deemed the main portion in view of the publicly known designs. (Applicant asserted common patterns between the applied design and the prior art, but such assertion was rejected because not all of the common patterns were publicly known.)
<Writer: Hideki Takaishi (Attorney-at-law licensed in Japan and California)>
https://www.ip.courts.go.jp/app/files/hanrei_en/482/002482.pdf