Japan refused the AINU trademark of a Chinese citizen
On March 23, 2021, the Japanese Patent Office (JPO) rejected a trademark application for a Chinese national living in Shenzhen because it used the name of Japan’s indigenous Ainu people. According to JPO, the AINU application was filed in March 2020 for electronic technology products such as smartphone cases and computer mice. However, this application received heavy criticism from Ainu people – the indigenous Japanese living in Hokkaido. They see this action as a dark strategy to commercialize their culture [...]
