This profit is guaranteed~

Japan’s Anti-Unfair Competition Law

(Law No. 47 of May 19, 1993)

Article 1 (Purpose)

The purpose of this law is to ensure fair competition among operators and the correct implementation of international rules, prevent unfair competition and take relevant measures to compensate for damages caused by unfair competition, etc., in order to Promote the healthy development of the national economy.

Article 2 (Definition)

(1) “Unfair competition” as mentioned in this Law refers to the following behaviors.

1. Making other people’s representations of goods, etc. widely known to those who demand them (referring to other people’s business names, trade names, trademarks, emblems, goods containers or packaging and other goods and business information) representation, the same below), used as a representation of the same or similar goods, etc., or the goods using such representation of goods, etc., are transferred or delivered, or exhibited, exported or imported for the purpose of transfer or delivery, resulting in conflicts with other people's goods or engage in confusing activities;

2. Use the same or similar representations for one’s own goods as those of other people’s well-known products, or transfer or transfer goods that use such representations Delivery, or the act of exhibition, export or import for the purpose of transfer or payment.

3. The form of imitating other people’s goods (except those that exceed three years from the date of initial sale) [goods of the same type as the other person’s goods (if not the same type of goods, means the same type of goods as the other person’s goods) , goods that are the same or similar in utility), the act of transferring, leasing, or exhibiting, exporting or importing goods for the purpose of transfer or leasing;

4. Theft or fraud , coercion and other improper means to obtain trade secrets (hereinafter referred to as "unfair acquisition"), as well as the use and disclosure of acquired trade secrets (including disclosing to specific persons while keeping secrets, as follows) Same as);

5. Knowing or failing to know due to gross negligence that the relevant trade secrets have been obtained improperly, but still obtaining the trade secrets, and the use or disclosure of the trade secrets .

6. After obtaining the relevant trade secret, knowing or failing to know due to gross negligence that the trade secret has been unfairly obtained, and then using or disclosing the trade secret;

7. For the purpose of seeking unfair competition or other illegitimate interests, or for the purpose of harming the holder of the trade secret shown by the operator who keeps the trade secret (hereinafter referred to as the "holder") , the act of using or disclosing;

8. Knowing or failing to know due to gross negligence that the other party is improperly disclosing business secrets (including disclosures stipulated in the preceding paragraph, and violations of laws that should be kept confidential) The act of disclosing a trade secret under an obligation to do so, the same below) or the act of obtaining the trade secret as a result of improper disclosure of the trade secret, and the use or disclosure of the trade secret;

9 . After obtaining the trade secret, knowing or failing to know due to gross negligence that the other party has improperly disclosed the trade secret, or that the trade secret has been improperly disclosed, and then uses the trade secret or discloses the trade secret;

10. In the goods or services, or in their advertisements, or in the documents or letters used in transactions, the origin, quality, content, manufacturing method, purpose or quantity of the product, or the nature and content of the service , purpose, quantity, making false representations that may lead to misunderstanding, or transferring or delivering the goods represented by such representations, or exhibiting, exporting or importing them for the purpose of transfer or delivery, or making false representations to provide services;

11. Acts of informing or disseminating false facts that harm the business credibility of others in a competitive relationship; 12. Under the Paris Convention [referring to the Trademark Law (Law No. 27 of 1959) ) The agent or representative of a person who enjoys relevant trademark rights (limited to rights equivalent to trademark rights, only referred to as "rights" in this paragraph below) in a contracting state (as referred to in Article 4, Paragraph 1 and 2 of the Paris Convention). , or who was an agent or representative one year before the date of the act, uses the same or similar trademark related to the right on the same or similar goods related to the right without justifiable reasons and without the consent of the right holder. or services, or use the trademark to transfer or deliver identical or similar goods to the goods related to the right, or exhibit, export or import for the purpose of transfer or payment, or use the trademark to provide the same or similar goods related to the right. Serve.

(2) The term “trademark” as mentioned in this Law refers to the trademarks specified in Paragraph 1 of Article 2 of the Trademark Law.

(3) The "micro-seal" referred to in this Law refers to the badge stipulated in Article 2, Paragraph 1 of the Trademark Law.

(4) The term "trade secrets" as used in this Act refers to production methods, sales methods, and other technically or operationally undisclosed information that is useful for business activities and is managed as secrets.

Article 3 (Right of Request for Suspension)

(1) A person whose business interests are harmed due to unfair competition, or who is in danger of being harmed, may file a lawsuit against the business interests Splitters or those who are at risk of infringement, request to stop and prevent the infringement.

(2) A person whose business interests are harmed due to unfair competition, or who is in danger of being harmed, may request the destruction of the components of the infringement (including the infringement) when making a request in accordance with the provisions of the preceding paragraph. products of the violation), clean up the equipment used for the violation, and request other actions necessary to stop or prevent the violation.

Article 4 (Compensation for Damages)

Anyone who intentionally or negligently infringes on the business interests of others through unfair competition shall be liable for compensation for the damage caused. However, according to the provisions of Article 8, after the rights stipulated in that article have expired, the damage caused by the use of the trade secret shall not be limited to this.

Article 5 (Presumption of amount of damage, etc.)

(1) Anyone whose business interests are harmed due to unfair competition shall not be liable for intentional or negligent infringement of his business interests. When an offender requests compensation for damage suffered due to an infringement, if the infringer obtains benefits due to the infringement, it is presumed that the amount of the benefit is the amount of business damage suffered by the victim.

(2) Those whose business interests are harmed due to unfair competition listed in Items 1 to 12 of Article 2, Paragraph 1, shall be punished against those who intentionally or negligently infringe upon their business interests. , corresponding to the following items of unfair competition, for the acts specified in each item, an amount equivalent to the amount normally due can be used as the amount of damage suffered to file a compensation request:

1. Article 2 The unfair competition listed in the first and second items of Paragraph 1 and the use of expressions of goods related to the infringement;

2. The unfair competition listed in the third item of Paragraph 1 of Article 2 Fair competition and the use of the commodity form related to the infringement;

3. Unfair competition and the use of trade secrets related to the infringement listed in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 4 and Item 9;

4. The unfair competition listed in Item 12, Paragraph 1, Article 2, is related to the use of the trademark that infringes;

(3) The provisions of the preceding paragraph, This shall not prejudice claims for damages in amounts exceeding those specified in the same paragraph. In this case, if the infringement of business interests was not intentional or grossly negligent, the court may consider this at its discretion when determining the amount of damages.

Article 6 (Proposal of Documents)

In a lawsuit involving business infringement due to unfair competition, the court may, at the request of the party, order the party to submit documents to calculate the infringement. Instrument necessary to suffer damage. However, this does not apply if the holder of the instrument has legitimate reasons for refusing to submit.

Article 7 (Measures to restore credit)

For those who intentionally or negligently damage the business credit of others through improper conduct, the court shall respond to the request of the person whose business credit has been damaged. , it may be ordered to compensate for damages instead, or it may be ordered to compensate for damages and take necessary measures to restore business credit.

Article 8 (Extinguishment of Limitations)

In the unfair competition listed in Items 4 to 9 of Paragraph 1 of Article 2, the use of trade secrets shall be treated in accordance with the third The right to request for the cessation or prevention of infringement arising from the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 1 shall be deemed to be the holder of the right to request for the cessation or prevention of infringement when the perpetrator continues to act and his business interests are infringed or are in danger of being infringed as a result, if at the time of knowing the fact and the perpetrator If the right is not exercised within three years, the right will be extinguished due to the expiration of the statute of limitations. Ten years after the behavior began, the results were the same.

Article 9 (Prohibition of commercial use of foreign flags, etc.)

(1) No one may use the national flag of a foreign country or the emblem of a country (hereinafter referred to as "Foreign flags, etc.") are used as identical or similar trademarks (hereinafter referred to as "foreign flags and other similar emblems"), or goods using foreign flags or other similar emblems as trademarks are transferred or delivered, or for the purpose of transfer or delivery And provide services for exhibition, export or import, or use of foreign flags and similar emblems as trademarks. However, this does not apply if permission is obtained from a foreign government department that has the authority to license the use of the foreign flag, etc. (including administrative sanctions similar to permissions).

(2) Except as provided in the preceding paragraph, no one may use the emblem of a foreign country specified in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ordinance (hereinafter referred to as the "foreign emblem") in a manner that would cause people to misidentify the origin of the product. ”) to use, or to transfer or deliver goods bearing foreign emblems, or to exhibit, export or import goods for the purpose of transfer or payment, or to provide services using foreign emblems. However, this does not apply if permission is obtained from a foreign government department that has authority to license the use of foreign emblems, etc.

(3) No one may use a seal or mark that is used for supervision or certification by a foreign government or a foreign local public body specified in the Order of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (hereinafter referred to as the "foreign government mark") Identical or similar marks (hereinafter referred to as "marks similar to those of foreign governments, etc.") are used as trademarks for goods or services that are identical or similar to the goods or services using the marks of foreign governments, etc., or will be used with those of foreign governments, etc. Goods with similar marks as trademarks are transferred or delivered, or exhibited, exported or imported for the purpose of transfer or delivery, or services are provided using similar marks as trademarks of foreign governments. However, this does not apply if permission has been obtained from the foreign government department that has the authority to license the use of the foreign government's marks.

Article 10 (The commercial use of the emblems of international organizations is prohibited)

No one may use badges to mislead others into thinking that they are associated with international organizations (referring to intergovernmental international organizations and quasi-international organizations). organization and is related by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ordinance, the same below), use the micro-seal of the international organization specified in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ordinance as the same or similar trademark (hereinafter referred to as the "similar emblem with the international organization"), or Transfer or deliver goods with a similar emblem to that of an international organization, or exhibit, export or import goods for the purpose of transfer or delivery, or provide services using a emblem similar to that of an international organization as a trademark. However, this does not apply if permission is obtained from the international organization.

Article 11 (Applicable exceptions, etc.)

(1) Article 3 to Article 8, Article 13 (except for the part related to the third item) and The provisions of Article 14 shall not apply to the unfair competition acts stipulated in the following items:

1. Items 1, 2, 10 and 12 of Article 2, Paragraph 1 The unfair competition listed in this item changes the common name of the goods or business (except for the name of the place where grapes are used as raw materials or materials, which becomes a common name), or changes the common name of the same or similar goods or business operations to a common name. Use the method, or transfer or deliver the indicated goods, or exhibit, export or import for the purpose of transfer or delivery (including the improper acts listed in items 10 and 12 of the same paragraph, The act of using a common name to express or use it in a common way to provide services);

2. The first, second and twelfth items of Article 2, Paragraph 1 For unfair competition, use one's own name without any improper purpose (meaning not to obtain improper benefits, not to cause harm to others, and without other improper purposes), or use one's own name without any improper purpose. The act of transferring or delivering the indicated goods, or exhibiting, exporting or importing the goods for the purpose of transfer or delivery (including the act of using one's own name to provide services without any improper purpose in the case of unfair acts specified in the same paragraph);

3. Unfair competition as listed in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 1, Use of goods, etc. that are identical or similar to the representation of other people’s goods, etc., before they are widely known to those who demand them The presenter, or the successor of the business related to the goods, etc. representation, uses the goods, etc. representation without any improper purpose, or transfers or delivers the goods with the goods, etc. representation without any improper purpose, or exhibits or exports them for the purpose of transfer or delivery. or input behavior.

4. Unfair competition as listed in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 2, who uses the same or similar representation of goods, etc. as the representation of other people’s goods, etc., before the representation of other people’s goods, etc. becomes famous, shall Or the successor of the business related to the goods, etc. representation does not use the goods, etc. representation without any improper purpose, or transfers or delivers the goods with the goods, etc. representation without any improper purpose, or exhibits, exports or imports the goods for the purpose of transfer or delivery. .

5. The transferee of goods that imitate the form of other people’s goods as prescribed in the same item of unfair competition as listed in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 3 (limited to the fact that the goods are not known to be imitations of other people’s goods form at the time of the transfer) The act of transferring or delivering the goods, or exhibiting, exporting or importing the goods for the purpose of transfer or delivery, without any knowledge or gross negligence.

6. Persons who obtain trade secrets due to unfair competition as listed in Items 4 to 9 of Paragraph 1 of Article 2 (who did not know and should have known that the trade secrets were illegal without gross negligence) legitimate disclosure, or the trade secret has been unfairly obtained or disclosed), the use of the trade secret and the disclosure of the trade secret are within the scope of the rights acquired due to the transaction.

(2) Anyone whose business interests are harmed or are in danger of being harmed due to the acts listed in the second and third items of the preceding paragraph may report to the The counterparties to these provisions request additional appropriate representations to prevent confusion with their own products or operations:

1. The users listed in the second item of the preceding paragraph are users of their own names (including those who will use their own names) The goods represented are transferred, delivered, or exhibited, exported or imported for the purpose of transfer or delivery).

2. The acts listed in Item 3 of the preceding paragraph: Those who use goods, etc. representations that are the same or similar to other people’s goods, etc. representations, as well as successors of the business related to the goods, etc. representations.

Article 12 (Transitional Measures)

When an order of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry is enacted, revised, or repealed in accordance with this Act, Within the necessary and reasonable scope, the required transitional measures (including transitional measures regarding penalties) may be prescribed.

Article 13 (Penalty)

Anyone who commits any of the following shall be sentenced to imprisonment of not more than three years and a fine of not more than three million yen:

1. Acts of unfair competition listed in Article 2, Paragraph 1, Item 1 and Item 10 for unfair purposes;

2. In the case of goods or services, or their advertisements, or In documents or letters used in transactions, false representations are made that are misleading as to the origin, quality, content, manufacturing method, purpose or quantity of the product, or the nature, content, purpose or quantity of the service (as specified in the preceding paragraph) Except those).

3. Those who violate the provisions of Article 9 or Article 10.

Article 14 (Two Penalty Provisions)

The representative of a legal person or the agent, employee or other practitioner of a legal person shall, in relation to the legal person or individual, If a person violates the preceding article during business operations, in addition to punishing the offender, the legal person shall be subject to a fine of not more than 100 million yen, and the individual shall be subject to a fine stipulated in the preceding article.