The curious case of Ikuhiro Ueda, Japan's top filer

It would seem that where China has legions of trademark squatters, Japan may have one very determined individual sweeping up trademarks. In yesterday’s ‘Regional Update: China, Japan and Korea’ session, Nagomi Tsuchida of Hitachi presented a list of the leading trademark applicants over the past three years. And in that time, it seems, the country’s foremost brands – Kao, Sanrio, Shiseido – have been displaced at the top of the table quite decisively by one Ikuhiro Ueda.