The question of trade-marks was referred to in last year's report, but the great interest which has been take in the subject during 1907 makes it necessary to deal with it again, British merchants and mannfactarers should remember that according apanese law no protection is given any save registered marks or marke which were in use in Japan before Ju! 11, 1899, and it is therefore essential that every British manufacturer and merchant who owns a trade-mark for gonds which are likely to find " sale in the Far East, should either register his mark in Japan or send proof to the Patent Bureau in Tokio of the uso of his mark prior to July 1, 1899. But this of course does not apply to those unfortunate cases where the mark has already been registered by " pirate and, has been unchallenged for three years: for these there is apparently no remedy at present.
The "Black and White" whisky case was responsible for the marked attention which the foreign press and public gave to trade-mark matters in Japan. The case has been so fully reported on elsewhere that the bare outlines will suffice here. A Japanese was fonnd to be selling whisky marked
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.