Yasuhiro Sato wrote an article published in The Invention 2026 No.1. Yasu’s article, “Beyond the Main Part Analysis: Lessons from the IP High Court’s ‘Keyaki’ Case,” examines a landmark Intellectual Property High Court decision. The court held that even when a combined trademark’s elements can be analyzed separately, a more comprehensive assessment of similarity is required if the separated portion possesses only weak distinctiveness. This ruling introduces a unique, sophisticated two-step framework for trademark similarity, possibly signaling a departure from mechanical separation and presenting significant implications for IP practitioners.