How to Remove Copycat Listings on Amazon Japan with a Japanese Design Right

"A seller on Amazon Japan is offering a product that looks exactly like ours, under a different brand name. Our trademark doesn't cover it — what can we do?"

This is one of the most common questions we receive from overseas manufacturers and cross-border e-commerce sellers. In this article, Japanese Patent Attorney Toru Kano of BrandAgent explains how a Japanese design right can be used against copycat products on Amazon Japan and other Japanese marketplaces, how it compares with other rights, and what you should prepare before a problem arises.

*JPO fees and rules are as of November 2026. Marketplace reporting procedures, including Amazon's, change frequently — always check the latest official help pages of each marketplace.

What you will learn

Why a trademark alone often cannot stop shape copycats
Design right vs trademark vs copyright vs unfair competition law in Japan
When and how foreign companies should file a design in Japan
Practical steps for reporting a copycat on Amazon Japan
Official JPO fees for a design

Copycats with a different logo: why a trademark is often not enough

A trademark protects your brand name and logo. If a counterfeit uses your brand, a Japanese trademark registration is the strongest tool. But many copycats today use their own brand name and copy only the shape and appearance of your product. In that case, a trademark usually does not help.

This is where a design right comes in. Under Article 23 of the Japanese Design Act, the holder of a design right has the exclusive right to work the registered design and designs similar to it as a business. So even if the brand name is different, you may be able to assert infringement if the product's appearance is identical or similar to your registered design.

Four ways to protect a product's shape in Japan

Right	What it protects	Against shape copycats	Limitations
Design right	Shape, pattern, color of a product	Strong — covers similar designs	Must be registered; file before disclosure
Trademark	Brand name, logo (3D marks possible)	Weak if the logo differs	Registering a product shape as a 3D mark is difficult
Copyright	Creative expression	Uncertain for everyday products	Protection of mass-produced functional items is unpredictable
Unfair Competition Prevention Act	Configuration of another's goods	Useful against dead copies	Only 3 years from first sale in Japan; no registration

Trademark (3D marks)

Japan allows three-dimensional trademarks, but the shape of a product itself is often regarded as merely indicating the shape of the goods. Unless the shape has become widely recognized through long use, registration is difficult — so a 3D mark is rarely a realistic way to protect a new product.

Copyright

Copyright arises without registration, but whether the shape of a mass-produced, practical product is protected as a copyrighted work depends heavily on the facts, and the outcome is hard to predict. When you report to a marketplace, explaining why your product shape is a "work" is also difficult.

Unfair Competition Prevention Act (imitation of product configuration)

Selling a product that slavishly imitates the configuration of another's product (a "dead copy") can constitute unfair competition even without any registration. However, protection lasts only 3 years from the date the original product was first sold in Japan, and the imitation generally needs to be substantially identical. An amendment that took effect on April 1, 2024 extended this protection to offering imitations in digital space. It is a useful stop-gap, but harder to rely on than a registered right with a registration number.

Why a design right works well on marketplaces

Easy to prove: a registration number and the drawings in the design gazette show the marketplace exactly what you own.
Covers similar designs: under Article 24(2) of the Design Act, similarity is judged by the aesthetic impression the designs give to consumers, so a copy does not have to be exact.
Long term: for applications filed on or after April 1, 2020, a design right lasts up to 25 years from the filing date.
Usable at customs: design rights can be the basis of an import suspension application at Japan Customs. Since October 1, 2022, design- and trademark-infringing goods sent by overseas businesses to individuals in Japan are also prohibited from import and can be confiscated.

Know the limits

A design right comes into effect only upon registration (Design Act, Art. 20(1)). A pending application gives you no right to stop copycats. And a marketplace is not a court: where similarity is debatable, a report may be rejected. Near-identical copies are the easiest to remove; borderline cases may require a warning letter or court action.

Filing a design in Japan as a foreign company

File before you launch

A design must be new. Once your product has been sold, shown on social media or crowdfunded, it generally can no longer be registered. If it has already been disclosed, Japan's novelty grace period may still apply within 1 year of disclosure, but you must claim it at filing and submit proof within 30 days. It does not protect you against a third party who files or discloses a similar design in the meantime, so treat it as a safety net only.

Three routes into Japan

Direct filing: file through a Japanese patent attorney. Applicants without a domicile or office in Japan cannot file directly with the JPO.
Paris priority: file in Japan within 6 months of your first design filing (for example in China) and claim priority.
Hague system: designate Japan in an international design application. If the JPO issues a refusal, the response must be filed through a Japanese patent attorney.

Examination starts automatically without a separate request, and the first result often comes around 6–12 months after filing. If you wait until your product is a bestseller, the registration may arrive too late.

Partial and related designs against "slightly modified" copies

Partial design: protect a distinctive part — a handle, a button layout, a surface pattern — so that changing the rest of the product does not help the copier.
Related design: register variations similar to your principal design within 10 years of its filing date, covering different sizes or derivative models.

In many cases, filing a whole design plus a partial design makes later marketplace enforcement much easier.

Reporting a copycat on Amazon Japan: practical steps

The general workflow after registration is as follows. Forms and required fields change often, so check the latest seller guidelines and rights-owner help pages before reporting.

Practical workflow

1. Prepare your right: Japanese design registration number, the gazette drawings and the owner's name. If the reporting entity differs from the registered owner (for example a distributor), prepare documents explaining the relationship.
2. Preserve evidence: dated screenshots of the listing URL, ASIN, seller name and price. A test purchase gives you the physical product.
3. Compare the designs: place your registered drawings next to photos of the copy and identify the shared features. Get a patent attorney's view on borderline cases.
4. Report to Amazon: Amazon offers rights owners a process for reporting intellectual property infringement. Brands enrolled in Amazon Brand Registry can also use its reporting tool.
5. If the listing stays or reappears: consider a warning letter, an import suspension application at Japan Customs, or an injunction lawsuit.

Other Japanese marketplaces such as Rakuten Ichiba, Yahoo! Shopping and Qoo10 commonly provide channels for rights-holder complaints as well, but the accepted rights and required documents differ — follow each platform's current instructions.

Unfounded complaints can backfire

Reporting a product that falls outside your design, or one that was on sale before your filing, may expose you to damages claims from the seller and can affect your own marketplace account. If you are only "fairly sure" the product is similar, ask a Japanese patent attorney first.

Official JPO fees for a design (as of November 2026)

Item	Official fee (JPY)
Filing fee	16,000 per design
Registration fee, years 1–3	8,500 per year
Registration fee, years 4–25	16,900 per year

Only the first year must be paid at registration, so official fees up to registration are JPY 24,500 per design (double that for a whole design plus a partial design). Attorney fees vary by case — ask us for a free quote. Current fees are listed on the JPO fee page (Japanese). We communicate in English and Chinese, and payment can be made by PayPal (JPY) or bank transfer.

FAQ

Q. Can we report a copycat on Amazon Japan with a pending design application?
A. No. A design right arises only on registration. For a dead copy within 3 years of your first sale in Japan, the Unfair Competition Prevention Act may be an option.
Q. Does our Chinese or US design registration work on Amazon Japan?
A. IP rights are territorial. To enforce in Japan, you generally need a Japanese right — via direct filing, Paris priority or a Hague designation of Japan.
Q. Our product is already on sale. Is it too late?
A. Within 1 year of disclosure, the novelty grace period may still allow filing. After that, consider filing new models or variations before they launch.
Q. Can customs stop copies shipped directly from overseas?
A. Yes, a design right can support an import suspension application at Japan Customs, and Customs charges no fee for the application.
Q. Can we communicate in English or Chinese?
A. Yes. Every case is handled personally by a licensed Japanese patent attorney, and we communicate in English and Chinese.

Key points

Copycats that copy the shape but not the logo are hard to stop with a trademark — a design right is the key tool.
A Japanese design right covers similar designs and lasts up to 25 years; dead-copy protection lasts only 3 years from first sale.
The right arises only on registration, so file before launch (Paris priority: 6 months).
Partial and related designs help against slightly modified copies.
Marketplace procedures change often — check the latest guidelines and get advice on borderline cases.

Fighting copycats on Amazon Japan, or planning to register your design in Japan?
Send us photos or drawings of your product — we will reply with the best filing strategy for Japan and a quote, free of charge.

BrandAgent Patent Office (Kyoto, Japan)
Toru Kano, Japanese Patent Attorney

Free consultation — visit BrandAgent's English site