Softbank applied to register the trademark “Minna no Kazokuwari” with the Japan Patent Office only to encounter rejection on the grounds the word mark was similar to a previously registered trademark.

Softbank retained NERA to conduct a consumer survey to show that the previous trademark had lost its secondary meaning. The previous trademark had been used for mobile phone communication services for many years, but similar services were provided by a number of companies, including Softbank. As mobile telecommunications services are oligopolistic, a demand effect was highly expected, where a  substantial number of respondents would name a provider with a large market share in a 'knee-jerk' response.

NERA conducted a survey to control for demand effect and yielded results consistent with the loss of secondary meaning. Softbank’s appeal supported by the survey results was successful, and its trademark was registered.