In recent years, there have been several cases where the value of evidence has been assessed by examining the content of questionnaire surveys submitted to the Intellectual Property High Court. Cases that fall under the Article 2, Paragraph 1, Items 1 & 2 of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act place a heavy burden of proof on the Plaintiff in regard to product label recognition, and the risk of confusion. Whilst questionnaire surveys are recognized as a means of providing compelling evidence, the finding of effective survey methods continues to be a struggle. 

Naoya Kaneko of NERA's Tokyo Office briefed members of the Japan Patent Attorneys Association - Committee on the Unfair Competition Prevention Act on the points to bear in mind when conducting questionnaire surveys for cases that fall under Article 2, Paragraph 1, Items 1 & 2 of the Unfair Competition Prevention Act, and the outlook moving forward based on recent court precedents.