Thoughts about Japanese brands

[Blackadder]

Wow that Dapper's Johnson looks really nice, love the back design especially! How do these brands license the original brand label, like how Real McCoy's does with Buco, very interesting. Would love to have a look at these in person, do these go through trunk shows only, have to try find a stockist to add to my itinerary!

You lose the trademark if you don't use it. These original companies/brands have long since gone out of business. I doubt RM has to pay anything for it. RM may very well has priority on the Buco TM now in Japan and in countries where their products are being sold.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Wow that Dapper's Johnson looks really nice, love the back design especially! How do these brands license the original brand label, like how Real McCoy's does with Buco, very interesting. Would love to have a look at these in person, do these go through trunk shows only, have to try find a stockist to add to my itinerary!

That Johnson Bros repro is cool. It's corded instead an actual pleat which is interesting.

I think the labels in the vintage jacket is so niche its less about trademark infringement and more like fan art. There is a big set up charge to run the minimum run of the repro labels but the actual number of repro jacket produced are so little that is not worth going through the court actions to collect the royalties if any.

I like the repro labels a lot. It's like the icing on the cake.

 

[Blackadder]

That Johnson Bros repro is cool. It's corded instead an actual pleat which is interesting.

I think the labels in the vintage jacket is so niche its less about trademark infringement and more like fan art. There is a big set up charge to run the minimum run of the repro labels but the actual number of repro jacket produced are so little that is not worth going through the court actions to collect the royalties if any.

I like the repro labels a lot. It's like the icing on the cake.

Copyright owners of e.g. songs and literature usually use royalties collecting agencies because they must by law in most countries allow others to use/reproduce for a fair royalty. However TM holders do not collect royalties for piece meal use of trademark because they would not allow others to use trademark that way period. Licensed use of trademark is not by quantity. It is normally for a period and involve a huge sum and they are not required by law to license their TM.
GW use of Acme labels on its Aero repro is to avoid infringing the Aero Scotland TM. Copyright does not involve registration while TM does. It is likely that RM find it too troublesome to register the TM outside Japan since the international sale is as you said not worth the trouble.

 

[Canuck Panda]

Copyright owners of e.g. songs and literature usually use royalties collecting agencies because they must by law in most countries allow others to use/reproduce for a fair royalty. However TM holders do not collect royalties for piece meal use of trademark because they would not allow others to use trademark that way period. Licensed use of trademark is not by quantity. It is normally for a period and involve a huge sum and they are not required by law to license their TM.
GW use of Acme labels on its Aero repro is to avoid infringing the Aero Scotland TM. Copyright does not involve registration while TM does. It is likely that RM find it too troublesome to register the TM outside Japan since the international sale is as you said not worth the trouble.

Good info. I wish I had a one hit wonder to collect royalties!
Labels really make the jacket special. I’m hunting bargain rags to get the label, and putting them on my repro jackets.

 

[jchance]

I like how there are many different Japanese brands to choose from. The diversity of Japanese brands really helps me to nail down a fit with the bizarre fitting of Japanese men’s frame (although I’m myself an American of Asian descent). At the top, Japanese brands seem consistent in quality even if one were to switch from one brand to another. Except for minor nitpickings, the quality is 95% there.

Take denim, for example, I live near Self Edge so I get to go and try out different Japanese brands in store. I found that only Studio D’Artisan slim taper fit looks flattering on me. I had to pass on the rest of the brands, but I’m grateful for the availability of the wide selection of Japanese brands I get to choose from.

The same is true for leather jackets. When browsing JP sites for jacket styles that I like, one or more measurement always seem (e.g. freewheelers sunset’ sleeve length being too long, RMC Dillinger’s p2p appearing too wide and boxy). I had to pass on those even though they look so damn nice (well, I can get FW sunset’s sleeves tailored to be shortened, but who’d go through all that trouble…) I finally ‘settled’ on a Warehouse Cossack in unlined deerskin, which fits, checks all the boxes and still looks good to my semi-untrained eyes.