Japan court orders Zoom to pay trademark damages

A Japanese court has ordered US video conferencing company Zoom Communications to pay damages to a local audio equipment maker over trademark infringement, while allowing it to continue using its logo, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The Tokyo District Court found that similarities between the logos of Zoom Communications and Japan’s Zoom Corporation could have caused consumer confusion, especially before the global surge in online communication services during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The court ordered the US company to pay about 160 million yen (around $1 million) in compensation. It also ordered NEC Networks & System Integration, which distributes Zoom’s services in Japan, to pay an additional 16 million yen in damages.

The Japanese firm argued that the logo similarity led to mistaken inquiries, market disruption, and stock volatility that affected its operations and investor confidence.

However, the court noted that after mid-2020, when video conferencing became widely used, consumers became better able to distinguish between the two companies. As a result, it limited compensation to the earlier period and did not ban the US company from using its branding.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev