What this is
When The Pokémon Company first appears as an applicant on Japanese trademark records: no later than 2025, possibly as early as January 2020.
How it’s built
- Put dated applicant records in order, 2013 to 2026, from press reports and registry facts found elsewhere.
- Until 2016 the three founders filed together; from 2025 The Pokémon Company appears alone on two marks and on one renewal.
What we assumed
- Renewals are filed by whoever already holds the mark.A legal judgement; if right, The Pokémon Company held the Sun and Moon marks before 2025.
- A 2020 press report naming The Pokémon Company on a filing is accurate.It is a single secondary report, so the 2020 date is the weaker end.
Sanity check
Japan's register could not be searched directly, so the order rests on second-hand records and the applicants behind several international filings stay unknown.
The value
- TPC first on Japan record: no later than 2025; possibly January 2020
Some detail is too fine to show here; it is kept in the trainer’s notes.
Where it comes from
Our calculation from other figures in the trainer’s notes.
Show the working
- TPC first appears on a JP record between 2020-01 and 2025
Where it’s used
More figures on Pokémon IP (characters, copyrights, trademarks) →