Trademark Support System

Abstract

To provide a trademark support system suitable for selecting goods or services. SOLUTION: A trademark support device 100 displays products (services) in an expandable and collapsible hierarchical structure based on product information relating to a plurality of hierarchical products (services). When the hierarchical structure is collapsed, a product (service) can be selected from products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchical structure, and when the hierarchical structure is expanded, a product (service) can be selected from products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchical structure and an expanded lower level hierarchical structure. This allows a product (service) to be selected taking into account the hierarchical relationship.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a system for providing support regarding trademarks, and more particularly to a trademark support system suitable for selecting goods or services. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, techniques for supporting trademark registration applications are known, for example, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] The technology described in Patent Document 1 includes a first feature extraction unit that extracts a first feature of the designated goods / services, a second feature extraction unit that extracts a second feature of the input text, a model learning unit that receives at least one of the first and second features as input and learns a model for estimating a group related to goods / services, and a goods / service information extraction unit that estimates a group based on the second feature and the model and extracts goods / service information corresponding to the estimated group.Furthermore, the groups are hierarchized, and the goods / service information extraction unit estimates a group in a higher hierarchy based on the second feature and the model, estimates a group in a lower hierarchy linked to the estimated group, and extracts goods / service information corresponding to each estimated group.

[0004] The technology described in Patent Document 2 includes a reception unit that receives text from a user, a search unit that searches a storage means using the text, and an output unit that outputs the search results of the search unit. The storage means stores product / service names and multiple stored product / service names in association with each other. The search unit checks whether there is a stored product / service name or a product / service group name that is identical or similar to the text, and acquires a product / service group name that is identical or similar to the text, or a product / service group name that is associated with a stored product / service name that is identical or similar to the text. The output unit outputs the product / service group name acquired by the search unit as the search result (FIGS. 7A, 7B, 8). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] JP 2018-113002 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2023-15766 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] In trademark practice, when selecting goods or services, the conceptual relationship between the goods or services may be taken into consideration. For example, if an applicant deals in the product "Western confectionery", the applicant will select the higher-level product "confectionery", the same product "Western confectionery" and its subordinate products "sponge cake" and "cookies", but will not select the similar product "Japanese confectionery" or its subordinate product "nerikiri".

[0007] The technology described in Patent Document 1 can classify groups into a hierarchy and estimate groups in a higher hierarchy and groups in a lower hierarchy, but does not disclose how to display the products or services in each of the obtained groups. The technology described in Patent Document 2 can estimate or search for products or services in groups, but similarly does not disclose how to display the products or services in the obtained groups. For this reason, although it is possible to select all the products or services in a group, it is not possible to select products or services by selecting them.

[0008] This problem is anticipated not only when selecting a product or service by taking into consideration conceptual relationships, but also when selecting a product or service by taking into consideration other relationships.

[0009] The present invention has been made in consideration of the unresolved problems of the conventional techniques, and has an object to provide a trademark support system suitable for selecting goods or services. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] [Invention 1] In order to achieve the above object, the trademark support system of invention 1 includes an output means for hierarchically outputting information about a plurality of products or services based on hierarchically organized product information about the products or services.

[0011] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about the product or service in a hierarchical manner based on the product information.

[0012] Here, the goods or services include, for example, (1) goods or services designated in a trademark registration application, trademark registration, defensive mark registration application, or defensive mark registration (hereinafter referred to as a "trademark registration case"), (2) goods or services that meet a prescribed standard (e.g., current or past examination standard, international standard, or treaty standard) or examination, and (3) goods or services before or after the change in the case where the goods or services are changed due to a rewrite system or amendment or revision of the goods or services. The same applies to the trademark support systems of inventions 12, 14 to 16, and 18 to 21 below.

[0013] Furthermore, the product information may be configured, for example, as information for identifying the product or service (for example, a name, a number, an ID, a code, link information such as a URL). The product information may be configured, for example, as characters, numbers, figures, codes, symbols, images, sounds, and other information. The product information may be configured as keywords relating to the product or service (for example, one or more keywords indicating part of the name of the product or service). The same applies below to the trademark support systems of inventions 12, 14 to 16, and 18 to 21.

[0014] In addition, the product information includes, for example, (1) product information on the goods or services designated in the trademark registration case (referred to as "designated goods, etc." in this paragraph), (2) product information on the goods or services that meet the prescribed standards (e.g., current or past examination standards, international standards, or treaty standards) or examination (referred to as "matching goods, etc." in this paragraph), (3) goods or services before or after the change when the goods or services are changed due to the rewrite system or the correction or revision of the goods or services (referred to as "changed goods, etc." in this paragraph), (4) product information on the goods or services of a higher concept that includes the designated goods, etc., matching goods, etc., or changed goods, etc., and (5) product information on the goods or services of a lower concept that includes the designated goods, etc., matching goods, etc., or changed goods, etc. The same applies to the trademark support systems of inventions 12, 14 to 16, and 18 to 21.

[0015] Examples of hierarchical structures include (1) hierarchical structures based on conceptual relationships between products or services, (2) hierarchical structures based on relationships between products or services related to organization A (e.g., products or services related to a trademark registration case of organization A) and products or services related to organization B (e.g., a subsidiary) belonging to organization A (e.g., products or services related to a trademark registration case of organization B), (3) hierarchical structures based on relationships between products or services related to a case, business, plan, project, promotion, or other unit (hereinafter referred to as a "case, etc." in this paragraph) A and products or services related to case, etc. B belonging to case, etc. A, and (4) hierarchical structures based on other arbitrarily defined relationships.

[0016] The output means can output information by, for example, display, printing, audio output, writing to a storage device or storage medium, transmission to other equipment, devices, terminals, or other devices, vibration such as vibration, heat generation, or other methods. Therefore, output includes at least display, printing, audio output, writing, transmission, vibration, and heat generation. The same concept of output applies hereinafter.

[0017] In addition, the present system may be realized as a single device, equipment, terminal, or other device, or may be realized as a network system in which multiple devices, equipment, terminals, or other devices are connected to enable communication. In the latter case, each component may belong to any of the multiple devices as long as they are connected to enable communication. The same applies to the trademark support systems of inventions 12, 14 to 16, and 18 to 21 below.

[0018] [Invention 2] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 2 is the trademark support system of Invention 1, wherein the output means outputs information about the goods or services such that the hierarchical structure of the goods or services can be expanded or collapsed.

[0019] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about the product or service such that the hierarchical structure of the product or service can be expanded or collapsed.

[0020] [Invention 3] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 3 is the trademark support system of Invention 1, wherein the output means outputs information about goods or services in a manner that allows the hierarchical structure of goods or services to be expanded and collapsed, and when the hierarchical structure is collapsed, information about goods or services can be selected from information about goods or services belonging to a higher or same hierarchy, and when the hierarchical structure is expanded, information about goods or services can be selected from information about goods or services belonging to a higher or same hierarchy and the expanded lower hierarchy.

[0021] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about products or services such that the hierarchical structure of the products or services can be expanded and collapsed. When the hierarchical structure is collapsed, information about the products or services can be selected from information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy. When the hierarchical structure is expanded, information about the products or services can be selected from information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and an expanded lower level hierarchy.

[0022] [Invention 4] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 4, in the trademark support system of Invention 1, further comprises a category information acquisition means for acquiring category information relating to a category of goods or services, and a product information acquisition means for acquiring product information corresponding to the category information acquired by the category information acquisition means from a storage means that stores product information relating to a plurality of hierarchical goods or services in correspondence with category information relating to the categories, and the output means outputs information relating to goods or services in a hierarchical manner based on the product information acquired by the product information acquisition means.

[0023] In this configuration, the category information is acquired by the category information acquisition means, and the product information corresponding to the acquired category information is acquired from the storage means by the product information acquisition means. Then, the output means hierarchically outputs information related to the product or service based on the acquired product information.

[0024] Here, the classification information acquisition means may, for example, input classification information from an input device or the like, acquire or receive classification information from other equipment, apparatus, terminal or other device, read classification information from a storage device or storage medium, or generate or calculate classification information by information processing or the like. Therefore, acquisition includes at least input, acquisition, reception, reading (including search), generation and calculation. The same concept of acquisition will be used hereinafter.

[0025] The product information acquisition means includes, for example, a configuration for acquiring product information corresponding to category information by estimating product information from category information using a trained model in a storage means that stores a trained model trained based on learning data including product information and category information. The same concept applies hereinafter to acquiring information from a storage means.

[0026] In addition, storing product information in association with category information includes, for example, (1) storing product information and category information in a direct association, such as by registering them in the same record, and (2) storing via one or more pieces of intermediate information, such as by providing a table for registering product information and intermediate information in association with each other, and a table for registering category information and intermediate information in association with each other. Also includes storing as a trained model trained based on training data including product information and category information. In other words, any data structure can be adopted as long as the product information can be traced from the category information. Note that it is sufficient for product information to be stored in a storage means in association with category information, and it is not necessarily required to store category information in the storage means. The same concept applies hereinafter to storing information in association with each other.

[0027] The storage means stores the product information by any means and at any time, and may store the product information in advance, or may store the product information by external input during the operation of the system without storing the product information in advance. The same applies to the trademark support systems of inventions 13, 18 to 21 below.

[0028] [Invention 5] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 5 is the trademark support system of Invention 4, wherein the product information is a group of goods or services that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code, and includes group information on the group to which the goods or services related to the product information belong, and the output means outputs information on the goods or services on a group basis.

[0029] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about the products or services in groups.

[0030] Here, one group can be composed of one or more goods or services, and one good or service can belong to one or more groups. The same applies to the trademark support system of invention 15 below.

[0031] In addition, the term "similar group codes are common" means that, in the case where multiple goods or services belong to one group, a part or all of the similar group code of one of the goods or services belonging to the group matches a part or all of the similar group code of another of the goods or services belonging to the same group. As long as at least one similar group code is the same for at least two goods or services belonging to the same group, the other similar group codes may be different. For example, when three goods 1 to 3 belong to the same group, goods 1 and 2 can be grouped into the same group even if goods 1 and 2 share similar group code A and goods 2 and 3 share similar group code B. The same applies below to the trademark support systems of inventions 12 and 15.

[0032] [Invention 6] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 6 is the trademark support system of Invention 5, further comprising a registration means for registering information regarding all products or services belonging to a selected group from the output results of the output means in a product list.

[0033] With this configuration, the registration means registers, in the product list, information on all of the products or services that belong to the selected group from the output results of the output means.

[0034] [Invention 7] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 7 is the trademark support system of Invention 5, wherein the output means outputs information about goods or services in an expandable and collapsible hierarchical structure of goods or services, and when the hierarchical structure is in a collapsed state, registers in the product list information about all goods or services belonging to a selected group among information about goods or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy, and when the hierarchical structure is in an expanded state, registers in the product list information about all goods or services belonging to a selected group among information about goods or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and the expanded lower level.

[0035] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about products or services such that the hierarchical structure of the products or services can be expanded and collapsed. When the hierarchical structure is collapsed, the registration means registers in the product list all of the information about products or services belonging to the selected group among the information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy. When the hierarchical structure is expanded, the registration means registers in the product list all of the information about products or services belonging to the selected group among the information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and the expanded lower level.

[0036] [Invention 8] The trademark support system of Invention 8 further comprises, in the trademark support system of Invention 4, a registration means for registering information on all of the products or services in the output result of the output means in a product list.

[0037] With this configuration, the registration means registers information about all of the products or services in the output results of the output means in a product list.

[0038] [Invention 9] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 9 is the trademark support system of Invention 4, wherein the output means outputs information about goods or services in an expandable and collapsible hierarchical structure of goods or services, and includes a registration means for registering, in a product list, information about all goods or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy when the hierarchical structure is collapsed, and for registering, in a product list, information about all goods or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and the expanded lower level when the hierarchical structure is expanded.

[0039] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about products or services such that the hierarchical structure of the products or services can be expanded and collapsed. When the hierarchical structure is collapsed, the registration means registers information about all products or services belonging to higher or same levels in the product list. When the hierarchical structure is expanded, the registration means registers information about all products or services belonging to higher or same levels and expanded lower levels in the product list.

[0040] [Invention 10] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 10 is the trademark support system of Invention 4, and further comprises a second product information acquisition means which refers to a storage means which stores group information on one of the groups into which goods or services are grouped, in correspondence with group information on other groups related to the one group, and acquires goods or services belonging to the other groups and product information on the one group, and the output means outputs information on goods or services on a group basis based on the product information acquired by the second product information acquisition means.

[0041] With this configuration, the second product information acquisition means acquires product information related to the group, and the output means outputs information related to the product or service on a group-by-group basis based on the acquired product information.

[0042] Here, one group can be composed of one or more goods or services, and one good or service can belong to one or more groups. The same applies to the trademark support system of invention 14 below.

[0043] The storage means stores the group information by any means and at any time, and may store the group information in advance, or may store the group information by external input during operation of the system without storing the group information in advance. The same applies to the trademark support system of invention 14 below.

[0044] [Invention 11] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 11 is the trademark support system of Invention 5, wherein the output means outputs information regarding goods or services on a group basis based on other groups related to one of the groups and product information regarding the goods or services belonging to the one group.

[0045] With this configuration, the output means outputs information about the product or service on a group basis based on the product information to which the group is related.

[0046] [Invention 12] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 12 includes an output means for outputting information on goods or services in units of groups based on groups of goods or services that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code and on product information on the goods or services that belong to the groups.

[0047] When selecting goods or services in trademark practice, the similarity group code may be taken into consideration, since it serves as the standard for determining the scope of trademark search and the range of similarity.

[0048] However, in the technologies of Patent Documents 1 and 2, groups are formed by the products or services estimated by the trained model, and although there is a certain correlation between the products or services belonging to the group, the nature of that correlation is unclear. For this reason, it is difficult to select products or services taking into account similar group codes.

[0049] Therefore, Invention 12 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for selecting goods or services.

[0050] With the above configuration, the output means outputs information about the product or service in units of groups based on the product information.

[0051] [Invention 13] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 13, in the trademark support system of Invention 12, further comprises a category information acquisition means for acquiring category information relating to the category, and a product information acquisition means for acquiring product information relating to the category from a storage means for storing product information relating to goods or services and groups of goods or services that belong to the same category and have a common similar group code, in correspondence with category information relating to the category, and the output means outputs information relating to goods or services on a group basis based on the product information acquired by the product information acquisition means.

[0052] In this configuration, the category information is acquired by the category information acquisition means, and the product information corresponding to the acquired category information is acquired from the storage means by the product information acquisition means. Then, the output means outputs information related to the products or services in units of groups based on the acquired product information.

[0053] [Invention 14] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 14 comprises a product information acquisition means for referring to a storage means that stores group information on one of the groups into which goods or services are grouped, in correspondence with group information on other groups related to the one group, and acquiring goods or services belonging to the other groups and product information on the one group, and an output means for outputting information on goods or services on a group basis based on the product information acquired by the product information acquisition means.

[0054] When selecting goods or services in trademark practice, one may consider the relatedness of a group of goods or services.

[0055] However, in the technologies of Patent Documents 1 and 2, groups are formed by products or services estimated by a trained model, and although there is a certain degree of relevance between products or services belonging to a group, the relevance is not presented on a product or service group basis. Even if there is relevance on a product or service basis, there may be no relevance on a group basis, or vice versa, making it difficult to select products or services in consideration of the relevance of product or service groups.

[0056] Therefore, Invention 14 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for selecting goods or services.

[0057] With the above configuration, the product information acquisition means acquires product information related to the group, and the output means outputs information related to the product or service on a group-by-group basis based on the acquired product information.

[0058] [Invention 15] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 15 comprises an output means for outputting information on goods or services on a group basis, based on product information on other groups related to one of the groups into which goods or services belonging to the same classification and a common similar group code are grouped, and on goods or services belonging to the group.

[0059] In trademark practice, when selecting goods or services, the similar group code may be taken into consideration, since the similar group code is the standard for determining the scope of trademark search and the similarity range. In addition, the relevance of the group of goods or services may be taken into consideration when making the selection.

[0060] However, in the technologies of Patent Documents 1 and 2, groups are formed by the products or services estimated by the trained model, and although there is a certain correlation between the products or services belonging to the group, the nature of that correlation is unclear. For this reason, it is difficult to select products or services taking into account similar group codes.

[0061] Furthermore, the technologies of Patent Documents 1 and 2 do not present relevance on a group basis for products or services. Even if there is relevance on a product or service basis, there may be no relevance on a group basis, or vice versa, making it difficult to select products or services by considering the relevance of the product or service group.

[0062] Therefore, Invention 15 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for selecting goods or services.

[0063] With the above configuration, the output means outputs information about products or services on a group-by-group basis, based on product information to which the group is related.

[0064] [Invention 16] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 16 comprises a first output means for outputting information relating to a product or service based on product information relating to the product or service, a first registration means for registering information relating to a product or service selected from the output result of the first output means in a product list, a second output means for outputting information relating to a product or service based on the product information relating to the product or service and information on the product list, and a second registration means for registering information relating to a product or service selected from the output result of the second output means in the product list.

[0065] The technology of Patent Document 3 (JP Patent Publication No. 2023-169744) searches for products or services based on a search key, and selects the products or services from the search results.

[0066] However, in the technology of Patent Document 3, when considering searching for products or services from multiple angles by combining multiple search functions, since the search functions are independent, it is difficult to select products or services from the search results obtained by one search function while taking into account the products or services obtained by another search function.

[0067] Therefore, Invention 16 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for selecting goods or services.

[0068] With the above configuration, the first output means outputs information about the product or service based on the product information, and the first registration means registers the information about the product or service selected from the output result of the first output means in the product list. Also, the second output means outputs information about the product or service based on the product information and the information in the product list, and the second registration means registers the information about the product or service selected from the output result of the second output means in the product list.

[0069] [Invention 17] Furthermore, in the trademark support system of Invention 17, in the trademark support system of Invention 16, the first output means outputs information about goods or services based on information in the product list.

[0070] With this configuration, the first output means outputs information about the product or service based on the information in the product list.

[0071] [Invention 18] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 18 comprises an extraction means for extracting information on goods or services and information on a product or service category from a search query to which a plurality of search keys are linked, and an acquisition means for acquiring the product information corresponding to the information extracted by the extraction means from a storage means that stores product information on goods or services in correspondence with information on the category.

[0072] In the technology of Patent Document 4 (J-PlatPat product / service name search), when you want to search for a product or service in a specific category, you need to take three actions: (1) enter the category you want to narrow down in the category search box, (2) enter a search key related to the product or service in the product / service name search box, and (3) click the search button.

[0073] In addition, if you want to search for goods or services using a specific similar group code, you need to take three actions: (1) enter the similar group code you want to narrow down in the similar group code search box, (2) enter the search key for the goods or services in the product / service name search box, and (3) click the Search button.

[0074] Also, if you want to search for goods or services by a specific category and similar group code, you need to take three actions: (1) enter the category you want to narrow down in the category search box, (2) enter the similar group code you want to narrow down in the similar group code search box, and (3) click the Search button. Furthermore, if you want to narrow down by a search key related to goods or services, you need to take four actions: enter (1) and (2), (3) enter the search key related to goods or services in the product / service name search box, and (4) click the Search button.

[0075] Therefore, when there are two or more narrowing conditions, it is not easy to obtain the goods or services. In the technology of Patent Document 4, when there are two or more narrowing down conditions, it is not easy to obtain goods or services.

[0076] Therefore, Invention 18 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for acquiring goods or services when there are two or more narrowing down conditions.

[0077] With the above configuration, the extraction means extracts information about the product or service and information about the category from the search query, and the acquisition means acquires product information corresponding to the extracted information from the storage means.

[0078] Here, the search query may include one or more pieces of information about the product or service as a search key. The same applies to the trademark support systems of Inventions 19 and 21 below.

[0079] In addition, the search query may include one or more pieces of information about the classification as a search key. The same applies to the trademark support systems of Inventions 20 and 21 below.

[0080] [Invention 19] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 19 comprises an extraction means for extracting information on goods or services and information on similar group codes from a search query to which a plurality of search keys are linked, and an acquisition means for acquiring the product information on goods or services corresponding to the information extracted by the extraction means from a storage means that stores the product information in association with information on similar group codes.

[0081] In the technology of Patent Document 4, when there are two or more narrowing down conditions, it is not easy to obtain goods or services.

[0082] Therefore, Invention 19 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for acquiring goods or services when there are two or more narrowing down conditions.

[0083] With the above configuration, the extraction means extracts information about the product or service and information about the similar group code from the search query, and the acquisition means acquires product information corresponding to the extracted information from the storage means.

[0084] Here, the search query may include one or more pieces of information on similar group codes as search keys. The same applies to the trademark support systems of Inventions 20 and 21 below.

[0085] [Invention 20] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 20 comprises an extraction means for extracting information regarding the classification of goods or services and information regarding similar group codes from a search query to which a plurality of search keys are linked, and an acquisition means for acquiring the product information corresponding to the information extracted by the extraction means from a storage means that stores product information regarding goods or services in correspondence with information regarding the classification and similar group codes.

[0086] In the technology of Patent Document 4, when there are two or more narrowing down conditions, it is not easy to obtain goods or services.

[0087] Therefore, Invention 20 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of such conventional technology, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for acquiring goods or services when there are two or more narrowing down conditions.

[0088] With the above configuration, the extraction means extracts information about the category and information about the similar group code from the search query, and the acquisition means acquires product information corresponding to the extracted information from the storage means.

[0089] [Invention 21] Furthermore, the trademark support system of Invention 21 comprises an extraction means for extracting information on goods or services, information on the classification of goods or services, and information on similar group codes from a search query to which a plurality of search keys are linked, and an acquisition means for acquiring the product information corresponding to the information extracted by the extraction means from a storage means that stores product information on goods or services in correspondence with information on the classification and similar group codes.

[0090] In the technology of Patent Document 4, when there are two or more narrowing down conditions, it is not easy to obtain goods or services.

[0091] Therefore, Invention 21 has been made with a focus on the unresolved problems of the prior art, and aims to provide a trademark support system that is suitable for acquiring goods or services when there are two or more narrowing down conditions.

[0092] With the above configuration, the extraction means extracts information regarding the product or service, information regarding the category, and information regarding the similar group code from the search query, and the acquisition means acquires product information corresponding to the extracted information from the storage means. Effect of the Invention

[0093] As described above, according to the trademark support system of Invention 1, it is possible to select information about goods or services taking into account hierarchical relationships.

[0094] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 2 or 3, it is possible to expand or collapse the hierarchical structure and select information relating to goods or services.

[0095] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 4, it is possible to select information about goods or services corresponding to a category.

[0096] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 5, it is possible to select information on goods or services in units of groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0097] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Inventions 6 and 7, information on all products or services belonging to a selected group can be registered in a product list all at once.

[0098] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Inventions 8 or 9, information on all products or services output from the output means can be registered in a product list all at once.

[0099] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 10, it is possible to select information on goods or services on a group basis for related groups.

[0100] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 11, for related groups, it is possible to select information on goods or services in units of groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0101] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 12, it is possible to select information on goods or services in units of groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0102] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 13, it is possible to select information on goods or services corresponding to a category.

[0103] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 14, it is possible to select information on goods or services on a group basis for related groups.

[0104] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 15, for related groups, information on goods or services can be selected in units of groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0105] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 16, it is possible to select information relating to goods or services from the output result of the second output means, taking into consideration the output result of the first output means.

[0106] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 17, it is possible to select information relating to goods or services from the output result of the first output means, taking into consideration the output result of the second output means.

[0107] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 18, if a search query including information on the product or service and information on the classification is given, product information corresponding to this information can be obtained.

[0108] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 19, if a search query including information on goods or services and information on similar group codes is given, product information corresponding to this information can be obtained.

[0109] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 20, if a search query including information on the classification and information on the similar group code is given, product information corresponding to this information can be obtained.

[0110] Furthermore, according to the trademark support system of Invention 21, by providing a search query including information on the goods or services, information on the classification, and information on the similar group code, it is possible to obtain product information corresponding to this information. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0111] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a hardware configuration of a trademark support device 100. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the data structure of a product information table 400. [Diagram 3] 13 is a diagram showing the data structure of a related group information table 430. FIG. [Figure 4] 13 is a flowchart showing a main process. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart showing a first product selection process 1. [Figure 6] 13 is a screen for explaining an operation when selecting a category. [Figure 7] This is a screen for explaining the operation when displaying products (services). [Figure 8] 13 is a flowchart showing a first product selection process 2. [Figure 9] 13 is a screen for explaining the operation when expanding a hierarchical structure. [Figure 10] 13 is a screen for explaining the operation when expanding a hierarchical structure. [Figure 11] This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 12] This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 13] This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 14] This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 15] This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 16]This is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Figure 17] This is a screen for explaining the operation when canceling the selection of a product (service). [Figure 18] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) belonging to a group are selected. [Figure 19] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) belonging to a group are selected. [Figure 20] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) belonging to a group are selected. [Figure 21] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) in a category are selected. [Figure 22] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) in a category are selected. [Diagram 23] This is a screen for explaining the operation when all products (services) in a category are selected. [Figure 24] 13 is a screen for explaining the operation when displaying products (services) of a related group. [Diagram 25] 13 is a flowchart showing a second product selection process. [Figure 26] This is a screen for explaining the operation when searching for a product (service). [Figure 27] This is a screen for explaining the operation when searching for a product (service). [Figure 28] This is a screen for explaining the operation when searching for a product (service). [Figure 29] This is a screen for explaining the operation when searching for a product (service). [Diagram 30] 13 is a screen for explaining an operation when selecting a product (service) using a function related to a second product selection process. [Diagram 31] 3 is a screen for explaining an operation when selecting a product (service) using a function related to the third product selection process. [Diagram 32]FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network system. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0112] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

[0113] (Definition of terms) In the following description, goods or services are referred to as "goods (services)". However, in the flowcharts of Figures 4, 5, 8, and 25, they are referred to as "goods" for the sake of simplicity. Furthermore, a group related to a group is referred to as an "related group".

[0114] First, the configuration of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the hardware configuration of a trademark support device 100. As shown in FIG.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 1, the trademark support device 100 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 30 which controls calculations and the entire system based on a control program, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 32 which stores the control program etc. of the CPU 30 in a specified area, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 34 for storing data read from the ROM 32 etc. and calculation results required in the calculation process of the CPU 30, and an I / F (InterFace) 38 which mediates the input and output of data to and from external devices. These are connected to each other and capable of sending and receiving data by a bus 39 which is a signal line for transferring data.

[0116] Connected to the I / F 38 as external devices are an input device 40 consisting of a keyboard, mouse, etc. capable of inputting data as a human interface, a storage device 42 which stores data, tables, etc. as files, and a display device 44 which displays a screen based on an image signal.

[0117] Next, the data structure of the storage device 42 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the data structure of the product information table 400. As shown in FIG.

[0118] The storage device 42 stores a product information table 400 as shown in FIG. One record is registered for each product (service) in the product information table 400. Each record includes a field 402 for registering a product ID that is uniquely assigned to the product (service). In the following explanation of fields 404 to 418, the product (service) related to the field 402 is referred to as the "target product (service)."

[0119] Each record further includes a field 404 for registering the product ID of a product (service) that is a higher-level concept of the target product (service).

[0120] In the example of FIG. 2, the product "Clothing" is assigned the product ID "4675", and the products "Western Western Clothing" to "Shirts" are assigned the product IDs "4676", "4677", "4678", and "4679", as well as the product ID of its higher-level concept, "4675". This indicates that the product of the higher-level concept of the products "Western Western Clothing" to "Shirts" is the product "Clothing". In this case, the products "Western Western Clothing" to "Shirts" belong to a hierarchical level one level lower than the product "Clothing".

[0121] Additionally, the products "Evening Dress" to "Skirt" are set with product IDs "4680" to "4689" and their higher-level product ID "4676", respectively. This indicates that the higher-level product of the products "Evening Dress" to "Skirt" is the product "Western Clothing". In this case, the products "Evening Dress" to "Skirt" belong to a level one level lower than the product "Western Clothing".

[0122] Each record further includes a field 406 for registering a group ID that is uniquely assigned to the group to which the target product (service) belongs.

[0123] Regarding groups, goods (services) that belong to the same classification and share a common similar group code are grouped. "Shared similar group codes" means that, when multiple goods (services) belong to one group, part or all of the similar group code of one good (service) belonging to the group matches part or all of the similar group code of another good (service) belonging to the same group. As long as at least one similar group code is the same for at least two goods (services) belonging to the same group, the other similar group codes may be different. For example, when three goods 1 to 3 belong to the same group, even if goods 1 and 2 share similar group code A and goods 2 and 3 share similar group code B, they can be grouped into the same group.

[0124] In the example of Figure 2, the group ID "556" is set for the products "Clothing" through "Skirt." This indicates that the products "Clothing" through "Skirt" are in the same group. These products all belong to category "25" and are commonly assigned the similar group code "17A01."

[0125] Each record further includes a field 408 for registering the display order of the target product (service) in the hierarchy one hierarchy level below (hereinafter referred to as the "second hierarchy level") from the top hierarchy level (hereinafter referred to as the "first hierarchy level") when the target product (service) belongs to a lower hierarchy level.

[0126] In the example of Figure 2, the products "Clothing" through "Shirts" are set with No. 1 "1" through "4", respectively. This indicates that in the second level displayed by expanding the product "Clothing", the products "Clothing", "Coats", "Sweaters", and "Shirts" are displayed in that order.

[0127] Each record further includes a field 410 for registering the display order of the target product (service) in the hierarchy one hierarchy lower than the second hierarchy (hereinafter referred to as the "third hierarchy") if the target product (service) belongs to a lower hierarchy.

[0128] In the example of Figure 2, the products "Evening Dress" to "Skirt" are set with No. 2 "1" to "10", respectively. This indicates that the products "Evening Dress" to "Skirt" are displayed in that order in the third layer when the product "Clothes" is expanded and displayed.

[0129] Each record further includes a field 412 for registering the hierarchical level to which the target product (service) belongs.

[0130] In the example of Figure 2, the products "Clothing", "Western Western Clothing", and "Evening Dresses" are set to the hierarchical levels "1", "2", and "3", respectively. This indicates that the product "Clothing" belongs to the first hierarchical level, the product "Western Western Clothing" to the second hierarchical level, and the product "Evening Dresses" to the third hierarchical level.

[0131] Each record further includes a field 414 for registering the classification of the target product (service), a field 416 for registering the name of the target product (service), and a field 418 for registering the similar group code of the target product (service).

[0132] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the data structure of the related group information table 430. As shown in FIG. The storage device 42 further stores a related group information table 430 as shown in FIG.

[0133] In the related group information table 430, one record is registered for each combination of a group and a related group.

[0134] Each record includes a field 432 for registering the group ID of the group, a field 434 for registering the group ID of the related group of the group, and a field 436 for registering the degree of association of the groups in fields 432 and 434.

[0135] In the example of Fig. 3, group ID "556" is associated with group IDs of related groups "564", "569", "576", "586", "587", and "590", and with relevance levels "1391", "1317", "1305", "1179", "1144", and "1105", respectively. This indicates that the group with group ID "556" is associated with groups with group IDs "564", "569", "576", "586", "587", and "590", and that the relevance levels are highest in that order.

[0136] The relevance can be set, for example, by the following configuration. The first configuration is as follows: For each product (service) in group A and for each product (service) in group B, the number of past trademark registrations in which that product (service) in group A and that product (service) in group B are both designated (number of occurrences) is calculated, and the largest number of occurrences is set as the relevance of groups A and B.

[0137] The second configuration is as follows: For each product (service) in group A, the number of times (number of occurrences) that the product (service) is designated among past trademark registrations is calculated, and the product (service) with the highest number of occurrences is designated as the representative product (service) of group A. Then, for each product (service) in group B, the number of times (number of occurrences) that the product (service) is designated among trademark registrations in which the representative product (service) of group A is designated is calculated, and the highest number of occurrences is set as the relevance between groups A and B.

[0138] The third configuration is as follows: For each product (service) in group A, the number of times (number of occurrences) that the product (service) is designated in past trademark registrations is calculated, and the product (service) with the highest number of occurrences is designated as the representative product (service) of group A. A representative product (service) is identified in the same manner for group B. Then, the number of times (number of occurrences) that the representative product (service) of group A and the representative product (service) of group B are both designated in past trademark registrations is calculated, and the highest number of occurrences is set as the relevance of groups A and B.

[0139] As the relevance, in addition to the highest number of occurrences, for example, the lowest number of occurrences, a predetermined number of occurrences from the top or bottom, a number of occurrences above or below a predetermined value, or the average number of occurrences, median, or other statistical value can be used. Also, as the representative product (service), in addition to the product (service) with the highest number of occurrences, for example, the product (service) with the lowest number of occurrences, a product (service) with a predetermined order of occurrences from the top or bottom, a product (service) with the number of occurrences or its average number, median, or other statistical value above or below a predetermined value can be used.

[0140] The storage device 42 further stores a product list (not shown) in which the name, category and similar group code of each product (service) selected by the user are registered.

[0141] Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the main processing.

[0142] The CPU 30 is composed of an MPU (Micro-Processing Unit) or the like, and starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM 32, and executes the main processing shown in the flowchart of Fig. 4 according to the program. The main processing is executed in response to a request from a user, and when executed by the CPU 30, the process first proceeds to step S100 as shown in Fig. 4.

[0143] In step S100, a first product selection process is executed in which the products (services) are displayed in an expandable and collapsible hierarchical structure, and a product (service) selected from the displayed product list is registered in a common product list.

[0144] Next, the process proceeds to step S102, where a second product selection process is executed in which products (services) are searched for and displayed based on the search key, and a product (service) selected from the displayed product list is registered in a common product list.

[0145] Next, the process proceeds to step S104, where a third product selection process is executed in which products (services) are searched for and displayed based on the search key, and a product (service) selected from the displayed product list is registered in a common product list.

[0146] The first to third product selection processes are switched and executed in response to a user request by the user selecting from a menu.

[0147] Next, the process proceeds to step S106 to determine whether or not the end of the process has been requested by the user, and if it is determined that the end of the process has been requested (YES), the process proceeds to step S108 to output the product list information to a file, etc. The user can use the output file, etc. to create a trademark registration application, etc.

[0148] When the process of step S108 ends, the series of processes ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S106 that the end of the process is not requested (NO), the process proceeds to step S100.

[0149] [First product selection process] Next, a case where a product (service) is selected using a function related to the first product selection process will be described.

[0150] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the first product selection process 1. The CPU 30 starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM 32, and executes a first product selection process 1 shown in the flowchart of Fig. 5 in accordance with the program. When the first product selection process 1 is executed in step S100, as shown in Fig. 5, it first proceeds to step S200.

[0151] In step S200, it is determined whether or not a category has been selected from the category list by the user, and if it is determined that a category has been selected (YES), the process proceeds to step S202.

[0152] FIG. 6 shows a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a category. A category list 500 is displayed in the upper left part of the screen in Fig. 6. In the category list 500, 45 categories, from class 1 to class 45, are indicated by the numbers "1" to "45". The user selects the category of the product (service) that he or she wishes to select from the category list 500.

[0153] An area 502 for displaying a product list is provided on the right side of the screen in Fig. 6. In the example of Fig. 6, no product (service) has been selected yet, so the product list is not displayed. Note that by clicking button 504, the contents of the product list can be cleared (all products (services) in the product list can be deleted).

[0154] In step S202, product information corresponding to the selected category is obtained from the product information table 400, and the process proceeds to step S204.

[0155] In step S204, the products (services) are displayed on the display device 44 by group based on the product information and product list information acquired in step S202. Each product (service) is provided with a check box (hereinafter referred to as a "product selection check box") for selecting that product (service). If that product (service) is registered in the product list, the product selection check box is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed. The same applies to the check box for selecting all products (services) belonging to a group (hereinafter referred to as a "group all selection check box") and the check box for selecting all products (services) in a category (hereinafter referred to as a "category all selection check box").

[0156] FIG. 7 shows a screen for explaining the operation when displaying a product (service). On the screen of Fig. 6, when the user clicks, for example, on category "25" (symbol 506) from category list 500, products in category "25" are displayed by group in product list area 508, as shown in Fig. 7. Products (services) belonging to the same group are surrounded by a frame or the like, and are displayed in a manner that makes the groups identifiable.

[0157] The first group from the top is the group to which the product "Clothing" belongs. The product "Clothing" is assigned five similar group codes: "17A01 17A02 17A03 17A04 17A07."

[0158] The second group from the top includes the products "Clothing" through "Dress shirts." The products "Clothing" through "Dress shirts" are each assigned the similar group code "17A01."

[0159] The third group from the top includes the products "nightwear" through "swimming caps." The products "nightwear" through "swimming caps" are each assigned the similar group code "17A02."

[0160] Each product (service) is provided with a check box (product selection check box) 510. The user can select the product (service) by checking the product selection check box.

[0161] A check box 512 (select all group check box) is provided at the top left of each group. By checking the select all group check box, the user can select all products (services) belonging to that group.

[0162] A check box 514 (select all category check box) is provided at the top of the product list area 508. The user can select all products (services) in a category by checking a select all category check box.

[0163] The selected product (service) is registered in the product list. In the product list, duplicate products (services) are removed. Also, when the check box 510 to 514 is unchecked, the corresponding product (service) is deleted from the product list.

[0164] When the process of step S204 ends, the series of processes ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S200 that no category has been selected (NO), the series of processes ends.

[0165] Next, the operation for selecting a product (service) will be described. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the first product selection process 2.

[0166] The CPU 30 starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM 32, and executes a first product selection process 2 shown in the flowchart of Fig. 8 in accordance with the program. The first product selection process 2 is executed when a product (service) is displayed by the process of step S204, and when executed by the CPU 30, first, the process proceeds to step S300 as shown in Fig. 8.

[0167] In step S300, it is determined whether or not the user has clicked on an expansion icon for expanding the hierarchical structure. If it is determined that the expansion icon has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S302, where the hierarchical structure of the product (service) corresponding to the expansion icon is expanded, and the products (services) belonging to the lower hierarchical level of that product (service) are displayed on the display device 44.

[0168] 9 and 10 are screens for explaining the operation when expanding a hierarchical structure. [Expansion of the first layer] When the user clicks on the expand icon 516 for the product "Clothing" on the screen of Fig. 7, the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded as shown in Fig. 9, and products belonging to the lower hierarchical levels, such as "Western clothes" to "Eye masks" and other products (not shown), are displayed. Products (services) in the lower hierarchical levels are displayed with an indentation provided with respect to products (services) in the hierarchical levels above them.

[0169] [Development of the second layer] Furthermore, when the user clicks on the expand icon 516 for the product "Clothes" on the screen of Fig. 9, the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothes" is expanded as shown in Fig. 10, and products belonging to the lower hierarchical levels, such as "Evening Dress" to "Ski Trousers" and other products (not shown), are displayed. Products (services) in lower hierarchical levels are displayed with an indentation provided with respect to products (services) in the hierarchical level above them.

[0170] Next, the process proceeds to step S304 to determine whether or not a collapse icon for collapsing the hierarchical structure has been clicked by the user. If it is determined that the collapse icon has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S306 to collapse the hierarchical structure of the product (service) corresponding to the collapse icon, and hide the products (services) belonging to the lower hierarchical level of that product (service).

[0171] [Collapse of the second layer] When the user clicks on the collapse icon 518 for the product "Clothes" on the screen of Figure 10, the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothes" is collapsed as shown in Figure 9, and the products in the lower hierarchy, from "Evening Dress" to "Ski Trousers" and other products not shown, are hidden.

[0172] [Collapse of the first layer] Furthermore, when the user clicks on the collapse icon 518 for the product "Clothing" on the screen of FIG. 9, the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is collapsed as shown in FIG. 7, and the products in the lower hierarchical levels, from "Clothing" to "Eye Masks" and other products not shown, are hidden.

[0173] Next, the process proceeds to step S308, where it is determined whether or not a product selection checkbox has been clicked by the user. If it is determined that the product selection checkbox has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S310.

[0174] In step S310, it is determined whether the product selection checkbox has been checked as a result of the click, and if it is determined that the product selection checkbox has been checked (YES), the process proceeds to step S312, and the product (service) corresponding to the product selection checkbox is registered in the product list.

[0175] 11 to 16 are screens for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service). [Selection of goods (services)] When the user clicks on the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing" on the screen of FIG. 7, the selected product "Clothing" is registered in the product list 520 as shown in FIG.

[0176] [Selection of goods (services) at the second level] Furthermore, when the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded and in this state (the same expanded state as in Fig. 9), the user clicks the product selection checkboxes for the products "Western Dress" and "Coats", and the selected products "Western Dress" and "Coats" are registered in product list 520, as shown in Fig. 12. In product list 520, the products "Western Dress" and "Coats" are added next to the previously registered product "Clothing".

[0177] [Selection of goods (services) at the third level] Furthermore, when the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded and in this state (the same expanded state as in Fig. 10), the user clicks the product selection checkboxes for the products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform", the selected products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform" are registered in product list 520, as shown in Fig. 13. In product list 520, the products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform" are added next to the previously registered product "Coat".

[0178] [Selecting products (services) when expanding the first level] When the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded (Figure 9), when the user clicks on the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing", as shown in Figure 14, in addition to the selected product "Clothing", all products belonging to the lower hierarchy of the product "Clothing", from "Western Western Clothing" to "Fur Stoles" and other products not shown, are registered in product list 520.

[0179] Furthermore, when the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded and the products "Western Western Style" and "Coat" are selected (in the same expanded state as in FIG. 9), if the user clicks the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing", not only the selected product "Clothing", but also all products belonging to the lower hierarchical level of the product "Clothing", such as "Sweaters" through "Fur Stoles", and others, are registered in product list 520. In product list 520, the products "Clothing", "Sweaters" through "Fur Stoles", and others are added next to the previously registered product "Coat".

[0180] [Selecting products (services) when expanding the second level] When the hierarchical structure of the products "Clothing" and "Western Western" is expanded (Figure 10), when the user clicks on the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing", as shown in Figure 15, in addition to the selected product "Clothing", all products "Western Western" through "Sweaters" that belong to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing" and the hierarchy below the product "Western Western" are registered in product list 520.

[0181] Furthermore, when the hierarchical structure of the products "Clothing" and "Western Western clothing" is expanded and the products "Evening dress" and "School uniform" are selected (in the same expanded state as in FIG. 10), if the user clicks on the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing", not only the selected product "Clothing", but also all products belonging to the lower hierarchical levels of the product "Clothing" and the lower hierarchical levels of the product "Western Western clothing", such as "Western Western clothing", "Children's clothing", "Sweaters", and other products, are registered in product list 520. In product list 520, the products "Clothing", "Western Western clothing", "Children's clothing", "Sweaters", and other products are added next to the previously registered product "School uniform".

[0182] Furthermore, when the hierarchical structure of the products "Clothing" and "Western Western Clothing" is expanded and the products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform" are selected (the same expanded state as in Fig. 10), if the user clicks the product selection checkbox for the product "Western Western Clothing", as well as the selected product "Western Western Clothing", all the products that belong to the lower hierarchy of the product "Western Western Clothing", from "Children's Clothes" to "Formal Clothes", are registered in product list 520, as shown in Fig. 16. In product list 520, the products "Western Western Clothing", "Children's Clothes" to "Formal Clothes" are added next to the previously registered product "School Uniform".

[0183] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S310 that the product selection checkbox is not checked (NO), the process proceeds to step S314, where the product (service) corresponding to the product selection checkbox is deleted from the product list.

[0184] [Deselection of goods (services)] When the user unchecks the product "Clothing" on the screen of FIG. 11, the deselected product "Clothing" is deleted from the product list 520 as shown in FIG.

[0185] [Deselecting products (services) when the first level is expanded] When the user unchecks the item "Clothing" on the screen of Figure 12, as shown in Figure 9, in addition to the deselected item "Clothing", all items "Western Clothing" and "Coats" that belong to the lower hierarchy of the item "Clothing" are deleted from item list 520.

[0186] [Deselecting products (services) when the second level is expanded] When the user unchecks the product “Clothing” on the screen of FIG. 13, as well as the deselected product “Clothing”, all products “Clothing”, “Coats”, “Evening Dresses”, and “School Uniforms” that belong to the hierarchy below the product “Clothing” and the hierarchy below the product “Western Clothing” are deleted from product list 520, as shown in FIG. 10.

[0187] FIG. 17 shows a screen for explaining the operation when deselecting a product (service). Furthermore, when the user unchecks the product “Clothing” on the screen of FIG. 13, not only the deselected product “Clothing” but also all products “Evening Dress” and “School Uniform” that belong to the lower hierarchy of the product “Clothing” are deleted from product list 520, as shown in FIG. 17.

[0188] When the processes of steps S312 and S314 are completed, the process proceeds to step S316. In step S316, it is determined whether or not the select all group check box has been clicked by the user, and if it is determined that the select all group check box has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S318.

[0189] In step S318, it is determined whether the click has resulted in the group select all check box being checked, and if it is determined that the group select all check box is checked (YES), the process proceeds to step S320, and all products (services) belonging to the group corresponding to the group select all check box are registered in the product list.

[0190] 18 to 20 are screens for explaining the operation when all products (services) belonging to a group are selected.

[0191] [Select all groups] When the user clicks on the group all selection check box of the first group from the top on the screen of FIG. 7, all products "Clothing" belonging to the selected group are registered in product list 520 as shown in FIG.

[0192] [Select all groups when expanding the first level] When the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded (Figure 9), if the user clicks on the group all selection checkbox for the first group from the top, all products belonging to the selected group, from "Clothing" to "Fur Stoles" and other products not shown (the product "Clothing" and all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing") are registered in product list 520, as shown in Figure 19.

[0193] [Select all groups when expanding to the second level] When the hierarchical structure of the products "Clothing" and "Western Western" is expanded (Figure 10), if the user clicks on the group all selection checkbox for the first group from the top, all products belonging to the selected group, from "Clothing" to "Fur Stoles" and other products not shown (the product "Clothing" and all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing" and the hierarchy below the product "Western Western") will be registered in product list 520, as shown in Figure 20.

[0194] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S318 that the select all group check box is not checked (NO), the process proceeds to step S322, where all products (services) belonging to the group corresponding to the select all group check box are deleted from the product list.

[0195] [Deselect all in the group] When the user unchecks the first group from the top on the screen of FIG. 18, all of the products "Clothing" that belong to the deselected group are deleted from product list 520 as shown in FIG.

[0196] [Deselect all groups when expanding the first level] When the user unchecks the first group from the top on the screen of Figure 19, as shown in Figure 9, all products belonging to the deselected group, from "Clothing" to "Fur Stoles" and other products not shown (the product "Clothing" and all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing"), are deleted from product list 520.

[0197] [Deselect all groups when expanding to the second level] When the user unchecks the first group from the top on the screen of Figure 20, as shown in Figure 10, all products belonging to the deselected group, from "Clothing" to "Fur Stoles" and other products not shown (the product "Clothing" and all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing" and the hierarchy below the product "Western Western Clothing") are deleted from product list 520.

[0198] When the processes of steps S320 and S322 are completed, the process proceeds to step S324. In step S324, it is determined whether or not the select all category check box has been clicked by the user, and if it is determined that the select all category check box has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S326.

[0199] In step S326, it is determined whether the select all category check box has been checked as a result of the click, and if it is determined that the select all category check box has been checked (YES), the process proceeds to step S328, where all products (services) in the category corresponding to the select all category check box are registered in the product list.

[0200] 21 to 23 are screens for explaining the operation when all products (services) in a category are selected.

[0201] [Select all categories] When the user clicks the select all category checkbox on the screen of FIG. 7, all products in the selected category “25”, from “Clothing” to “Gaiters” and other products not shown, are registered in product list 520, as shown in FIG.

[0202] [Select all categories when expanding the first level] When the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded (Figure 9), if the user clicks the select all category checkbox, all products in the selected category "25", from "Clothing" to "Gaiters" and other products not shown (including all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing") are registered in product list 520, as shown in Figure 22.

[0203] [Select all categories when expanding to the second level] When the hierarchical structure of the products "Clothing" and "Western Western" is expanded (Figure 10), if the user clicks the "Select all category" checkbox, all products in the selected category "25", from "Clothing" to "Gaiters" and other products not shown (including all products in the hierarchy below the product "Clothing" and the hierarchy below the product "Western Western") are registered in product list 520, as shown in Figure 23.

[0204] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S326 that the select all category check box is not checked (NO), the process proceeds to step S330, where all products (services) in the category corresponding to the select all category check box are deleted from the product list.

[0205] [Deselect all categories] When the user unchecks a category on the screen of FIG. 21, all products in the deselected category “25”, from “Clothing” to “Gaiters” and other products not shown, are deleted from product list 520, as shown in FIG. 7.

[0206] [Deselect all categories when first level is expanded] When the user unchecks a category on the screen of Figure 22, as shown in Figure 9, all products in the deselected category "25", from "Clothing" to "Gaiters" and other products not shown (including all products belonging to the hierarchy below the product "Clothing") are deleted from product list 520.

[0207] [Deselect all categories when expanding the second level] When the user unchecks a category on the screen of Figure 23, as shown in Figure 10, all products in the deselected category "25", from "Clothing" to "Gaiters" and other products not shown (including all products in the hierarchy below the product "Clothing" and the hierarchy below the product "Western Western clothing") are deleted from product list 520.

[0208] When the processes of steps S328 and S330 are completed, the process proceeds to step S332. In step S332, it is determined whether or not the name of the product (service) has been clicked by the user, and if it is determined that the name of the product (service) has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S334.

[0209] In step S334, product information of the clicked product (service) is obtained from the product information table 400. Also, product information on products (services) that belong to related groups of the group to which the clicked product (service) belongs is obtained from the product information table 400. The related group is specified by referring to the related group information table 430 for the group ID of the related group corresponding to the group ID of the clicked product (service). The product information of the related group can be obtained, for example, as follows. (1) The group ID of the clicked product (service) is obtained from the product information table 400, the group ID of the related group corresponding to the obtained group ID is obtained from the related group information table 430, and the product information corresponding to the obtained group ID is obtained from the product information table 400. (2) The product information table 400 and the related group information table 430 are combined, and product information of the related group corresponding to the clicked product (service) is obtained from the combined table.

[0210] Next, the process proceeds to step S336, where products (services) are displayed on the display device 44 for each related group based on the product information and product list information acquired in step S334. A product selection checkbox is provided for each product (service). If the product (service) is registered in the product list, the product selection checkbox is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed. The same applies to the group all selection checkbox.

[0211] FIG. 24 shows a screen for explaining the operation when displaying products (services) in a related group.

[0212] On the screen of FIG. 7, when the user clicks on the name 522 of the product "Clothing", for example, a pop-up window is displayed as shown in FIG. 24. In the pop-up window, the clicked product "Clothing" is displayed. Below that, for related groups of the group to which the product "Clothing" belongs, products (services) belonging to that group are displayed by group. Products (services) belonging to the same group are surrounded by a frame or the like and displayed in a manner that allows the groups to be identified.

[0213] The product "Footwear" belongs to the first group from the top. The product "Clothing" belongs to category "25" and is assigned two similar group codes "22A01 22A03".

[0214] The second group from the top includes the products "Garters" through "Belts." The products "Garters" through "Belts" belong to category "25" and are assigned the similar group code "21A01."

[0215] The product "Fancy dress clothing" belongs to the third group from the top. The product "Fancy dress clothing" belongs to category "25" and is assigned the similar group code "24A03."

[0216] In the example of Fig. 24, the classification of all related groups is "25", but depending on the relevance of the groups, groups with a classification different from the classification of the clicked product (service) may also be displayed. Therefore, unlike the screen of Fig. 7, the screen of Fig. 24 displays a classification for each product (service).

[0217] The user can select a product (service) by checking the product selection checkbox. If the product (service) is registered in the product list, the product selection checkbox is checked when the pop-up window is opened.

[0218] A select all group check box is provided at the top left of each group. The user can select all products (services) belonging to that group by checking the select all group check box. If all products (services) belonging to that group are registered in the product list, the select all group check box is checked when the pop-up window is opened.

[0219] The operations for expanding a hierarchical structure, collapsing a hierarchical structure, selecting a product (service), deselecting a product (service), selecting all of a group, and deselecting all of a group are similar to the processes in steps S300 to S322 and FIGS. 9 to 20.

[0220] When the user has completed the selection of the product (service), etc., he / she closes the pop-up window. Closing the pop-up window returns the screen to the original screen (for example, the screen in FIG. 7). If a product (service) was selected in the pop-up window, the selected product (service) is registered in the product list on the original screen. Similarly, if a product (service) is deselected in the pop-up window, the deselected product (service) is deleted from the product list on the original screen.

[0221] When the process of step S336 ends, the series of processes ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S332 that the name of the product (service) has not been clicked (NO), the series of processes ends.

[0222] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S324 that the select all category check box has not been clicked (NO), the process proceeds to step S332.

[0223] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S316 that the select all group check box has not been clicked (NO), the process proceeds to step S324.

[0224] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S308 that the product selection check box has not been clicked (NO), the process proceeds to step S316.

[0225] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S304 that the collapse icon has not been clicked (NO), the process proceeds to step S308.

[0226] On the other hand, if it is determined in step S300 that the unfold icon has not been clicked (NO), the process proceeds to step S304.

[0227] [Second product selection process] Next, a case where a product (service) is selected using a function related to the second product selection process will be described.

[0228] FIG. 25 is a flowchart showing the second product selection process. The CPU 30 starts a predetermined program stored in a predetermined area of ​​the ROM 32, and executes a second product selection process shown in the flowchart of Fig. 25 in accordance with the program. When the second product selection process is executed in step S102, as shown in Fig. 25, the process first proceeds to step S400.

[0229] In step S400, it is determined whether the search button has been clicked by the user, and if it is determined that the search button has been clicked (YES), the process proceeds to step S402, where the search query entered in the search box is acquired. The search query is configured as a character string consisting of one search key, or a character string in which multiple search keys are concatenated and separated by a delimiter such as a space.

[0230] Next, the process proceeds to step S404, where categories are extracted from the search query acquired in step S402. Since categories consist of one or two digit numbers, one or two digit numbers (hereinafter referred to as "category-corresponding search keys") are extracted as categories from among the search keys separated by delimiters in the search query.

[0231] Next, the process proceeds to step S406, where a similar group code is extracted from the search query acquired in step S402. Since a similar group code consists of a two-digit number, one alphabetic character, and two-digit number, among the search keys separated by delimiters in the search query, a character consisting of two-digit number, one alphabetic character, and two-digit number (hereinafter referred to as a "similar group corresponding search key") is extracted as a similar group code.

[0232] Next, the process proceeds to step S408, where products (services) (more precisely, keywords that are to be partially matched with the products (services) to be searched) are extracted from the search query acquired in step S402. Since products (services) are search keys that do not correspond to either the category or the similar group code, among the search keys separated by delimiters in the search query, those other than the category-corresponding search keys and the similar group-corresponding search keys are extracted as products (services).

[0233] Next, proceed to step S410 to obtain a search method to determine whether to perform an AND search or an OR search, and proceed to step S412 to obtain product information corresponding to the products (services), categories, and similar group codes extracted in steps S404 to S408 from product information table 400 according to the obtained search method.

[0234] When the search method is an AND search, product information that matches all search keys is retrieved. Matches are determined by partial matches. For example, if the product "Clothing" and category "25" are given as search keys, product information for products (services) in category "25" that also contain the word "clothing" is retrieved.

[0235] When the search method is an OR search, product information that matches any of the search keys is retrieved. Matches are determined by partial matches. For example, if the product "Clothing" and category "25" are given as search keys, product information for products in category "25" or products (services) that contain the word "Clothing" is retrieved.

[0236] Next, the process proceeds to step S414, where the products (services) are displayed on the display device 44 based on the product information acquired in step S412. The products (services) are displayed in ascending order of category, and then in ascending order of similar group code. A product selection checkbox is provided for each product (service). If the product (service) is registered in the product list, the product selection checkbox is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed. The same applies to the checkboxes for selecting all products (services) in the product list (hereinafter referred to as "all list selection checkboxes").

[0237] [Search key: Product (service)] The operation when a product (service) is given as a search key is the same as the technology in Patent Document 4. When a user inputs the characters of the product (service) in the search box and clicks the search button, products (services) that contain the input product (service) characters are displayed.

[0238] [Search key: Category] The operation when a category is given as a search key is the same as that of the technology in Patent Document 4. When the user inputs a category into the search box and clicks the search button, products (services) in the input category are displayed.

[0239] [Search key: Similar group code] The operation when a similar group code is given as a search key is the same as that of the technology in Patent Document 4. When a user inputs a similar group code into the search box and clicks the search button, the products (services) with the input similar group code are displayed.

[0240] [Search key: product (service) + category] 26 to 29 are screens for explaining the operation when searching for a product (service).

[0241] On the screen of FIG. 26, the user sets "AND" 524 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing" and category "25" in search box 528, and clicks search button 530.As shown in FIG. 26, products (services) in the category "25" and containing the characters "Clothing" are displayed in the product list area 508.

[0242] A check box 532 (select all in list check box) is provided at the top of the product list area 508. The user can select all products (services) in the product list area 508 by checking the select all in list check box.

[0243] Operations for selecting a product (service), deselecting a product (service), selecting all products (services), and deselecting all products (services) are similar to the processes in steps S308 to S314, S324 to S330, and those in FIGS.

[0244] Furthermore, on the screen of FIG. 26, the user sets "OR" 526 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing" and category "25" in search box 528, and clicks search button 530, whereupon products in category "25" or products (services) containing the characters "Clothing" are displayed in product list area 508.

[0245] When the user performs the above search, it is sufficient to perform two actions: (1) inputting the product (service) and category in the search box 528 and (2) clicking the search button 530 .

[0246] [Search key: Goods (services) + similar group code] On the screen of Figure 27, the user sets "AND" 524 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing" and similar group code "17A01" in the search box 528, and clicks the search button 530.As shown in Figure 27, products (services) that include the similar group code "17A01" and the characters "Clothing" are displayed in the product list area 508.

[0247] Furthermore, on the screen of Figure 27, the user sets "OR" 526 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing" and similar group code "17A01" in the search box 528, and clicks the search button 530. In the product list area 508, products including the similar group code "17A01" or products (services) including the characters "Clothing" are displayed.

[0248] When a user performs the above search, it is sufficient to perform two actions: (1) inputting the product (service) and similar group code into the search box 528 and (2) clicking the search button 530.

[0249] [Search key: Classification + Similar group code] On the screen of Figure 28, the user sets "AND" 524 as the search method, enters category "25" and similar group code "17A01" in search box 528, and clicks search button 530.As shown in Figure 28, products in category "25" and containing similar group code "17A01" are displayed in product list area 508.

[0250] Furthermore, on the screen of FIG. 28, the user sets the search method to “OR” 526, enters the product “25” and the similar group code “17A01” in the search box 528, and clicks the search button 530, whereby products in category “25” or products containing the similar group code “17A01” are displayed in the product list area 508.

[0251] When a user performs the above search, it is sufficient to perform two actions: (1) inputting the classification and similar group code into the search box 528 and (2) clicking the search button 530.

[0252] [Search key: product (service) + classification + similar group code] On the screen of Figure 29, the user sets "AND" 524 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing", category "25" and similar group code "17A01" in search box 528, and clicks search button 530.As shown in Figure 29, products (services) in the product list area 508 that are in the category "25" and contain the similar group code "17A01" and that contain the characters "Clothing" are displayed.

[0253] Furthermore, on the screen of FIG. 29, the user sets "OR" 526 as the search method, enters the product "Clothing", category "25", and similar group code "17A01" in search box 528, and clicks search button 530, whereupon products in category "25", products containing similar group code "17A01", or products (services) containing the characters "Clothing" are displayed in product list area 508.

[0254] When a user performs the above search, it is sufficient to perform two actions: (1) inputting the product (service), category, and similar group code into the search box 528 , and (2) clicking the search button 530 .

[0255] When the process of step S414 ends, the series of processes ends. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S400 that the search button has not been clicked (NO), the series of processes ends.

[0256] [Third product selection process] Next, the third product selection process will be described. The third product selection process employs the technology of Patent Document 3 (Patent Documents

[0064] to

[0077] ,

[0090] to

[0097] ). However, the following modifications are made to the process of step S106 and other processes in Patent Document 3.

[0257] In step S106, products (services) are displayed based on the information in the product list. A product selection checkbox is provided for each product (service). If the product (service) is registered in the product list, the product selection checkbox is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed. In addition, a select all list checkbox is provided at the top of the product list area. If all products (services) in the product list are registered in the product list, the select all list checkbox is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed.

[0258] Operations for selecting a product (service), deselecting a product (service), selecting all products (services), and deselecting all products (services) are similar to the processes in steps S308 to S314, S324 to S330, and those in FIGS.

[0259] [Product selection by multiple functions] Next, a case where a product (service) is selected from multiple perspectives using functions relating to the first to third product selection processes will be described.

[0260] First, the user selects a function relating to the first product selection process from the menu. When the user clicks on the product selection checkbox for the product "Clothing" on the screen of FIG. 7, the selected product "Clothing" is registered in the product list 520 as shown in FIG.

[0261] Furthermore, if the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded, and in that state (the same expanded state as in Figure 9), the user clicks on the product selection check boxes for the products "Clothing" and "Coat", the selected products "Clothing" and "Coat" are registered in product list 520, as shown in Figure 12.

[0262] Furthermore, if the hierarchical structure of the product "Clothing" is expanded, and in that state (the same expanded state as in FIG. 10), the user clicks on the product selection check boxes for the products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform", the selected products "Evening Dress" and "School Uniform" are registered in product list 520, as shown in FIG. 13.

[0263] FIG. 30 is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service) using the function related to the second product selection process.

[0264] Next, the user selects a function relating to the second product selection process from the menu. On the screen of FIG. 30, the user sets "AND" 524 as the search method, inputs the product "dress" and category "25" in the search box 528, and clicks the search button 530. As shown in FIG. 30, products (services) in category "25" and containing the character "dress" are displayed in the product list area 508. In the product list area 508, the product "evening dress" is already registered in the product list 520, so its product selection checkbox is checked when the search results are displayed. On the screen of FIG. 30, when the user clicks the product selection checkboxes for the products "morning dress" and "lounge dress", the selected products "morning dress" and "lounge dress" are registered in the product list 520.

[0265] FIG. 31 is a screen for explaining the operation when selecting a product (service) using the function related to the third product selection process.

[0266] Next, the user selects a function relating to the third product selection process from the menu. On the screen of FIG. 31, when the user inputs the product "clothing" in search box 528 and clicks search button 530, products (services) related to the product "clothing" are displayed in product list area 508 as shown in FIG. 31. In product list area 508, since the product "clothing" has already been registered in product list 520, its product selection checkbox is checked when the search results are displayed. On the screen of FIG. 31, when the user clicks the product selection checkboxes for the products "belt", "footwear", "band", "suspenders", and "garters", the selected products "belt", "footwear", "band", "suspenders", and "garters" are registered in product list 520.

[0267] In this way, the user can select a product (service) from multiple perspectives by using the functions relating to the first to third product selection processes.

[0268] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, products (services) are displayed hierarchically based on product information relating to a plurality of hierarchical products (services).

[0269] This allows products (services) to be selected while taking into account hierarchical relationships. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the hierarchical structure of products (services) is displayed in an expandable and collapsible manner, and when the hierarchical structure is collapsed, a product (service) can be selected from products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy, and when the hierarchical structure is expanded, a product (service) can be selected from products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and an expanded lower level hierarchy.

[0270] This allows the user to expand or collapse the hierarchical structure and select a product (service). Furthermore, in this embodiment, product information corresponding to the category selected by the user is obtained from the product information table 400, and the products (services) are displayed hierarchically based on the obtained product information.

[0271] This allows the user to select a product (service) that corresponds to the category. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the product information includes group information regarding groups of products (services) that belong to the same category and have a common similar group code, and the products (services) are displayed for each group based on the product information.

[0272] This makes it possible to select goods (services) in groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0273] Furthermore, in this embodiment, all products (services) belonging to the selected group from the displayed product list are registered in the product list.

[0274] This allows all products (services) belonging to the selected group to be registered in a product list all at once.

[0275] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the hierarchical structure is collapsed, all products (services) belonging to a selected group among the products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy are registered in the product list, and when the hierarchical structure is expanded, all products (services) belonging to a selected group among the products (services) belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and an expanded lower level hierarchy are registered in the product list.

[0276] This allows the hierarchical structure to be expanded or collapsed, and all products (services) belonging to a selected group to be registered in a product list all at once.

[0277] Furthermore, in this embodiment, all products (services) in the selected category are registered in a product list.

[0278] This allows all products (services) in the selected category to be registered in a product list all at once.

[0279] Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the hierarchical structure is collapsed, all products (services) belonging to the hierarchical levels above or at the same level as the selected category are registered in the product list, and when the hierarchical structure is expanded, all products (services) belonging to the hierarchical levels above or at the same level as the selected category and the expanded lower hierarchical levels are registered in the product list.

[0280] This allows the hierarchical structure to be expanded or collapsed, and all products (services) in the selected category to be registered in a product list all at once.

[0281] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the related group information table 430 is referenced to acquire product information on products (services) belonging to related groups, and the products (services) are displayed for each group based on the acquired product information.

[0282] This allows a product (service) to be selected for each related group.

[0283] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the products (services) are displayed by group based on product information on the products (services) that belong to related groups, which are groups of products (services) that belong to the same category and have a common similar group code.

[0284] This makes it possible to select goods (services) in related groups that belong to the same classification and have a common similar group code.

[0285] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the products (services) are displayed in a manner that enables groups to be identified. This makes it possible to know which group the product (service) belongs to.

[0286] Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is possible to select a product (service) for each product (service). This allows products (services) to be selected individually rather than in groups.

[0287] Furthermore, in this embodiment, duplicate products (services) are eliminated when the products (services) are registered in the product list.

[0288] This will reduce the possibility of duplicate descriptions of goods (services) in trademark registration application documents, etc.

[0289] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in steps S204, S336, S414 and step S106 relating to the third product selection process, if the relevant product (service) is registered in the product list based on the information in the common product list, the corresponding product selection check box is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed.

[0290] This allows a user to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by one of the functions related to the first to third product selection processes, taking into consideration a product (service) obtained by one of the functions. For example, it is possible to know which products (services) have been selected and which products (services) have not been selected.

[0291] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in steps S204 and S336, if all products (services) belonging to the relevant group are registered in the product list based on the information in the common product list, when the products (services) are displayed, the corresponding group all selection checkbox and the product selection checkboxes corresponding to these products (services) are set to a checked state.

[0292] This allows a user to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by one of the functions related to the first to third product selection processes, taking into consideration a product (service) obtained by the other function. For example, it is possible to know which groups have been selected and which groups have not been selected.

[0293] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in step S204, if all products (services) in the relevant category are registered in the product list based on the information in the common product list, when the products (services) are displayed, the corresponding category all selection checkbox and the product selection checkboxes corresponding to these products (services) are set to a checked state.

[0294] This allows the user to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by one of the functions related to the first to third product selection processes, taking into consideration the product (service) obtained by the other function. For example, it is possible to know which categories have been selected and which categories have not been selected.

[0295] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in step S414 and step S106 relating to the third product selection process, if products (services) in the product list are registered in the product list based on the information of the common product list, the select all in list checkbox and the product selection checkboxes corresponding to these products (services) are set to a checked state when the products (services) are displayed.

[0296] This makes it possible to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by one of the functions relating to the first to third product selection processes, taking into consideration a product (service) obtained by one of the functions.

[0297] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the pop-up window of Figure 24, if a product (service) is registered in the product list based on the information in the common product list, the corresponding product selection check box is set to a checked state when the product (service) is displayed.

[0298] This allows the user to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by the function related to the process in step S336, taking into consideration the product (service) obtained by one of the functions related to the first to third product selection processes.

[0299] Furthermore, in this embodiment, in the pop-up window of Figure 24, when all products (services) belonging to a group are registered in the product list based on the common product list information, when the products (services) are displayed, the corresponding group all selection checkboxes and the product selection checkboxes corresponding to these products (services) are set to a checked state.

[0300] This allows the user to select a product (service) from the display results obtained by the function related to the process in step S336, taking into consideration the product (service) obtained by one of the functions related to the first to third product selection processes.

[0301] Furthermore, in this embodiment, products (services) and categories are extracted from a search query to which multiple search keys are linked, and product information corresponding to the extracted products (services) and categories is obtained from the product information table 400.

[0302] This makes it possible to obtain product information corresponding to a search query that includes a product (service) and category.

[0303] Furthermore, in this embodiment, products (services) and similar group codes are extracted from a search query to which multiple search keys are linked, and product information corresponding to the extracted products (services) and similar group codes is obtained from product information table 400.

[0304] This makes it possible to obtain corresponding product information by entering a search query that includes a product (service) and a similar group code.

[0305] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a category and a similar group code are extracted from a search query in which multiple search keys are linked, and product information corresponding to the extracted category and similar group code is obtained from the product information table 400.

[0306] This makes it possible to obtain product information corresponding to a search query that includes a category and a similar group code.

[0307] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the product (service), category, and similar group code are extracted from a search query to which multiple search keys are linked, and product information corresponding to the extracted product (service), category, and similar group code is obtained from the product information table 400.

[0308] This makes it possible to obtain product information corresponding to a search query that includes a product (service), classification, and similar group code.

[0309] In this embodiment, step S200 corresponds to the category information acquisition means of invention 4, step S202 corresponds to the product information acquisition means of invention 4, steps S204, S302, S306, and S336 correspond to the output means of inventions 1 to 11, and steps S312, S320, and S328 correspond to the registration means of inventions 6 to 9. Also, step S334 corresponds to the second product information acquisition means of invention 10, and storage device 42 corresponds to the storage means of invention 4 or 10.

[0310] In this embodiment, step S200 corresponds to the category information acquisition means of invention 13, step S202 corresponds to the product information acquisition means of invention 13, step S204 corresponds to the output means of invention 12 or 13, and memory device 42 corresponds to the memory means of invention 13.

[0311] In this embodiment, step S334 corresponds to the product information acquisition means of the fourteenth aspect, step S336 corresponds to the output means of the fourteenth or fifteenth aspect, and the storage device 42 corresponds to the storage means of the fourteenth aspect.

[0312] In this embodiment, step S204 corresponds to the first output means of invention 16 or 17, steps S312, S320, and S328 correspond to the first registration means of invention 16, step S414 corresponds to the second output means of invention 16, and steps S312, S320, and S328 relating to the second product selection processing correspond to the second registration means of invention 16.

[0313] In this embodiment, steps S404 to S408 correspond to the extracting means of inventions 18 to 21, step S412 corresponds to the acquiring means of inventions 18 to 21, and the storage device 42 corresponds to the storing means of inventions 18 to 21.

[0314] [Modifications] In the above embodiment and its modified examples, the hierarchy is based on the conceptual relationship of the products (services), but it is not limited to this. For example, the hierarchy can be based on (1) the relationship between the products (services) related to organization A (e.g., the products (services) related to a trademark registration case of organization A) and the products (services) related to organization B (e.g., a subsidiary) belonging to organization A (e.g., the products (services) related to a trademark registration case of organization B), or (2) the relationship between the products (services) related to a case, business, plan, project, promotion, or other unit (referred to as a "case, etc." in this paragraph) A and the products (services) related to case, etc. B belonging to case, etc. A. The hierarchy can be defined arbitrarily.

[0315] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified example, a three-layer hierarchical structure is adopted, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a two-layer hierarchical structure or a four-layer or more hierarchical structure may be adopted. Also, a configuration without a hierarchy may be adopted. The hierarchical structure and its presence or absence may be set arbitrarily.

[0316] In addition, in the above embodiment and its variations, a tree structure is adopted as a way of displaying products (services) hierarchically, but this is not limited to this, and any hierarchical display way can be adopted, for example, facet classification, tag cloud, breadcrumb list, carousel, map, accordion menu, mega menu, step format that expands the hierarchy by questions, or other way.

[0317] In the above embodiment and its modified example, the product (service) is displayed such that the hierarchical structure of the product (service) can be expanded and collapsed, but the present invention is not limited to this. The product (service) can be displayed only in a state in which the hierarchical structure of the product (service) can be expanded. In this case, the hierarchical structure of the product (service) is initially in a folded state, and can be expanded from that state but cannot be collapsed. The product (service) can be displayed only in a state in which the hierarchical structure of the product (service) can be collapsed. In this case, the hierarchical structure of the product (service) is initially in an expanded state, and can be collapsed from that state but cannot be expanded.

[0318] In the above embodiment and its modified example, in step S332, the product information of the clicked product (service) is obtained from the product information table 400, but this is not limiting, and product information of all products (services) belonging to the group to which the clicked product (service) belongs can be obtained. In this case, the products (services) can be displayed for each group with respect to the group to which the clicked product (service) belongs and its related groups.

[0319] Furthermore, in the above embodiment and its variations, no explanation was given on what criteria are used to match related groups to a group. However, it is possible to match a predetermined number of related groups to a group in descending order of the degree of relevance or its statistics, or to match related groups whose degree of relevance or its statistics is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

[0320] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, the field 408 is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration may be such that the field 408 is not provided. For example, in the second hierarchical layer, the products (services) can be displayed in ascending or descending order of the product ID.

[0321] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, the field 410 is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the field 410 may be omitted. For example, in the third hierarchical layer, the products (services) can be displayed in ascending or descending order of the product ID.

[0322] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, the field 412 is provided, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the configuration may be made without providing the field 412. For example, the hierarchy may be specified by the product ID of the product (service) and the product ID of the higher-level product (service), or by No1 and No2.

[0323] In the above embodiment and its modified examples, the relevance is set in the field 436. However, this is not limiting, and as long as the order is determined by the relevance, the order can be set in the field 436.

[0324] Furthermore, in the above embodiment and its variations, the related group information table 430 matches groups with related groups, but this is not limited to the above, and it is also possible to match products (services) belonging to a group with related groups, to match products (services) belonging to a group with related groups, or to match products (services) belonging to a group with products (services) belonging to related groups.

[0325] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, product information including the product (service), the category, and the similar group code is adopted, but this is not limited to this, and product information regarding the product (service) or the group to which it belongs (e.g., the category or similar group code) can be adopted. For example, (1) product information regarding the product (service), (2) product information regarding the category, (3) product information regarding the similar group code, (4) product information regarding the product (service) and the category, (5) product information regarding the product (service) and the similar group code, or (6) product information regarding the category and the similar group code can be adopted. This modified example is applicable not only to the product information registered in the table or product list, but also to the product information to be displayed.

[0326] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, trademark registrations are the subject of the trademark registration cases, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the trademark registration cases may be (1) trademark registration applications, (2) trademark registration applications and trademark registrations, (3) defensive mark registration applications, (4) defensive mark registrations, (5) defensive mark registration applications and defensive mark registrations, or (6) a combination of a trademark registration application or trademark registration and a defensive mark registration application or defensive mark registration. Regarding (6), it is assumed that a trademark registration may be changed to a defensive mark registration or a defensive mark registration may be changed to a trademark registration depending on the situation such as public knowledge.

[0327] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, first to third product selection processes are provided, but this is not limited to this, and it is possible to adopt a configuration that includes one of the first to third product selection processes, a configuration that includes two of the first to third product selection processes, or a configuration that further includes other product selection processes, etc.

[0328] In the above embodiment and its modified example, the first to third product selection processes display products (services) using different algorithms, but this is not limiting, and it is sufficient to use functions related to multiple product selection processes to hold products (services) in a common product list, and the algorithms for the multiple product selection processes may be the same or different. Each algorithm may be adopted arbitrarily.

[0329] In the above embodiment and its modified example, the checked state of the product selection checkboxes and the like is set based on the information of the product list, but the present invention is not limited to this and any configuration may be adopted as long as it is a configuration that displays products (services) based on the information of the product list. For example, the following configuration may be adopted.

[0330] The first configuration displays a product (service) in a specific manner based on information in a product list. For example, a product (service) registered in a product list is displayed in a specific manner. Examples of displaying in a specific manner include displaying in a manner different from other products (services), such as by underlining, bolding, italics, enclosing, or other modifications, by adding a specific color (e.g., red or gray) to the text or background, by displaying in a specific font or font size, or by adding an annotation, an icon, a link, or other element.

[0331] In the second configuration, the presence or absence of displaying the product (service) is determined based on the information in the product list. For example, the product (service) registered in the product list among the products (services) to be displayed is not displayed.

[0332] In the third configuration, the availability of selection of a product (service) is determined based on information on the product list. For example, among the products (services) to be displayed, products (services) registered in the product list are made unselectable.

[0333] In the above embodiment and its modified examples, in steps S204, S336, S414 and step S106 relating to the third product selection process, the product (service) is displayed based on the information in the product list, but this is not limiting and a configuration in which the product (service) is displayed without using the information in the product list can be adopted. That is, the product selection check box is set to an unchecked state or an unchecked state when the product (service) is displayed, regardless of whether the product (service) is registered in the product list or not.

[0334] In the above embodiment and its modified examples, the pop-up window in Fig. 24 does not have a select all check box, but the present invention is not limited to this and a select all check box can be provided. In this case, the select all list check box is set to a checked state when the products (services) in the product list are displayed if all the products (services) in the product list are registered in the product list.

[0335] Furthermore, in the above embodiment and its variants, the function relating to the second product selection process adopts a configuration that allows a search to be performed using any combination of product (service), category, and similar group code, but is not limited to this and the following configuration can be adopted.

[0336] The first configuration allows a search to be performed by any combination of products (services) and categories.

[0337] The second configuration allows searches to be performed using any combination of goods (services) and similar group codes.

[0338] The third configuration allows searches to be made using any combination of classifications and similar group codes.

[0339] The fourth configuration is a configuration that allows searches to be performed using any combination of goods (services), class or similar group code, and one or more other narrowing conditions (narrowing conditions other than class and similar group code). Other narrowing conditions include, for example, (1) application number, (2) application date, (3) registration number, (4) registration date, (5) international registration number, (6) international registration date (subsequent designation date), (7) reclassification registration application number, (8) reclassification registration application date, (9) trademark for search, (10) trademark pronunciation, (11) information on the applicant, right holder, reclassification applicant or nominal holder (name or title, address or residence, identification number, and if the applicant is a corporation, corporate information (for example, type of business, date of establishment, whether the stock is listed, capital, sales, profits, number of employees, etc.). (12) information about the agent (name, address, identification number, and corporate information if the agent is a corporation), (13) information about the opponent or appeal requester (name, address, identification number, and corporate information if the opponent is a corporation), (14) legal division (edition) and category, (15) publication date, (16) announcement number, (17) announcement date, (18) publication date of the registration gazette, (19) expiration date, (20) appeal number, (21) date of decision of refusal, and (22) date of final disposition. As for other narrowing conditions, when combined with goods (services), it is desirable that the narrowing conditions be at least character strings that do not constitute the goods (services) themselves (for example, dates and numbers) in order to obtain the narrowing conditions from the search query.

[0340] The fifth configuration allows searching by product (service) only. The sixth configuration is a configuration in which searching can be done by category only.

[0341] The seventh configuration allows searches to be performed using only similar group codes. The eighth configuration is a configuration in which a search can be performed using a combination of one or more other narrowing down conditions.

[0342] The ninth configuration is a configuration in which a search can be performed using only other narrowing conditions. In the above embodiment and its modified examples, in step S406, the similar group code is extracted from the search query acquired in step S402, but this is not limited thereto, and it is also possible to remove the category from the search query in step S404 and extract the similar group code from the search query without the category. This makes it possible to extract the similar group code without confusing it with the category-corresponding search key.

[0343] In the above embodiment and its modified example, in step S408, the product (service) is extracted from the search query acquired in step S402, but this is not limiting. In steps S404 and S406, the category and similar group code can be removed from the search query, and the product (service) can be extracted from the search query excluding the category and similar group code. In this case, the search query can be divided into one or more character strings using delimiters as delimiters, and the divided character strings can be acquired as the product (service). This makes it possible to extract the product (service) without confusing it with the category corresponding search key and the similar group corresponding search key.

[0344] In the above embodiment and its modified example, in steps S404 to S408, the category, similar group code, or product (service) is extracted from the search query acquired in step S402. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The search query can be divided into one or more character strings using a delimiter as a delimiter, and the category, similar group code, or product (service) can be acquired from the divided character strings. In this configuration, sequential processing can be performed. In this case, the category is acquired from the character string (initial character string) into which the search query is divided, the similar group code is acquired from the character string from which the category is removed from the initial character string, and the last remaining character string is acquired as the product (service). This makes it possible to extract the similar group code without confusing it with the category matching search key, and to extract the product (service) without confusing it with the category matching search key and the similar group matching search key. In addition, the product (service) can be easily extracted by adopting the order of extracting the category and similar group code and then extracting the product (service). Any other extraction method can be adopted.

[0345] In the above embodiment and its modified examples, in steps S404 to S408, the category, similar group code, and product (service) are extracted from the search query in this order, but the order is not limited to this and they can be extracted in any order.

[0346] In the above embodiment and its modified example, in step S412, the search key is checked for a partial match, but the present invention is not limited to this and the search key can be checked for a perfect match.

[0347] In addition, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, the product information is obtained from a table, but this is not limited to the above, and the product information can be input from the input device 40 or obtained from an external storage medium (such as a USB memory) or a network.

[0348] Furthermore, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, the trademark support device 100 is realized as a single device, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can also be realized as a network system as shown in FIG.

[0349] FIG. 32 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a network system. As shown in Fig. 32, a trademark support server 200 and a plurality of user terminals 300 are connected to a network 199 such as the Internet. The trademark support server 200 is configured to have the same functions as the trademark support device 100 in the above embodiment and its modified examples. The difference is that the trademark support server 200 receives information from the user terminal 300 instead of inputting information through the input device 40, and transmits information to the user terminal 300 instead of displaying information on the display device 44.

[0350] Furthermore, in the above embodiment and its modified examples, storage device 42 is installed in trademark support device 100 or trademark support server 200, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be installed in another database terminal communicatively connected to trademark support device 100 or trademark support server 200. In this case, in response to a request from trademark support device 100 or trademark support server 200, the database terminal reads information related to the request from storage device 42 and transmits it to the requesting terminal.

[0351] Furthermore, in this modified example, a configuration can be adopted in which any of tables 400, 430 and product list 520 are installed in a database terminal, and the remaining tables 400, 430 and product list 520 are installed in trademark support device 100 or trademark support server 200.

[0352] In addition, in the above embodiment and its variations, when executing the processes shown in the flowcharts of Figures 4, 5, 8 and 25, the case has been described where a program pre-stored in ROM 32 is executed, but this is not limited to the above, and the program showing these procedures may be read into RAM 34 from a storage medium on which the program is stored and executed.

[0353] Here, storage media refers to semiconductor storage media such as RAM and ROM, magnetic storage type storage media such as FD and HD, optically readable storage media such as CD, CDV, LD and DVD, and magnetic storage type / optically readable storage media such as MO, and includes any storage medium that can be read by a computer, regardless of the reading method (electronic, magnetic, optical, etc.).

[0354] Furthermore, the above-described embodiments and their modifications (including their respective constituent technologies) can be applied to each other.

[0355] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment and its modified examples, the present invention has been applied to cases such as selecting goods (services) related to a trademark registration case, but is not limited to this and can be applied to other cases as long as it does not deviate from the gist of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0356] 100...trademark support device, 30...CPU, 32...ROM, 34...RAM, 38...I / F, 39...bus, 40...input device, 42...storage device, 44...display device, 199...network, 200...trademark support server, 300...user terminal, 400...product information table, 430...related group information table, 500...category list, 502...area, 504...button, 506...category, 508...product list area, 510, 512, 514, 532...checkbox, 516...expand icon, 518...collapse icon, 520...product list, 522...name of product (service), 524...AND, 526...OR, 528...search box, 530...search button

Claims

1. An output means for hierarchically outputting information on goods or services belonging to a first hierarchical level and information on goods or services belonging to a second hierarchical level that is a level above or below the first hierarchical level, based on product information on a plurality of hierarchical goods or services which are related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration; and a registration means for registering, from among the output results of the output means, information regarding a selected product or service belonging to the first hierarchical level, or information regarding a selected product or service belonging to the second hierarchical level, in a product list.

2. An output means for hierarchically outputting information about goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration, in a manner that makes the hierarchical structure of the goods or services expandable or collapsible based on product information about a plurality of hierarchical goods or services; a registration means for registering information on the product or service from the output result of the output means into a product list, The registration means registers in the product list, when the hierarchical structure is in a collapsed or unexpanded state, information regarding a selected product or service from among information regarding products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy, and when the hierarchical structure is in an expanded or unexpanded state, registers in the product list, information regarding a selected product or service from among information regarding products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and an expanded lower level.

3. an output means for hierarchically outputting, for each group of goods or services, information on goods or services belonging to a first hierarchical level and information on goods or services belonging to a second hierarchical level that is a lower level than the first hierarchical level, based on product information on a plurality of goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration; and a registration means for registering, from among the output results of the output means, information relating to all of the products or services which belong to the selected group and which belong to the first hierarchical level, or information relating to all of the products or services which belong to the selected group and which belong to the first hierarchical level and the second hierarchical level, in a product list.

4. An output means for hierarchically outputting information about goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration, in a group-by-group manner in which the goods or services are grouped based on product information about the hierarchical goods or services, such that the hierarchical structure of the goods or services can be expanded or collapsed; a registration means for registering information on the product or service from the output result of the output means into a product list, The registration means registers in the product list, when the hierarchical structure is in a collapsed or unexpanded state, information about all of the products or services belonging to a selected group among information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy, and when the hierarchical structure is in an expanded or unexpanded state, registers in the product list, information about all of the products or services belonging to a selected group among information about products or services belonging to a higher or same level hierarchy and an expanded lower level hierarchy.

5. an output means for hierarchically outputting information on goods or services belonging to a first hierarchical level and information on goods or services belonging to a second hierarchical level that is a lower level than the first hierarchical level, based on product information on a plurality of hierarchical goods or services that are related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration; and a registration means for registering, from among the output results of the output means, information regarding all of the products or services belonging to the first hierarchical level, or information regarding all of the products or services belonging to the first hierarchical level and the second hierarchical level, in a product list.

6. An output means for hierarchically outputting information about goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration, based on product information about a plurality of hierarchical goods or services, in such a manner that the hierarchical structure of the goods or services can be expanded or collapsed; a registration means for registering information on the product or service from the output result of the output means into a product list, The trademark support system is characterized in that the registration means registers, in the product list, information regarding all products or services belonging to higher or same levels when the hierarchical structure is in a collapsed or unexpanded state, and, in the product list, information regarding all products or services belonging to higher or same levels and expanded lower levels when the hierarchical structure is in an expanded or unexpanded state.

7. In any one of claims 1, 3 and 5, The trademark support system is characterized in that the output means outputs information regarding the goods or services in such a manner that a hierarchical structure of the goods or services can be expanded or collapsed.

8. In any one of claims 1 to 6, The trademark support system is characterized in that the output means outputs information regarding products or services on a group basis based on product information regarding other groups related to one of the groups into which products or services are grouped and the products or services belonging to that group.

9. In claim 8, a product information acquiring means for acquiring product information on the other group and products or services belonging to the other group by referring to a storage means for storing group information on the one group in association with group information on the other group, The trademark support system is characterized in that the output means outputs information regarding the products or services in units of the groups based on the product information acquired by the product information acquisition means.

10. An output means for outputting information on goods or services in units of a group based on product information on other groups related to one of the groups into which goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration are grouped, and the other groups and the goods or services belonging to the group are related to the one of the groups; a registration means for registering information on a selected product or service from among the output results of the output means in a product list.

11. An output means for outputting information on goods or services in units of a group based on product information on other groups related to one of the groups into which goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration are grouped, and the other groups and the goods or services belonging to the group are related to the one of the groups; a registration means for registering, in a product list, information relating to all of the products or services belonging to a selected group from among the output results of the output means.

12. An output means for outputting information on goods or services in units of a group based on product information on other groups related to one of the groups into which goods or services related to a trademark registration application, a trademark registration, a defensive mark registration application, or a defensive mark registration are grouped, and the other groups and the goods or services belonging to the group are related to the one of the groups; A trademark support system comprising a registration means for registering information on all of the products or services outputted by said output means in a product list.

13. In any one of claims 1 to 6 and 10 to 12, A classification information acquisition means for acquiring classification information relating to a classification of a product or service; a product information acquiring means for acquiring the product information corresponding to the category information acquired by the category information acquiring means from a storage means for storing the product information in association with category information relating to the category, The output means outputs information about a product or service based on the product information acquired by the product information acquisition means.

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