Patent Infringement Wars with Kyoko Yoshine in “Sorette Pakuri Janai Desuka"

 Enter the world of Patent Design Law with Sorette Pakuri Janai Desuka (Isn't This A Rip-Off?)"

Kyoko Yoshine plays Aki Fujisaki, a soft-spoken but pure and sincere developer at a beverage bottling company named Tsukiyono Drinks, on a team whose job it is to create new and inventive packaging for their drinks.

Though she’s rarely singled out for her work, her dream comes true when a specific design she’s created gets chosen as the container for the new drink, a shiny glass with glittery sparkles at the top and bottom of the bottle. This is sure to catch the consumer's eye!

The team works on the final touches and hammers out any last-minute problems, excited to release the attractive new bottle to the masses! Aki herself is in seventh heaven!

That is, until an employee comes in with some bad news- a rival company named Happy Smile has beaten them to the punch by patenting and releasing an exact copy of their bottle design!

The team has no idea where the company could have taken their idea until it comes out that Aki herself was having drinks with a woman from the rival business Happy Smile, and the legal team naturally surmises that Aki MUST have accidentally given away the secrets, either by blabbing about it or by letting the woman peek at the design notes scribbled in her notepad. But Aki swears she hasn’t.

Enter Masayoshi Kitawaki (Daiki Shigeoka), a stiff and stuffy patent agent brought in with the sole purpose of nailing down where the leaks for the bottle came from, as well as instructions on how to legally proceed once they’ve figured it out!

Aki and the rest of the team try to warm up to this man, but Kitawaki is a strictly by-the-numbers man and has no time for friends or company camaraderie. 

Aki pleads her case to him, trying to tell him about her creative process and the unique elements of the bottle design, but he is focused on tracing the leak and the legal ramifications.

Giving the team a crash-course in patent law, he points out the steps he must take and the points he must investigate to get to the truth. All overwhelming for a humble designer like Aki!

With what they have, it's hard to prove if the design was stolen or actually created by the rival company. Shockingly, Kitawaki ultimately tells Aki that the best option would be to admit that she let the design leak, giving them reason to legally pursue the company on grounds of intellectual theft.

Aki is heartbroken. All she’s ever wanted to do was work diligently with her team, and falsely admitting to leaking the info will not only crush her spirit, but will ultimately force her out of the development department altogether!

Talking it over with best friend Yumi (Momoko Fukuchi)

What to do!!

Aki is about to give in when she is asked by the department’s svelte supervising head Iori Takanashi (Takako Tokiwa) to accompany her to a meeting with the legal heads of the rival company Happy Smile. 

Everyone fully expects Takanashi to discuss settlement and even perhaps licensing of the bottle, but Aki is stunned when, talking to Tadokoro of Happy Smile (Seiichi Tanabe)  Takanashi instead sticks up for Aki and her team, saying that she believes with all he heart that Aki and the department truly created the product and plans to stick by them until the truth of the theft is uncovered.

This invigorates Aki, and she passionately pleads her case once more to the hard-headed Kitawaki, and little by little, she helps him see things about the invention that can prove the design is truly theirs. With this in mind, he digs deep into the case and ultimately finds the piece that will prove Aki’s case once and for all!

Going before the board the next day, Kitawaki addresses the team, letting them know that due to the minute differences in the two bottle designs, he can pinpoint the moment of the theft...and by way of exposing it, clears Aki of any wrongdoing!!!!

YEs, Aki is innocent! And with the crime clearly noted, the two companies make an under the table deal to secure the rights which were once taken from them! Seems this Kitawaki truly knows his stuff!!

The horrible theft and accusations behind her, Aki returns to work eager to get back to the development team. But when she does, she is to find her original position GONE! 

It seems that since the bottle design theft, the company has seen a need for its OWN patent department, and has chosen HER for the team, along with, you guessed it...Masayoshi Kitawaki himself!! 

Thus, in this series we will see this unlikely duo tackle ALL the company’s upcoming patent-threatening crises!! Can't wait to see what more shenanigans the two get into!

Just like Jimi Ni Sugoi, Atelier, and the like, I really love these very labor-specific dramas where you learn about the trade or business as you watch he characters learn about it themselves!

Patents, copyrights, all so very confusing!

 Fun to see Kyoko Yoshine in another starring role, and I love how, just like in Hankei 5 metres where she was paired up with the older and wiser mentor in Hiromi Nagasaku, this time she gets nurtured by Takako Tokiwa, one of my all time classic fave j-drama actresses, who seems to be becoming more and more regal as the years go on!

So good to see all of them!!!