This is an accepted version of this page
45-538: Tomy Company, Ltd. ( 株式会社タカラトミー , Kabushikigaisha Takara Tomī ) ( trading as Takara Tomy in Asia and Tomy elsewhere) is a Japanese toy company. It was established in 1924 by Eiichirō Tomiyama as Tomiyama Toy Manufacturing Company ( 富山玩具製作所 ) , became known for creating popular toys like the B-29 friction toy and luck-based game Pop-up Pirate . In 2006, Tomy merged with another toy manufacturer, Takara , and although
90-497: A subsidiary of Index. On 13 May 2005, Takara and Tomy announced their merger, with Tomy being the surviving company. It became effective on 1 March 2006. In English, the official name of the merged company is "TOMY Co. Ltd." while in Japan the legal company name is "K. K. Takara-Tomy" ( 株式会社タカラトミー ; TYO : 7867 ). In deciding upon the merged company's new name, "Takara" was used for its international brand recognition and "Tomy"
135-420: A DBA must be registered with a local or state government, or both, depending on the jurisdiction. For example, California, Texas and Virginia require a DBA to be registered with each county (or independent city in the case of Virginia) where the owner does business. Maryland and Colorado have DBAs registered with a state agency. Virginia also requires corporations and LLCs to file a copy of their registration with
180-467: A DBA statement, though names including the first and last name of the owner may be accepted. This also reduces the possibility of two local businesses operating under the same name, although some jurisdictions do not provide exclusivity for a name, or may allow more than one party to register the same name. Note, though, that this is not a substitute for filing a trademark application. A DBA filing carries no legal weight in establishing trademark rights. In
225-511: A fad in the early 2000s. In 1978, Takara developed the Choro-Q , mini pullback cars. Internationally, they have been sold as "Penny Racers". Takara also invented Battle Beasts , the E-kara karaoke microphone, B-Daman , and Beyblade , a product that has achieved high popularity globally. These toys were sold or distributed internationally by Hasbro. The Dakko-Chan doll was revived in 2001 in
270-546: A large selection of Disney , Pokémon and Thomas the Tank Engine merchandise. They also publish video games in Japan (mostly based on Zoids and Naruto anime series), and are responsible for the distribution of some Hasbro products in Japan, such as Play-Doh , Jenga and Monopoly . The company was formerly responsible for distribution of the My Little Pony products in Japan before Bushiroad acquired
315-400: A new colorful form. This one had enough features to connote the original product, but divested the traits which brought criticism (for example, the new doll was not always coloured black). Takara developed and published video games , the first being Transformers: Mystery of Convoy based on their own Transformers toys. They also licensed their other properties into video games for example
360-533: Is a pseudonym used by companies that do not operate under their registered company name. The term for this type of alternative name is fictitious business name . Registering the fictitious name with a relevant government body is often required. In a number of countries, the phrase " trading as " (abbreviated to t/a ) is used to designate a trade name. In the United States , the phrase " doing business as " (abbreviated to DBA , dba , d.b.a. , or d/b/a )
405-416: Is called a razón social . Takara This is an accepted version of this page Takara Co., Ltd. ( 株式会社タカラ , Kabushiki gaisha Takara ) was a Japanese toy company founded in 1955. In March 2006, the company merged with Tomy Company, Ltd. to form Takara Tomy . The Takara motto was 「遊びは文化」 ("playing is culture"). The company focused on traditional toys and board games . They created
450-424: Is too similar to a name that is already registered. Using one or more fictitious business names does not create additional separate legal entities. The distinction between a registered legal name and a fictitious business name, or trade name, is important because fictitious business names do not always identify the entity that is legally responsible . Legal agreements (such as contracts ) are normally made using
495-481: Is used, among others, such as assumed business name or fictitious business name . In Canada , " operating as " (abbreviated to o/a ) and " trading as " are used, although " doing business as " is also sometimes used. A company typically uses a trade name to conduct business using a simpler name rather than using their formal and often lengthier name. Trade names are also used when a preferred name cannot be registered, often because it may already be registered or
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#1732790125228540-544: The Game Boy in the form of simplified "demakes" called Nettou , starting with Fatal Fury 2 . DreamMix TV World Fighters was released in 2003 as a crossover between Takara, Hudson Soft and Konami . From 2003 Takara also owned the video game developer and publisher Atlus . Some Takara properties were licensed to and published by Atlus. In 2006, after the merger with Tomy , Takara's former controlling stake in Atlus
585-512: The Licca-chan dolls, which has been referred to as "Japan's Barbie " in Western press. Some of the globally known toys and franchises that Takara invented include Transformers and Beyblade . Takara also held the license to localise and distribute Hasbro products in Japan including The Game of Life , Blythe dolls , Magic: The Gathering , Duel Masters trading card games. Takara
630-769: The SNK Neo Geo based arcade games including the Fatal Fury and the Samurai Shodown series for the 8 and 16-bit consoles, Sega Genesis , the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , or the Famicom . Takara with its contract developer Tamsoft also produced the influential 3D fighting series Battle Arena Toshinden , and other original games such as SteamGear Mash . Takara from 1994–1998 also brought many SNK fighters to
675-466: The United Kingdom , there is no filing requirement for a "business name", defined as "any name under which someone carries on business" that, for a company or limited liability partnership, "is not its registered name", but there are requirements for disclosure of the owner's true name and some restrictions on the use of certain names. A minority of U.S. states, including Washington , still use
720-411: The 1980s the company was criticized overseas for using it as a mascot due to its golliwog -like character and racial undertones. By the end of production in 1988, six million of these dolls were sold. In 1967, Takara produced the first generation of the Licca-chan doll, which would become very popular in Japan to this day, and which was 21 centimeters tall and had the last name of Kayama, inspired by
765-545: The English company name remained the same, it became Takara Tomy in Asia. It has its headquarters in Katsushika, Tokyo . The company was named Tomy as an abridgement of Tomiyama, which was the founder's surname. Starting as a manufacturer, Tomy had the largest product development team in the toy industry and plaudits for its technology. Nonetheless, by its third generation, president Mikitaro Tomiyama decided to streamline
810-472: The Famicom title Lost Word of Jenny based on their Jenny doll, and Choro Q games . Other games published by Takara include Banana Prince and Arabian Nights: Sabaku no Seirei-ō . In the 1990s and early 2000s, Takara published video games for franchises and mangas such as Chibi Maruko-chan , Armored Trooper Votoms , Duel Masters and Tokyo Mew Mew . The company ported (adapted) some of
855-1039: The Tomy side: Tomica , Plarail , Zoids , Idaten Jump , Nohohon Zoku and Tomy branded baby care products, and, from the Takara side: Space Pets , Choro-Q (also known as Penny Racers), Transformers , B-Daman, Koeda-chan (also known as Treena) and Microman . The merged Takara-Tomy also produces and/or sells a wide variety of toy and game brands under license, such as Thomas & Friends , Disney , Astro Boy , Pokémon , Beyblade , Duel Masters , Naruto , The Game of Life (also known as Life Game ), Rock Man (also known as Mega Man ), Wedding Peach , Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch , My Hero Academia , Sakura Kinomoto , Sakura Kinomoto: Clear Card , Slayers , Revolutionary Girl Utena , Kirarin Revolution , Sugarbunnies and Animal Crossing . Tomy's rights to these licenses vary by region. One of
900-418: The U.S., trademark rights are acquired by use in commerce, but there can be substantial benefits to filing a trademark application. Sole proprietors are the most common users of DBAs. Sole proprietors are individual business owners who run their businesses themselves. Since most people in these circumstances use a business name other than their own name, it is often necessary for them to get DBAs. Generally,
945-512: The West. Tomy UK's slogan has traditionally been "Trust Tomy". In 2006, Tomy UK launched a website on which consumers can buy online from Tomy's catalogue. In early 2011, Takara-Tomy acquired RC2 Corporation and the RC2 sub-brand Learning Curve , which included The First Years, Lamaze , and Compass . Takara-Tomy has manufactured a broad range of products based on its own properties which include, from
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#1732790125228990-407: The business. Numbered companies will very often operate as something other than their legal name, which is unrecognizable to the public. In Chile , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Ireland , businesses are legally required to register business names where these differ from
1035-556: The company adopted the name Takara in 1960. The company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 1984. Despite the big success of Beyblade in 1999, Takara was struggling financially. In July 2000, Konami bought a 22.2% controlling stake in the company. In 2003, Takara purchased Atlus and transferred all its video gaming properties to it. Konami sold its share to Index Corporation in April 2005 and Takara became
1080-492: The company to be more competitive with wholesaler Bandai . Bandai developed its products more quickly, which was more appealing to television properties that required a fast turnaround. Despite internal and external opposition, Tomiyama was determined to aggressively pursue TV licenses such as Akakage , Giant Robo and Osomatsu-kun . Tomiyama was shocked when his son told him that Tomy's toys were bad and that he wanted to work for Bandai when he grew up. In response, he created
1125-534: The county or city to be registered with the State Corporation Commission. DBA statements are often used in conjunction with a franchise . The franchisee will have a legal name under which it may sue and be sued, but will conduct business under the franchiser's brand name (which the public would recognize). A typical real-world example can be found in a well-known pricing mistake case, Donovan v. RRL Corp. , 26 Cal. 4th 261 (2001), where
1170-443: The distribution rights to them starting with the franchise's Friendship Is Magic line (though the animated television series was owned by Hasbro ). Later in 2015, after Bushiroad disowned the distribution rights, Sega Toys reacquired the rights to all generations of the franchise before selling the rights back to Hasbro. A list of notable products include: Trade name A trade name , trading name , or business name
1215-435: The first examples of product synergy for the merged company was the combining of Takara 's Jinsei Game (Game of Life) license and Tomy's Pokémon license to produce a Pokémon Jinsei Game. Tomy sells many products worldwide, including baby and pre-school toys, baby monitors , mechanical and electronic games, consumer electronics, children's arts and crafts products, and a vast range of toys suited to girls or boys. They make
1260-487: The growing popularity of Pokémon through monthly CoroCoro Comic and obtained the commercial rights. Bandai at the time was busy with its big hit, Tamagotchi , and was not interested in Pokémon. Tomy acquired the rights to commercialize a wide range of merchandise, mainly toys, and released the "Monster Collection" of figures next year. The anime became a huge hit, and sales of related products doubled. Tomy (who had been
1305-402: The law is to protect the public from fraud, by compelling the business owner to first file or register his fictitious business name with the county clerk, and then making a further public record of it by publishing it in a newspaper. Several other states, such as Illinois , require print notices as well. In Uruguay , a trade name is known as a nombre fantasía , and the legal name of business
1350-399: The legal name of business is called a razón social (social name). In Brazil , a trade name is known as a nome fantasia ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and the legal name of business is called razão social (social name). In some Canadian jurisdictions , such as Ontario , when a businessperson writes a trade name on a contract, invoice, or cheque, they must also add the legal name of
1395-457: The moderately successful Zettai Muteki Raijin-Oh (then Genki Bakuhatsu Ganbaruger ) (but the product development team followed these with Nekketsu Saikyō Go-Saurer ) (which was a catastrophic failure). It became common wisdom within the industry that Tomy could not support a multimedia franchise. However, Tomy established a relationship with Shogakukan and created the successful Wedding Peach and Let's & Go . Tomy learned about
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1440-816: The musician Yuzo Kayama and actress Yoshiko Kayama. They released the Jenny doll in the 1980s. In 1975, Takara produced the Diaclone and Microman Micro Change toys. In 1984, the toy line was rebranded by Hasbro as " Transformers ". Takara continued to sell Microman and used it as the basis for the Micronauts toy line. Micronauts were sold internationally by the Mego Corporation . Other transforming toys made by Takara include Brave , Dennō Bōkenki Webdiver , and Daigunder . Both Webdiver and Daigunder toys could interact with TV screens, which proved only but
1485-474: The name "Tomy" in international subsidiaries, and "Takara Tomy" in Japan, because Tomy had built considerable international brand recognition while Takara's products ( Microman , Transformers , Battle Beasts , Beyblade , B-Daman etc.) had been sold and branded by other toy companies such as Hasbro . Additionally, the financial cost of rebranding was prohibitive. In Western media, the Takara Tomy merger
1530-461: The named defendant, RRL Corporation, was a Lexus car dealership doing business as " Lexus of Westminster ", but remaining a separate legal entity from Lexus, a division of Toyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc. . In California , filing a DBA statement also requires that a notice of the fictitious name be published in local newspapers for some set period of time to inform the public of the owner's intent to operate under an assumed name . The intention of
1575-673: The new Takara Tomy brand. Takara purchased a majority stake in Tatsunoko Production in June 2005. The studio then became a full subsidiary of Takara Tomy following the March 2006 merger until Nippon Television bought out the majority of Tatsunoko's stake in 2014. Tomy UK was founded in 1982 for the sale and distribution of Tomy products in Europe , and it has successfully brought toys such as Zoids, and games like Pop-up Pirate , to
1620-403: The registered legal name of the business. If a corporation fails to consistently adhere to such important legal formalities like using its registered legal name in contracts, it may be subject to piercing of the corporate veil . In English , trade names are generally treated as proper nouns . In Argentina , a trade name is known as a nombre de fantasía ('fantasy' or 'fiction' name), and
1665-459: The surname(s) of the sole trader or partners, or the legal name of a company. The Companies Registration Office publishes a searchable register of such business names. In Japan , the word yagō ( 屋号 ) is used. In Colonial Nigeria , certain tribes had members that used a variety of trading names to conduct business with the Europeans. Two examples were King Perekule VII of Bonny , who
1710-469: The term trade name to refer to "doing business as" (DBA) names. In most U.S. states now, however, DBAs are officially referred to using other terms. Almost half of the states, including New York and Oregon , use the terms assumed business name or assumed name ; nearly as many, including Pennsylvania , use the term fictitious name . For consumer protection purposes, many U.S. jurisdictions require businesses operating with fictitious names to file
1755-415: The third largest company in the toy industry since the 1980s) rose to second place in 1997. In 2001, competitor Takara's hit franchise, Beyblade , and Pokémon's slump saw Takara regaining second place and Tomy falling again to third. However, Beyblade subsequently faltered (which adversely affected Takara's fortunes; Tomy merged with the suffering company and became Takara Tomy). The company decided to use
1800-560: Was a merger of both companies on an equal basis. Post-merger media speculation about the control of brands from the Takara Tomy merger arose from the new use of a "TOMY" copyright on all packaging (including former Takara brands shipped by Hasbro) (but this was merely a consequence of the decision to use only the Tomy name in international subsidiaries). In Japan, Takara Tomy continues to use both Tomy and Takara as distinct brand names on toy ranges which originated in each separate company, and most new toy ranges or stand-alone products now carry
1845-567: Was also involved in software, publishing video games based on its toys like Transformers and Choro Q / Penny Racers , porting SNK Neo Geo games to consoles, and the Battle Arena Toshinden series. In 1960, Takara released the Dakko-Chan ( ダッコちゃん ) doll which would become a hit in Japan's during that era. The nickname was given because of how it "embraces" a person. Also referred to as Winky Dolls in English, in
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1890-553: Was known as Captain Pepple in trade matters, and King Jubo Jubogha of Opobo , who bore the pseudonym Captain Jaja . Both Pepple and Jaja would bequeath their trade names to their royal descendants as official surnames upon their deaths. In Singapore , there is no filing requirement for a "trading as" name, but there are requirements for disclosure of the underlying business or company's registered name and unique entity number. In
1935-575: Was named as one of the best inventions of 2002 by Time magazine. See also Yumemi Kobo (dream generator). In 2005, Takara produced Walkie Bits, a colorful, multi-function miniature robotic turtle. it was named Time magazine's best invention in a robot category. In the 1980s, Takara as an OEM also sold Sord M5 home computers. In 2002, Takara developed and released a real-life, road legal small electric car based on its Choro-Q toys through its new motor subsidiary. However due to low sales these cars were soon axed. Founded in 1955 by Yasuta Sato,
1980-494: Was sold to Index Holdings, Takara Tomy 's major shareholder. Takara-branded product licenses were returned to Takara Tomy's consumer software division; the merged company thereafter also produced the games in the Zoids and Naruto series. Takara has manufactured several unusual gadgets marketed as "life entertainment products". An example is BowLingual which aimed to translate the sounds of dogs to human language. The BowLingual
2025-405: Was typically characterised as a 'takeover' of Takara by Tomy (likely because several years of losses had put Takara in a financially weakened state at the time of the merger (although Takara did have significantly higher sales than Tomy)). However, the companies' management teams had previously discussed merging (including at times when Takara appeared stronger). Under Japanese corporate law, the move
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