High School Girl (R) --

Meat product manufacturer Ito Ham has taken the Japanese schoolgirl obsession to the next level by applying for the trademark rights to the word "High School Girl" (女子高生/Joshi-Kosei).

A pair of trademark applications (via the INPIT database) indicate that Ito Ham is planning a line of High School Girl® meat products, including meat pies, gyoza dumplings, pizza, curry and more. Either that, or someone in the office is just having fun.

Given that "high school girl" is a commonly used phrase, it seems unlikely -- though not impossible -- that the Japan Patent Office would grant a trademark registration. One thing's for sure, though: if the company could manage to remove the word from the public domain, license it and charge royalties for its use, they will be sitting on a gold mine worth more than any meat product out there.

[Source: CNET Japan via Slashdot Japan]