Japan's patent office has blocked a company from making "pachinko" pinball machines named after Adolf Hitler, Moses and other historical figures, officials said Wednesday.
Fuji Shoji Co., based in Osaka, submitted the names of 34 well-known people, including the Wright Brothers and Tchaikovsky, for trademarks on their garish, upright pinball machines.
The Patent Office rejected the applications in May, Fuji said, but word of the decision was first publicized in Japan this week.
The office is barred from granting trademarks that may disrupt public order and morals, a patent official said. He refused to provide further details.
