Honda Super Cub granted 3D trademark

Honda\'s iconic bike receives a rare honor for an industrial product.

Japan's Patent Office has granted the first three-dimensional trademark registration it has awarded to an automaker. The recipient was Honda's Super Cub motorcycle, which has sold more than 87 million units worldwide.

The 3D trademark acknowledges that the Super Cub's iconic shape has intrinsic value, just like a company's logo, and bestows upon it all the protections a traditional trademark would offer. It is extremely rare for an industrial product of any kind to receive one.

Introduced in 1958, the Super Cub had a unique step-through design that allowed ease of use for those not accustomed to traditional motorcycles. It has been in continuous production since and sold in over 160 countries. Most importantly, its overall design has been kept largely the same throughout its 56-year history.

The Super Cub was sold as the Honda 50 (and as engine size increased, the Honda Passport C70 and C100) in the United States, as Piper Aircraft company already had a trademark to the name Super Cub. Its marketing tagline, "You meet the nicest people on a Honda,” is widely regarded to have changed Americans' perceptions about motorcycles and their riders as outlaws, broadening the appeal of two-wheeled transport.

In many developing countries, the Super Cub is a primary mode of transportation. It has been compared to the Ford Model T and original VW Beetle as a vehicle that put the world's masses on wheels.