{"id":47,"date":"2026-03-09T23:41:41","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T14:41:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?page_id=47"},"modified":"2026-03-22T12:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T03:44:19","slug":"japanese-trademark-system","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?page_id=47","title":{"rendered":"Trademark System in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-0\">Unique Features of the Japanese Trademark System<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan\u2019s trademark system has several distinctive characteristics compared with other jurisdictions. Understanding these features is essential when seeking trademark protection in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-1\">1. Strict Examination by the Japan Patent Office (JPO)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Japan Patent Office conducts a <strong>substantive examination<\/strong> of trademark applications.<br>Examiners carefully review whether a mark is distinctive and whether it conflicts with prior registered marks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, refusal decisions based on similarity with earlier marks are relatively common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-2\">2. Strong Protection Against Similar Marks<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan adopts a <strong>strict similarity standard<\/strong> when comparing trademarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The examination considers three aspects:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Appearance<\/strong> (visual impression)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sound<\/strong> (pronunciation)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Concept<\/strong> (meaning)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if marks are not identical, they may be refused if the overall impression is considered similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-3\">3. Classification and Similar Goods\/Services System<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Japan uses a unique <strong>similar goods and services examination system<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if goods or services belong to different Nice classes, the application may still be refused if the goods or services are regarded as <strong>similar under the JPO\u2019s examination guidelines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This system sometimes surprises foreign applicants who assume that different Nice classes automatically avoid conflicts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unique Features of the Japanese Trademark System Japan\u2019s trademark system has several distinctive characterist &#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":{"0":"post-47","1":"page","2":"type-page","3":"status-publish","5":"entry","6":"nothumb"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=47"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/47\/revisions\/137"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=47"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}