{"id":124,"date":"2026-03-22T12:16:43","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T03:16:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=124"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:07:03","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-cool-wine-descriptiveness-refusal-overturned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=124","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cCOOL WINE\u201d \u2013 Descriptiveness Refusal Overturned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates descriptiveness when a trademark consists of common English words with multiple possible meanings.<br>It demonstrates that even seemingly descriptive terms may be registrable if their meaning is ambiguous and not supported by actual industry usage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-0\">1. Application Details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mark:<\/strong> COOL WINE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Application No.:<\/strong> Japanese Trademark Application <strong>No. 2022-21173<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods\/Services:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Class 33:<\/strong> Wine<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Class 43:<\/strong> Provision of food and beverages (after amendment)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-1\">2. Refusal by the JPO Examiner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The application was refused based on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 3(1)(iii)<\/strong> (descriptive mark)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 4(1)(xvi)<\/strong> (misleading indication)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner reasoned that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cCOOL\u201d means <strong>refreshing or cool<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cWINE\u201d means <strong>wine<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the mark <strong>\u201cCOOL WINE\u201d<\/strong> was considered to mean:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201crefreshing wine\u201d or \u201ccool wine\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on this interpretation, the examiner concluded that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the mark merely describes the <strong>quality or characteristics of the goods and services<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>it may mislead consumers if used for products not having such characteristics.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-2\">3. Appeal to the JPO Trial and Appeal Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An appeal was filed against the refusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Appeal No.:<\/strong> <strong>2023-5313<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>During the appeal, the scope of designated goods\/services was <strong>narrowed<\/strong> to address the misleading refusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-3\">4. Decision of the Appeal Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The JPO Appeal Board <strong>reversed the refusal<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Board found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The term <strong>\u201cCOOL\u201d<\/strong> has multiple meanings (e.g., \u201ccool,\u201d \u201crefreshing,\u201d \u201cstylish\u201d), and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the combination <strong>\u201cCOOL WINE\u201d<\/strong> can evoke <strong>several different interpretations<\/strong>, not a single clear meaning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Board further emphasized that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the meaning of the mark is <strong>not specific or immediately clear<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>there was <strong>no evidence<\/strong> that \u201cCOOL WINE\u201d is commonly used in the industry to describe product quality or services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly, consumers would not directly perceive the mark as indicating product quality or service characteristics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-4\">5. Outcome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The refusal based on descriptiveness and misleading indication was <strong>set aside<\/strong>, and the trademark <strong>\u201cCOOL WINE\u201d<\/strong> was allowed to proceed toward registration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<h1 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"i-5\">Key Point for Foreign Applicants<\/h1>\n\n\n\n<p>This case highlights an important principle in Japanese trademark practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Multiple meanings can support distinctiveness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a term has <strong>several possible interpretations<\/strong>, it may not be considered descriptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Clear and specific meaning is required for refusal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A refusal requires that the mark directly and clearly describes the goods or services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Evidence of industry usage is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without proof that the expression is commonly used, descriptiveness may not be established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<p>\u2705 <strong>Practical takeaway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In Japan, even a combination of common English words may be registrable if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the overall meaning is <strong>ambiguous or open to interpretation<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>there is <strong>no evidence of widespread descriptive use in the relevant industry<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-sgb-sen\">\n\n\n\n<p>The cases presented here are based on publicly available JPO decisions and are provided for informational purposes only.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates descriptiveness when a trademark consists of &#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-124","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-successful-cases-in-japan","7":"entry","8":"nothumb"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"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=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}