{"id":211,"date":"2026-04-11T21:10:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:10:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=211"},"modified":"2026-04-11T21:10:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T12:10:20","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-fine-black-descriptiveness-refusal-overturned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=211","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cFINE BLACK\u201d \u2013 Descriptiveness Refusal Overturned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates descriptiveness when a term appears to indicate product quality (e.g., color), but lacks clear and established usage in the relevant industry.<br>It demonstrates that limited or unclear usage may not be sufficient to support a descriptiveness 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-0\">1. Application Details<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Mark:<\/strong> FINE BLACK<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Application No.:<\/strong> Japanese Trademark Application <strong>No. 2020-63716<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods:<\/strong> Metal materials and steel products in <strong>Class 6<\/strong> (e.g., steel sheets, pipes, processed steel products).<\/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>\u201cFINE\u201d means <strong>high quality or superior<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cBLACK\u201d means <strong>black color<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the mark <strong>\u201cFINE BLACK\u201d<\/strong> was considered to mean:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201chigh-quality black (color)\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner further pointed out that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>in the metal industry, the term \u201cfine black\u201d is used to describe <strong>high-grade black-colored materials<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>thus the mark merely indicates the <strong>quality or color of the goods<\/strong>.<\/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>2021-9181<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The appeal challenged whether the expression is actually recognized as a specific color designation in the relevant industry.<\/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 acknowledged that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the individual words \u201cFINE\u201d and \u201cBLACK\u201d have clear meanings, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>some limited examples of use exist in the industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>However, the Board emphasized that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>such usage is <strong>very limited<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the term <strong>\u201cFINE BLACK\u201d is not widely recognized as a specific color designation<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Board further noted that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the term is <strong>not included in standardized color naming systems<\/strong> (e.g., JIS color names), and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>consumers would not clearly understand what specific color \u201cFINE BLACK\u201d refers to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the mark does not directly indicate product quality or characteristics, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>it does not create a risk of misleading consumers.<\/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-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>\u201cFINE BLACK\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. Limited industry use is insufficient<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A few examples of use do not establish that a term is commonly descriptive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Standardization matters<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If a term is not recognized in official or common classification systems, it may lack clear meaning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Clear and specific meaning is required<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A term must directly and specifically indicate product characteristics to be considered descriptive.<\/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, a trademark may be registrable even if it appears descriptive, where:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>its use in the industry is <strong>limited or not widespread<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>its meaning is <strong>not clearly defined or standardized<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates descriptiveness when a term appears to indic &#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-211","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\/211","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=211"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":212,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211\/revisions\/212"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=211"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=211"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=211"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}