{"id":246,"date":"2026-06-07T14:21:20","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T05:21:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=246"},"modified":"2026-06-07T14:21:20","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T05:21:20","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-zone-similar-marks-but-dissimilar-goods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=246","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cZONE\u201d \u2013 Similar Marks but Dissimilar Goods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates the relationship between goods and services under Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act.<br>It demonstrates that even identical trademarks may coexist if the respective goods are considered dissimilar.<\/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> ZONE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Application No.:<\/strong> Japanese Trademark Application <strong>No. 2020-10798<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods:<\/strong> <strong>Golf clubs<\/strong> in <strong>Class 28<\/strong> (after amendment).<\/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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The application was refused under <strong>Article 4(1)(xi)<\/strong> of the Japanese Trademark Act (likelihood of confusion with a prior registered trademark).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The examiner cited the following earlier trademark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cited Mark:<\/strong> ZONE<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Registration No.:<\/strong> <strong>6286018<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Class 25:<\/strong> Mountaineering shoes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Class 28:<\/strong> Mountaineering harnesses<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Because the marks are identical in appearance, pronunciation, and meaning, the examiner concluded that the marks are similar.<\/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-2\">3. Appeal to the JPO Trial and Appeal Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An appeal was filed against the refusal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Appeal No.:<\/strong> <strong>\u4e0d\u670d2021-7095<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During the appeal, the designated goods were amended and limited to <strong>golf clubs<\/strong>.<\/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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The JPO Appeal Board agreed that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the applied mark and the cited mark are identical in appearance,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>both are pronounced as <strong>\u201cZONE,\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>and both convey the same concept (\u201czone\u201d or \u201carea\u201d).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Therefore, the Board found that the marks themselves are <strong>similar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">However, the Board focused on the relationship between the goods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Board noted that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>golf clubs are used in golf and are primarily sold to golfers through golf equipment stores and sporting goods stores;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>mountaineering shoes are used in mountaineering and are mainly sold to mountaineers through mountaineering equipment stores and sporting goods stores; and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the manufacturers, materials, functions, and consumer groups are different.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although both products may occasionally be sold through general sporting goods retailers, the Board found that they are commercially distinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Accordingly, the goods were considered <strong>dissimilar<\/strong>.<\/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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the trademarks themselves were found to be <strong>similar<\/strong>, the designated goods were considered <strong>dissimilar<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Therefore, the refusal was <strong>set aside<\/strong>, and the trademark <strong>\u201cZONE\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 class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This case highlights an important aspect of Japanese trademark practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>1. Similar marks do not automatically result in refusal<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Article 4(1)(xi) requires both:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>similar trademarks, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>identical or similar goods\/services.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>2. Goods similarity is determined from actual trade circumstances<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The JPO considers factors such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>manufacturers,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>sales channels,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>consumers,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>purpose and function of the goods.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>3. Shared retail channels alone are insufficient<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even if products are sold in the same stores, they may still be regarded as dissimilar if their commercial origins and consumer groups differ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\">\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u2705 <strong>Practical takeaway<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Japan, even identical trademarks may coexist when the respective goods or services are commercially distinct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This case demonstrates that <strong>careful limitation or amendment of the specification can sometimes overcome a refusal<\/strong>, even where the marks themselves are identical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates the relationship between goods and services  &#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":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-successful-cases-in-japan","entry","nothumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246","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=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":247,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}