{"id":66,"date":"2026-03-14T22:48:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-14T13:48:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=66"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:10:13","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-beautystyle-vs-rosy-lei-beauty-style","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=66","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cBeautyStyle\u201d vs. \u201cRosy Lei Beauty Style\u201d \u2013 Similarity Refusal Overturned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This appeal decision illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) analyzes composite trademarks when determining similarity.<br>It demonstrates that a refusal may be overturned when the examiner incorrectly extracts a non-dominant element from a cited mark.<\/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> BeautyStyle<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Application No.:<\/strong> Japanese Trademark Application <strong>No. 2024-66966<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Services:<\/strong> Various services in <strong>Class 44<\/strong>, including beauty services, hairdressing, massage, chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, medical information services, health examinations, and beauty salon equipment rental.<\/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 under <strong>Article 4(1)(xi) of the Japanese Trademark Act<\/strong>, which prohibits registration of a trademark that is identical or similar to a prior registered trademark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner cited the following earlier trademark:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Cited Mark:<\/strong> A composite mark consisting of\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>a diamond-shaped device containing a stylized rose design, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the wording <strong>\u201cRosy Lei\u201d<\/strong> (large letters) and <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> (smaller letters).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Registration No.:<\/strong> <strong>6197939<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Services:<\/strong> Beauty and related services in <strong>Class 44<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"162\" height=\"192\" src=\"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/\u767b\u93326197939.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-67\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner reasoned that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the wording <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> in the cited mark could be extracted as the dominant element, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>this element is identical to the applied mark <strong>\u201cBeautyStyle.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on this reasoning, the examiner concluded that the marks were <strong>similar<\/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-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>2025-4221<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The appeal argued that the cited trademark should not be analyzed by isolating the words <strong>\u201cBeauty Style.\u201d<\/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>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 cited mark consists of a <strong>device element and textual elements<\/strong>, which may be visually separable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Within the textual portion, the wording <strong>\u201cRosy Lei\u201d<\/strong> appears prominently in larger letters, while <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> appears much smaller.<\/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><strong>\u201cRosy Lei\u201d<\/strong> creates a distinctive impression and meaning (\u201crose-colored lei\u201d).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In contrast, <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> is relatively descriptive in relation to beauty services and therefore has weaker source-identifying power.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Accordingly, the Board concluded that the cited mark is primarily recognized by the element <strong>\u201cRosy Lei.\u201d<\/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>Because <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> does not function as the dominant element of the cited mark, the Board rejected the examiner\u2019s approach of isolating that wording.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a result, the marks <strong>\u201cBeautyStyle\u201d<\/strong> and the cited composite mark were found <strong>not similar<\/strong>, and the refusal was cancelled.<br>The application 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. Dominant element analysis can work both ways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Examiners may attempt to isolate one element of a composite mark, but the JPO Appeal Board carefully evaluates <strong>which element actually creates the dominant commercial impression<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Descriptive wording often has weaker distinctiveness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Terms such as <strong>\u201cBeauty Style\u201d<\/strong> may be considered relatively weak when used in connection with beauty-related services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. The more distinctive element usually determines similarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this case, the distinctive element <strong>\u201cRosy Lei\u201d<\/strong> was found to dominate the cited mark.<\/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>Even if two marks share identical wording, similarity may still be rejected in Japan if that wording <strong>does not function as the dominant source-identifying element of the cited mark<\/strong>.<\/p>\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 appeal decision illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) analyzes composite trademarks when determin &#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-66","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\/66","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=66"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/66\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=66"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=66"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=66"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}