{"id":75,"date":"2026-03-17T20:28:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T11:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=75"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:09:08","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-moistureglow-descriptiveness-refusal-overturned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=75","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cMOISTUREGLOW\u201d \u2013 Descriptiveness Refusal Overturned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This case demonstrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) assesses descriptiveness when a trademark consists of a combination of common words.<br>It shows that even clearly meaningful individual elements do not automatically render the combined mark descriptive.<\/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> MOISTUREGLOW<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>International Registration No.:<\/strong> <strong>IR No. 1726302<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods:<\/strong> Cosmetics and skincare products in <strong>Class 3<\/strong> (e.g., makeup, cosmetic preparations for skin care).<\/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 3(1)(iii)<\/strong> of the Japanese Trademark Act (descriptive mark).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner reasoned that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cMOISTURE\u201d means <strong>\u201cwater\u201d or \u201chydration\u201d<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cGLOW\u201d means <strong>\u201cshine\u201d or \u201cradiance.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In the cosmetics field:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cmoisture\u201d is commonly used for products that <strong>hydrate the skin<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>\u201cglow\u201d is used for products that <strong>enhance skin radiance<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on this, the examiner concluded that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMOISTUREGLOW\u201d means \u201cproviding moisture and radiance to the skin\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>and therefore merely describes the <strong>quality or effect of the goods<\/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>2025-650003<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The appeal challenged the examiner\u2019s assumption that the combined expression had an established descriptive meaning.<\/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>each element (\u201cMOISTURE\u201d and \u201cGLOW\u201d) has a clear meaning and is used in the cosmetics 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>there was <strong>no evidence<\/strong> that the combined term <strong>\u201cMOISTUREGLOW\u201d<\/strong> (or even \u201cmoisture glow\u201d) is commonly used to describe products.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>consumers would not necessarily <strong>separate the mark into two elements and derive a specific descriptive meaning<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead, the Board found that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the mark is more likely to be perceived as a <strong>single coined expression (unitary term)<\/strong> rather than a direct description of product 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-4\">5. Outcome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The refusal based on descriptiveness was <strong>set aside<\/strong>, and the trademark <strong>\u201cMOISTUREGLOW\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 a key principle in Japanese trademark practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Meaning of individual words is not decisive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even if each component word is descriptive, the combination may still be registrable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Evidence of actual usage is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The JPO requires <strong>objective evidence<\/strong> that a combined expression is commonly used in the relevant industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Unitary coined expressions can be distinctive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the mark is perceived as a <strong>single integrated term<\/strong>, it may function as a trademark even if composed of common words.<\/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 composed of descriptive elements may still be registrable if:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the combined expression is <strong>not commonly used<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>consumers are likely to perceive it as a <strong>coined, unified term rather than a direct description<\/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 demonstrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) assesses 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-75","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\/75","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=75"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":172,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75\/revisions\/172"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=75"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=75"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=75"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}