{"id":90,"date":"2026-03-18T22:16:49","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T13:16:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=90"},"modified":"2026-03-23T00:08:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T15:08:39","slug":"jpo-appeal-case-study-pg89-simple-mark-refusal-overturned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/?p=90","title":{"rendered":"JPO Appeal Case Study: \u201cPG89\u201d \u2013 Simple Mark Refusal Overturned"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>This case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates whether a trademark is considered overly simple or commonly used under Article 3(1)(v).<br>It shows that even short alphanumeric marks may be registrable if there is insufficient evidence that they are commonly used as product codes.<\/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> PG89<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Application No.:<\/strong> Japanese Trademark Application <strong>No. 2023-106384<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Designated Goods:<\/strong> Various goods in <strong>Classes 14, 18, 25, and 28<\/strong>, including jewelry, bags, clothing (including golf wear), and sporting goods.<\/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)(v)<\/strong> of the Japanese Trademark Act, which applies to marks consisting of extremely simple and commonly used indications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The examiner reasoned that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the mark consists of <strong>two letters + numbers (\u201cPG89\u201d)<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>such combinations are commonly used in trade as <strong>product model numbers or codes<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Based on this reasoning, the examiner concluded that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>consumers would perceive the mark merely as a <strong>product code or specification<\/strong>, not as a trademark.<\/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>2024-18052<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The appeal challenged the assumption that such alphanumeric combinations are always perceived as model numbers in the relevant market.<\/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>there was <strong>no sufficient evidence<\/strong> that marks in the format of \u201ctwo letters + numbers\u201d are widely used as product codes in relation to the designated goods.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>there were <strong>no circumstances showing that consumers would recognize \u201cPG89\u201d as a model number or specification<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Therefore, the Board concluded that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the mark is <strong>not necessarily simple or commonplace<\/strong>, and<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>it is capable of functioning as a <strong>source identifier (trademark)<\/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-4\">5. Outcome<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The refusal based on Article 3(1)(v) was <strong>set aside<\/strong>, and the trademark <strong>\u201cPG89\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 aspect of Japanese trademark practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>1. Alphanumeric marks are not automatically unregistrable<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Short combinations of letters and numbers may still be registrable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>2. Evidence of common use is essential<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The JPO must demonstrate that such marks are <strong>actually used in trade as product codes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>3. Market perception is decisive<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If consumers are not likely to recognize the mark as a model number, it can function as a trademark.<\/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 simple alphanumeric trademarks can be registered if there is <strong>no concrete evidence that they are commonly used as product codes or specifications in the relevant industry<\/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 case illustrates how the Japan Patent Office (JPO) evaluates whether a trademark is considered overly sim &#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-90","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\/90","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=90"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90\/revisions\/171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=90"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=90"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.madrid-system.jp\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=90"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}