2018 Japanese Trademark Registration Process Introduction 01 Trademark query, submit application to Japan Patent and Trademark Office

Official acceptance, electronic acceptance receipt document, including application information, application date, application number, etc.

02

Examination, conducted by examiners from the Japan Trademark Office, takes 2-4 months.

(1) Formal review: After the application is submitted, the application number and application time will be confirmed. At this stage, the application documents are reviewed to see if they meet the requirements.

(2) Substantive examination: Examine whether the trademark is registrable according to law, for example, whether it is distinctive. If the examiner considers that the trademark is not suitable for registration, a notice of rejection will be issued. Applicants can respond within the specified time. Applicants can also apply for a delay in responding.

03

Announcement. After passing the review, there will be a 60-day announcement period. Any third party can raise objections to the announced trademark.

Approval of registration, from application to issuance of registration certificate, takes 8-15 months in a smooth situation. If there are review comments or objections raised by others during this period, the time will be extended.

04

Mail the certificate. After receiving the certificate, our company will immediately arrange the mailing to ensure that customers receive their international trademark certificate quickly.

When applying for renewal, the trademark’s statute of limitations is 10 years, the renewal period is 12 months, and the extension period is 6 months.

05

2018 Japanese Trademark Registration Prohibited Contents

(1) Trademarks expressed by the name of the product itself.

(2) Trademarks that are the same as or similar to the "usual trademark". For example, "Masamune" for Japanese sake was originally a trademark used by a certain company, but over time other companies that manufacture similar products also use it to represent their own products, or as part of the trademark. Generally, customers always use such words Or graphics are combined with the goods so that people cannot identify which company's goods they are, and such "customary trademarks" cannot be registered.

(3) Any trademark that expresses the origin, place of sale, quality, raw materials, usage, quantity, shape, price or production, processing and use methods and period of goods in a common way.

(4) Any trademark that expresses a common name or title in a common way, such as "Tanaka", "Ikeda", etc.

(5) Extremely simple and common tags. Such as a Japanese letter or an English letter.

(6) Other trademarks that prevent customers from identifying the dealer.

(7) Trademarks that are identical or similar to the chrysanthemum emblem (the symbol of the Japanese royal family), the national flag, medals, the logo of the United Nations or other international organizations, and trademarks that are harmful to customs.