{"id":13306,"date":"2023-05-08T11:16:42","date_gmt":"2023-05-08T09:16:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/?p=13306"},"modified":"2023-05-08T11:16:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-08T09:16:42","slug":"frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/","title":{"rendered":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires \u201cactual use<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cintent-to-use<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n

This provisional refusal has been issued more often than before due to the revision of the Guidelines for Examination. Hence, we would like to explain the trademark examination practice in Japan, particularly regarding \u201cSubclass\u201d and \u201cSimilar Group Code,\u201d both strongly related to said provisional refusal; in case this provisional refusal is issued; and how we should deal with it.<\/p>\n

\"Provisional<\/p>\n

Subclass and Similar Group Code<\/span><\/h2>\n

In Japan (as in some other countries, e.g., China, South Korea, Taiwan), all goods and services are classified into a \u201cSubclass<\/strong>\u201d in each international class.<\/p>\n

The subclass is allocated as a \u201cSimilar Group Code\u201d by the Japan Patent Office (\u201cJPO\u201d) for their convenience of examination.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that goods or services identified by the same \u201cSimilar Group Code\u201d are presumed to be similar to one another. For example, briefcases, shoulder bags, suitcases, trunks, handbags, rucksacks, card cases, notecases, purses, wallets, etc. are allocated as \u201cSimilar Group Code 21C01\u201d and covered by the subclass heading \u201cbags and the like; pouches and the like\u201d in class 18. The JPO treats these goods as similar to one another for the purpose of examination.<\/p>\n

This presumption is rebuttable; however, it is, in practice, difficult to do so, in particular at the examination stage. You can see \u201cSubclasses\u201d and \u201cSimilar Group Code\u201d at the JPO\u2019s website: https:\/\/www.jpo.go.jp\/system\/laws\/rule\/guideline\/trademark\/ruiji_kijun\/ruiji_kijun12-2023.html<\/a><\/strong>. (Please note that this website itself is written in Japanese; however, if you scroll down, you will find pdf documents numbered 1 to 45. These are whole lists of goods and services in each international class, with English translations. Or you may search for specific goods or services under \u201cGoods\/Service Name Search\u201d on the JPO\u2019s database: https:\/\/www.j-platpat.inpit.go.jp\/t1201<\/a><\/strong> ) (You may see the English version if you click \u201cEnglish\u201d on the upper right of the page.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Under what circumstances may the provisional refusal be issued?<\/span><\/h2>\n

The main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act stipulates:<\/p>\n

Any trademark to be used in connection with goods or services pertaining to the business of an application may be registered, unless \u2026<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The JPO\u2019s Guidelines for Examination interpreting the underlined portion above were revised and took effect on April 1, 2018. Due to this revision, the main paragraph of Article 3(1) has been more strictly applied.<\/p>\n

To be specific, as a general rule (meaning that there are some exceptions), a provisional refusal requesting submission of documents showing \u201cactual use\u201d or \u201cintent-to-use\u201d is issued if a trademark application covers<\/p>\n

    \n
  • 23 or more \u201cSimilar Group Codes\u201d per international class or<\/li>\n
  • 2 or more \u201cSimilar Group Codes\u201d starting with 35K as far as \u201cretail or wholesale services\u201d is concerned.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    The important point to note is that we must have proof for each \u201cSimilar Group Code.\u201d It should be noted, however, that unlike most countries, it is sufficient to submit documents showing an applicant conducts such business, and it is not required to prove the mark at issue itself is actually used. This is probably because the possibility that the applicant uses the mark at issue can be considered. In this sense, the \u201cactual use\u201d or \u201cintent-to-use\u201d requirement seems more relaxed than other countries.<\/p>\n

    Suppose a trademark application designates the subclass headings \u201cBinding agents for ice cream; Aromatic preparations for food, not from essential oils; Tea; Prepared coffee and coffee-based beverages; Ice; Confectionery; Bread and buns; Seasonings; Ice cream mixes; Unroasted coffee beans; Cereal preparations; Chocolate spread; Sushi; Yeast; Instant confectionery mixes; Pasta sauce; By-product of rice for food [Sake lees]; Husked rice; Gluten for food; Flour\u201d<\/em> in class 30. In this case, the provisional refusal is issued because there are 24 \u201cSimilar Group Codes,\u201d i.e., 01A01, 04D01, 29A01, 29B01, 29D01, 30A01, 31A01, 31A02, 31A03, 31A04, 31A05, 31B01, 31D01, 32D04, 32F03, 32F04, 32F06, 32F08, 32F09, 32F10, 32F14, 33A01, 33A02 and 33A03, in one class (the general rule (1)).<\/p>\n

    Another example is that if a trademark application designates \u201cretail or wholesale services for clothing; retail or wholesale services for foods and beverages,\u201d<\/em> the provisional refusal is also issued. This is because there are 2 \u201cSimilar Group Codes\u201d starting with 35K, i.e., 35K02 and 35K03 (the general rule (2)).<\/p>\n

    How should we deal with the provisional refusal?<\/span><\/h2>\n

    Once the provisional refusal is issued, we may take any combination of the following options:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Submit documents showing the applicant sells goods or provides services for each \u201cSimilar Group Code.\u201d Such documents may include catalogues, ads, invoices and\/or printouts from the applicant\u2019s website which target the Japanese market.<\/li>\n
    • Submit both \u201cDeclaration of Intent-to-Use\u201d and \u201cBusiness Plans\u201d if the applicant has not yet started a business in Japan.<\/li>\n
    • Restrict the designated goods or services so that the number of \u201cSimilar Group Codes\u201d can be 22 or less per international class (or 1 as far as \u201cretail or wholesale services\u201d in class 35 is concerned).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      In the case of a Japanese national application (not a Madrid Protocol based application), filing a divisional application is also an option. Unfortunately, it is not permitted to divide a Madrid Protocol based application.<\/p>\n

      Practical Tips<\/span><\/h2>\n

      As shown above, a provisional refusal based on the main paragraph of Article 3(1) has more often been issued. To avoid this, it is, as a matter of course, important not to designate unnecessary goods or services when filing. Generally speaking, listing \u201cClass Headings\u201d of NICE Classification is more likely to trigger this provisional refusal. We hope the above explanations will be of help to you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":13307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13306","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-guest-corner"],"yoast_head":"\nFrequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Registrare Marchio\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/registraremarchio\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"465\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"290\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Seiji OTA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Seiji OTA\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Seiji OTA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188\"},\"headline\":\"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":930,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"GUEST CORNER\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/\",\"name\":\"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188\"},\"description\":\"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg\",\"width\":465,\"height\":290,\"caption\":\"Provisional Refusal in Japan-Rifiiuto provvisorio in Giappone\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"GUEST CORNER\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/category\\\/guest-corner\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"Registrare Marchio\",\"description\":\"Registrazione e tutela dei marchi d'impresa\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/registrare-marchio.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188\",\"name\":\"Seiji OTA\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Seiji OTA\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM","description":"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM","og_description":"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.","og_url":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/","og_site_name":"Registrare Marchio","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/registraremarchio\/","article_published_time":"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":465,"height":290,"url":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Seiji OTA","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Seiji OTA","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/"},"author":{"name":"Seiji OTA","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188"},"headline":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan","datePublished":"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/"},"wordCount":930,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg","articleSection":["GUEST CORNER"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/","url":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/","name":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan - \u00aeRM","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-08T09:16:42+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188"},"description":"A frequent ground for refusal refers to the main paragraph of Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, which requires actual use or intent-to-use.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/rifiuto-marchio-giappone.jpg","width":465,"height":290,"caption":"Provisional Refusal in Japan-Rifiiuto provvisorio in Giappone"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/frequent-provisional-refusal-in-japan\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"GUEST CORNER","item":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/category\/guest-corner\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Frequent Provisional Refusal in Japan"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/","name":"Registrare Marchio","description":"Registrazione e tutela dei marchi d'impresa","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/830c9e8300cfc530d5a45acb75b93188","name":"Seiji OTA","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/862a32924d0536d5c5a3f10eee27d8ee4d51793c5346c7fe8c870ca69d05e158?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Seiji OTA"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13306","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13306"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13306\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13310,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13306\/revisions\/13310"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13306"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13306"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/registrare-marchio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13306"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}