- Asian
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trademark law
The trademark system in Japan began with the promulgation of the "Trademark Regulations" on June 7, 1884. Subsequently, with the accession to international treaties and changes in the economic situation, after several major revisions to the "Trademark Regulations" in 1888, the "Trademark Law" in 1899, and the "Trademark Law" in 1909, the embryonic form of modern trademark law was formed in early 1921.
The current Trademark Law of Japan was promulgated on April 13, 1959 and came into effect on April 1, 1960. The several modifications experienced so far mainly include: providing registration protection for service trademarks since 1991, establishing a group trademark registration system and adding an opposition application system in 1996, introducing a regional group trademark system in 2005, establishing "retail and other services" to protect store names such as retail and wholesale stores in 2006, and adding new types of trademarks such as dynamic trademarks, three-dimensional trademarks, color combination trademarks, and sound trademarks in 2015. -
Registered types
According to the Japanese Trademark Law, text, graphics, symbols, three-dimensional graphics, and combinations of the above elements can all be registered as trademarks.
Since April 2015, dynamic trademarks, three-dimensional trademarks, color combination trademarks, sound trademarks, and location trademarks can also be registered as trademarks. -
Prohibited registration situations
1. If it is impossible to distinguish the sources of goods and services for the relevant public, they shall not be registered as trademarks.
2. Signs that violate the public interest and are easily confused with those used for public welfare purposes shall not be registered as trademarks
3. Easy to cause confusion and misidentification with registered trademarks or well-known trademarks of others -
Duration
The validity period of a registered trademark is ten years. If the trademark needs to be continued to be used after the expiration of the validity period, the trademark registrant shall handle the renewal procedures in accordance with regulations within six months before the expiration. If the application cannot be processed during this period, a six-month grace period can be granted, but those who apply for renewal within the grace period will need to pay double the trademark renewal official fee.
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Revocation system
The invalidation or revocation application after trademark registration can generally be filed in accordance with the following provisions of the Japanese Trademark Law:
1. Article 46 of the Trademark Law: (1) Violation of the provisions of this law; (2) If it is known or should have been known that someone else has prior rights when applying for a trademark, the application may be invalidated;
2. Article 50 of the Trademark Law: If a trademark is not actually used in that country for three consecutive years after registration, anyone may apply for revocation; Except for force majeure.
Trademark invalidation applications can be submitted to the Patent Office, and under current examination conditions, it generally takes 1-2 years. The respondent can generally provide the following evidence materials to respond to the revocation application filed by others on the grounds of "not used": -
other
Japan adopts a process of first approving registration and issuing certificates, and then announcing objections, which is quite different from China. After obtaining the registration certificate, it is also necessary to closely monitor the movement of the trademark during the objection period; If the opposition is established during the announcement period, even if the trademark has obtained the registration certificate, it cannot take effect.
1. Single country registration;
2. Madrid International Registration
After the trademark application materials are prepared and the Japanese trademark registration application form is filled out as required, the form and trademark application materials can be organized and submitted to the Japan Patent Office for preliminary examination.
The preliminary examination of Japanese trademarks mainly examines whether the trademark application complies with the requirements of Japanese trademark regulations and whether there are any duplicates or similarities with existing trademarks. It can also be understood as a compliance check for trademark applications.
When the applied Japanese trademark passes the initial review and is typeset and printed, it can enter the stage of trademark publicity. Like trademark applications in other countries and regions around the world, the public notice stage is to publish the trademark to the public to confirm that it does not infringe on the rights of any existing trademark or trademark holder. If there are no objections during the public announcement stage, the probability of applying for a formal trademark certificate will greatly increase.
When the applied Japanese trademark has no objections during the public notice period, the Japan Patent Office will officially approve the trademark as a registered trademark and issue a Japanese trademark registration certificate to the trademark applicant to indicate that the trademark is officially protected by law.
If the applicant does not reside in Japan, they can apply directly through the website of the Japan Patent Office, but must provide a mailing address in that country. The basic materials required for trademark application are:
1. Trademark design (provide 20 clear trademark designs (2 * 2/8 * 8); If the trademark is colored, which color must be specified; If the submitted trademark is black and white, any color can be used in the future
2. Specific categories and product/service items (the number of groups for a category of goods/services in the country cannot exceed 22, otherwise actual usage evidence or intended use instructions must be provided);
3. Name and address of the applicant;
4. If priority is declared, the original priority proof document and corresponding Japanese translation must be provided.
