JPO decision highlights (Distinctiveness) [from January to June of 2022]
1. Case in which the distinctiveness of a combination of two alphabet letters and one numeral is discussed (1)
| Appeal No. | Present Trademark | Class |
| 2021-650039 | ＩＤ・１ | 12, etc. |
| Summary of Decision The present trademark consists of the alphabet letters “ID,” a small black square, and the numeral “1″ arranged horizontally. Upon conducting an official investigation, no evidence was found to indicate that a mark combining “ID.1″ or any other combination of two alphabet letters and one numeral with a period (“.”) is commonly used in the industry for designating product model numbers or codes. Additionally, no specific circumstances were discovered to suggest that traders or consumers of the designated products would perceive such a mark as representing product model numbers or codes. Therefore, the present trademark can be considered capable of functioning as a source identifier for the goods. |
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Comment
- The JPO’s Examination Guidelines for Trademarks explains “A mark commonly used as a symbol or mark indicating product number, etc. is a “common mark”, which lacks distinctiveness.
- For example “ＶＸ２５”, “Ｔ８Ｅ”, “Ｄ４０００” were denied for registration recently, because a combination of numbers and alphabet is typically used as product number.
- This case shows a period (“.”) makes a mark of a combination of numbers and alphabet distinctive.
2. Case in which the distinctiveness of a combination of two alphabet letters and one numeral is discussed (2)
| Appeal No. | Present Trademark | Class |
| 2021-007432 | Ｂｅ１９ | 5 |
| Summary of Decision In English writing, it is widely known in Japan that the convention is to capitalize the initial letter and use lowercase for the subsequent letters. Additionally, “Be” is a well-known English verb. Therefore, the present trademark can be understood and recognized as a coined term combining a “be” verb and the numeral “19.” Furthermore, upon conducting an official investigation, no evidence was found to indicate that such a mark is commonly used in the industry for the designated goods as a symbol or code representing product numbers or model numbers. Therefore, the present trademark goes beyond being a mere symbol consisting of a very simple and common design. It is also capable of functioning as a distinguishing mark for the designated goods, allowing for their identification in relation to other products. |
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Comment
- A mark of a combination of alphabets and numbers is often regarded as not distinctive, like “ＶＸ２５”, “Ｔ８Ｅ”, “Ｄ４０００”. However, as this case indicates, such combination can be regarded as distinctive when the alphabets are not just letters used as symbol or code, but forms a meaningful word.
