JPO decision highlights (Similarity) [from January to June of 2024]
1 . A case where “SHINANO TENT” and “SINANO” were found similar
| Appeal No. | Present Trademark | Cited Trademark |
| T2024-446 | SHINANO TENT (standard characters) | (1) SINANO (standard characters) – Reg. No. 5291771(2)  – Reg. No. 5425955 |
| Summary of Decision:The appeal was dismissed. The Board determined that for the goods in Class 22, such as climbing or camping tents, the “TENT” portion of the present trademark is perceived by consumers as a generic term indicating the type or quality of the goods and thus has little or no function as a source indicator. Consequently, the distinctive part of the trademark was identified as “SHINANO.” Both cited trademarks also generate the pronunciation “SHINANO” and have no specific meaning. Considering visual, phonetic, and conceptual aspects, the trademarks are deemed confusingly similar. The goods of the present trademark are also similar to those of the cited trademarks. Therefore, the present trademark falls under Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act and cannot be registered. | ||
Comment
- The Board emphasized that the “TENT” portion is generic for camping tents and does not contribute significantly to distinctiveness.
- “SHINANO” is a coined term without a specific meaning and serves as the dominant element for source identification.
- Even partial extraction of the dominant element is permissible when other components are visually separable and conceptually unrelated, which justified focusing on “SHINANO” for similarity assessment.
2 . A case where “POP MOUSE” and cited trademarks were found dissimilar/similar
| Appeal No. | Present Trademark | Cited Trademarks |
| T2023-650006 | POP MOUSE (standard characters) | (1)  – Int. Reg. No. 1302911(2)  – Int. Reg. No. 1417862A |
| Summary of Decision:The appeal was dismissed. For the designated goods in Class 9 (computer mice), the “MOUSE” portion is generic and does not function as a source identifier. The distinctive element of the present trademark is “POP.” Comparing “POP” with the cited trademarks: (i) with citation 1, visual, phonetic, and conceptual differences exist, so they are dissimilar; (ii) with citation 2, the trademarks share the “POP” element visually, phonetically (“Pop”), and conceptually (“popular, stylish”), and the goods are similar, resulting in confusing similarity. Registration is denied under Article 4(1)(xi) of the Trademark Act due to similarity with citation 2. | ||
Comment
- The Board emphasized that “MOUSE” is generic and non-distinctive.
- “POP” is the dominant element serving as the source identifier.
- Non-distinctive elements can be disregarded when assessing similarity, focusing on the distinctive element.
