ALLOWANCE FOR COLOR TRADEMARK IS NOT EASY?

In accordance with the recent revision of the Japan Trademark Law, the Japan Patent Office has started examining the trademark applications for color trademarks. According to the statics, 400 or more applications for color trademarks were filed, but no application has been allowed last year. It is expected that the Examiner will issue the Official Actions to almost all the applications.
Although applicants filed applications for a single color or combination of colors, the position of the Examiner is that such trademarks lack distinctive features.
It is also known worldwide that obtaining trademark right for color trademark is difficult, and thus registered color trademarks are very limited, such as “Tiffany blue” and “USP brown”.
Accordingly, some applicants are trying to file trademark applications not for color trademarks, but for position trademarks. The trademark becomes distinctive by specifying positions of each color used in the trademark. It is important to plot your strategies when you file a trademark application for a color trademark.

(Reported by Koji WATANABE, Japanese Patent Attorney)