JPO Approved First Color Trademarks

For the first time ever, the Japan Patent Office approved color trademarks on March 1.　The first registered color trademarks were approved for the blue-white-black package colors of the erasers made by Tombow Pencil CO., LTD and the white-orange-green-red colors of the 7-Eleven stores.

The JPO approved these color trademarks because each color trademark has been in use for more than 30 years and both companies have continued to promote their color trademarks in addition to enjoying high levels of popularity and recognition among consumers.

Last April, the JPO began accepting trademark applications for nontraditional marks such as sound, movement and color, and about 1500 trademark applications have been filed since they began accepting these types of applications. Furthermore, more than 200 nontraditional trademarks excluding color trademarks have already been registered.

These new types of trademarks are expected to play an important role in companies’ branding strategies.