2024.03.29

New Policy on Letters of Consent for Trademarks in Japan

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has established regulations based on the law to accept letters of consent for trademark applications. These regulations apply to applications filed on or after April 1, 2024. 

A key requirement is that, in addition to obtaining a letter of consent from the owner of an existing trademark registration, there must be clear evidence that there is no likelihood of confusion regarding the source of the trademarks.

Applicants are required to submit documentation proving there will be no confusion between the trademarks, both currently and in the future, within the market. Such documentation should convincingly demonstrate that:

　- The trademark will always be used in conjunction with another distinguishing mark, such as a house mark, ensuring it is differentiated from the prior mark.

　- There is a clear difference in the fields of use for the goods or services between the applicant and the prior mark owner (e.g., medical software versus game software), mitigating the risk of confusion.

The JPO has provided a sample consent letter format as follows.

https://www.jpo.go.jp/e/system/laws/rule/guideline/trademark/document/syouhyoubin/42-108-01.pdf

It is important that the letter of consent does not need to be signed or stamped, simplifying the process for applicants. In addition, the JPO would accept the summary of a world wide agreement.