タグ: coronavirus

Coronavirus Force Japan to Eliminate Signature on POA

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Both Hanko seals and paper documents have long been regarded as important parts of Japan’s working or administrative culture. Along with this, it has been an established practice that the country’s authority requires the original document signed by a foreigner to be submitted. By virtue of the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan has taken its latest step to bring government at all levels further into the digital age.
Recently, the Japanese parliament enacted six laws to promote electronic government, with steps such as ending Hanko seals on official documents and allow digital data to be used instead of paper documents.

On June 11, 2021, the new governmental and ministerial ordinances concerning registration procedures of intellectual property were promulgated.

Based on the new ordinances, from June 12, 2021, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) would not require an original Power of Attorney (POA) with the signature of a foreign company or individual who entrusts the case to an IP attorney in Japan anymore. As long as the POA clearly specifies the name and address of the foreign company and its representative, the JPO would accept it genuine and consider the entrusted attorney as an agent of subsequent action with the JPO even if the POA does not have a signature on it.

It should be noted that, as a result of the new ordinances, the JPO decided to eliminate Hanko seals or signatures on 764 paper documents among 797 in total. The remaining 33 documents pertaining to the ownership or license of IP right still require an original with inked-signature or Hanko seals to prevent harm by document falsification.

Coronavirus vs the Tokyo Olympic Games

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With fewer than 80 days to go until the Tokyo Olympics, Japan just extended a state of emergency in the capital, Tokyo until May 31, 2021, to stem a surge in coronavirus cases.

Japanese trademark applications in 2020

One year has passed since Japan’s first state of emergency was declared on April 7 last year and lasted into late May.

Recent JPO statistical data, released on April 30, 2021, revealed the number of trademark applications newly filed in the Japan Patent Office (JPO) in 2020 fell by 5.1% to 181,072 compared to the previous year, 2019. When counting the total number of classes specified the trademark applications in 2020, it fell by 24.5% from the previous year.

A total of 17,924 trademarks were filed in the JPO via the Madrid Protocol in 2020. The number dropped by 7.8% from 2019.

The data also showed a 3.4% decrease in the number of international trademark applications filed with the JPO as the office of origin in 2020 to 3,033.

The Tokyo Olympic Games

The Tokyo Olympic Committee filed an initial trademark application for the “TOKYO 2020” mark (see below) in 2011, two years before the IOC decision.

In January 2012, the Committee applied for registration for the wordmark “TOKYO 2020” in standard character covering all 45 classes to which the JPO granted protection in November 2013.

However, because of the pandemic, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games have been postponed to 2021. The Olympics will now run from July 23 to August 8 2021 and the Paralympics will be held from August 24 until September 5, 2021.

On March 25, 2020, the Committee filed a trademark application for the wordmark “TOKYO 2021” for use on goods and services in 45 classes and subsequently divided the application so that the mark would remain pending the JPO examination as long as possible in fear of trademark theft.

It came to my notice that the following trademarks are filed with the JPO by other entities.

TM application no. 2020-27573 “tokyo 2022” (cl. 32)
TM application no. 2020-32238 “Tokyo 2022” (cl.18)
TM application no. 2020-35399 “TOKYO 2020+1” (cl. 41)
TM application no. 2020-14136 “TOKYO2032” (cl. 35, 41)
TM application no. 2020-125468 “Tokyo 2021 Samurai Athlete” (cl. 41)
TM application no. 2021-16249 “TOKYO 2020-2032” (cl. 41)

Who knows when and how the Tokyo Olympic Games are safely held?
Rather, I would eager to know when will the COVID-19 pandemic end.

Trademark Applications Drop as Pandemic Pushes Japan into Recession

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Japan’s economy has slipped into recession for the first time since 2015 in the last quarter, putting the nation on course for its deepest slump as the coronavirus crisis ravages businesses and consumers. First-quarter GDP data revealed Japan’s GDP shrinks 3.4% in March 2020 amid pandemic, follows a 6.4% decline during the last quarter of 2019.

As widely spreading the serious impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, the Japan Patent Office (JPO) announced, on July 1, 2020, a status update on its operations during the pandemic, including the extent to which trademark applications are declining.

The number of trademark applications filed in the Japan Patent Office (JPO) fell by a whopping 24.3% to 55,353 in the first four months 2020. In the meantime, Patent fell by 5.7% and Design fell by 3.9% for the same period.

Excerpt from the JPO Statistical Data (2020.1-4)


The data illustrated how the coronavirus pandemic is considerably hampering new trademark applications, compared with other intellectual properties, in Japan.

Excerpt from the JPO Statistical Data (2020.1-4)

Coronavirus Impact on Trademark Procedures in Japan

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The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has announced the measures it has taken to help foreign users for trademarks during the coronavirus outbreak.

Response to the office action

JPO takes flexible approaches to allow a delayed response on the condition that the applicant requests for remedy either in the following ways:

  1. To file a written request and its reason before the lapse of a deadline in advance.
  2. To file the response with an additional written explanation within a certain period after the deadline.
[Example of reasons]

Due to the negative effects of the COVID-19, Company ____ for which applicants work/Office ___ where representatives of applicants work had been closed from _____ to _____ in 2020, and the applicants/the representatives are (were) not able to implement the prescribed procedures. Nonetheless, since it has become possible to implement the procedures from ____, 2020, please accept ____ as a valid procedure.

Priority documents

JPO allows submitting priority documents within two months after deadline, namely five months from the application date, provided that the applicant simultaneously files a statement of reasons for the failure to meet its original deadline.

Appeal to refusal decision

JPO considers a request for appeal against the examiner’s decision of refusal valid if appealed within two months after foreign users go back to normal life impacted by COVID-19, but before the lapse of six months after the original deadline. It is required to state delayed reasons in the appeal brief.

Payment of registration fee

JPO considers payment of registration fee valid if appealed within two months after foreign users go back to normal life impacted by COVID-19, but before the lapse of six months after the original deadline. It is required to file a statement of delayed reasons simultaneously.

Application for renewal

JPO accepts application for renewal of trademark registration valid if appealed within two months after foreign users go back to normal life impacted by COVID-19, but before the lapse of six months after the expiry date. It is required to file a statement of delayed reasons simultaneously.

New transformed Application after revocation of international registration

JPO considers a newly transformed application for Japanese trademark application after the revocation of International Registration valid if appealed within two months after foreign users go back to normal life impacted by COVID-19, but before the lapse of six months after the original deadline. It is required to file a statement of delayed reasons simultaneously.

More and latest information is available on the JPO website. Click here.