I Got a Trademark! | Trademark Registration Successful

As a result of filing a trademark application around the end of February last year, 2025, I was able to register the trademark!
Yay!

After various things happened, it took about a year until I was in a position to talk about it.
Stories of the struggles along the way, and what comes next will be shared here.

Most of you probably think,

"Trademark rights have nothing to do with me."

However, I believe that is not the case.

With side jobs, multiple jobs, parallel careers, second careers, and so on, we have entered an era where individuals are running businesses.

Why don't you also learn about trademark rights, which are a "value worth cultivating"?

Let's learn together!💪

Review of the process

I wrote about the process up to filing in another article, so I will omit it here, but you don't need to read it, so please continue reading as is.

The flow of trademark registration was as follows.

In the previous article, it was the top part of the flow, "Up to Trademark Registration Application",, but

what happened after that?

is the story.

Rejection!

Just when I thought it would be a "smooth registration assessment," a "Notification of Reasons for Refusal" arrived.

The word "rejection" is incredibly heavy, isn't it?

Honestly, I'm not that mentally tough (it seems I have mild HSP), so it really makes me go, "Oh no..."

However, there is no need to panic as it is notified with a high probability (about 35%)! (though it is mentally damaging...)

Also, along with the Notification of Reasons for Refusal, you will receive advice on "how to fix it to make it okay".

Basically, you should just fix it according to the advice, but in my case, I decided on a different correction because I thought, "No, that's not what it's about."

By the way, as for what kind of reason for refusal I had,

Article 6, Paragraph 1 (the indication of designated goods or designated services is unclear) and Article 6, Paragraph 2 (classification discrepancy)

It's a common one, which basically means, "You are applying for Class X, but there are things mixed in that are not Class X."

I thought I had researched and applied properly, but well, these things happen. I'll pull myself together and move on to the next step.

Submission of Written Amendment

To correct it, you write and submit a "Written Amendment". If you don't submit it within the response deadline, it's game over (decision of refusal).

A template is also properly provided, so it is a simple task of just replacing the necessary parts with your own content accordingly.

Yes, it's that thing where you edit the HTML in Word (lol).

By the way, you can also email the Japan Patent Office to ask, "I'm thinking of making this amendment, is that okay?" I checked with them myself.

In my case, it was an easy-to-understand mistake, but for some people, the reasons for refusal might be unique or confusing.

If you're thinking, "I have no idea what to do!", it's also a good idea to honestly consult with a patent attorney.

There are patent attorneys on note as well.
(I follow them too)

Registration Assessment

Once you've made it this far, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

However!

you don't have the rights yet, so please be careful.

Payment of Registration Fee

You create and submit the documents to pay the money... Yes, it's that same process again, but by this point, I've gotten completely used to it (lol).

You can pay by credit card, but the way you write the documents changes depending on the payment method, which is tricky (lol).

By the way,

you can choose to pay in two installments of 5 years each, or pay for 10 years all at once, but I chose 5 years.

I thought that if I started a company, I could transfer the rights to the company and pay the remaining 5 years from there, which might count as a business expense.

Registration of Establishment

Once you pay the fees and the registration of establishment is complete, the rights are granted.
Ah, what a relief.

...but!

What is this!?

Nobody told me about this!
Just like the "Notification of Reasons for Refusal," the terminology is just scary every single time.

Publication for Opposition

For trademarks, there is a system where others can

Wait a minute!

and file an opposition.

Therefore, it is normal for the status to be this during the opposition period (two months from the date of publication of the trademark gazette).

In my case, the two months since the publication of the gazette passed after January of this year, so I held off on this output until then.

However,

Even after January passed, this status wouldn't clear... Why!?

Finally cleared

When I checked on 2/7, it had been cleared. What a relief. Since it was still the previous status as of 2/1, I'm not really sure about the timing of the clearance.

Well, anyway, it was released, so I'm glad.

However!

Actually, there is still an element of uncertainty remaining.

You register a trademark for your own business, but if it is not used for three years, anyone can request its cancellation.

Conversely, I just have to do my best, thinking of it as pressure on myself to start that business by then!.

Trademark Registration Certificate

I'll omit the photo, but once registered, a certificate that looks like a diploma is issued. Due to the progress of digitalization, it is basically no longer issued on paper.

However,

If you don't request the digital data and leave it alone (or if there's someone like me who doesn't understand), it will be sent on paper after more than a month (lol).

I also looked into this quite a bit, wondering, 'Huh? Why hasn't the registration certificate arrived!?' (I was troubled because there wasn't any clear information, surprisingly).

From now on

At the beginning of 2026, I posted a declaration to start a business.

The trademark I got this time is for the business after next.

I will introduce a part of the business plan slide that is currently under construction.

It is still under preparation, but

a learning space with cats
"Nekomana®"

pleasesupport us. (I also quietly updated my self-introduction lol)

That is all for today's learning. Thank you for reading!
Please come again. 👋

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