The Japan Patent Office (JPO) has, for the first time, awarded trademark rights to sound-mark-only trademark applications. The marks will be officially registered as trademarks after payment of the applicable registration fees.


From April 2015, “non-traditional trademarks” such as motion marks, hologram marks, color marks, and sound marks could be registered with the JPO. Out of roughly 1,600 non-traditional trademark applications filed, 303 have been registered to date.

For more information (in Japanese), please visit the JPO website at the link below.
http://www.jpo.go.jp/seido/s_shouhyou/otoshouhyou-hatsutouroku.htm
(Illustration courtesy of the JPO)