Trademarks
Written for applicants outside Japan. Every figure on this page is the figure we charge or the figure the Japan Patent Office charges — there is nothing else to add later.
Two payments: one when the application is filed, one when it is allowed. Nothing is due in between unless the examiner objects.
| Stage | Our fee | JPO official fee |
|---|---|---|
| Filing, first class | US$200 | JPY 3,400 + 8,600 |
| Each additional class at filing | US$200 | JPY 8,600 |
| Registration, 10 years | US$100 + US$100 / class | JPY 32,900 / class |
| One class, filing through registration | about US$700 all in | |
The fees above are for self-service filing, where you choose your goods and services from the JPO standard list yourself. If you would rather we handle everything — search, class selection and wording — email us at nh.koiwa@kaipat.com for a quotation.
Optional, and only if you want them: class selection advice US$100; a clearance search of earlier Japanese rights US$250 for the first class and US$150 for each additional class; a response to a provisional refusal US$200 for a simple deletion of goods, US$400 where a reasoned argument is needed.
Pick your goods and services from the JPO standard list of 16,545 accepted terms using our class search. Terms from that list need no drafting and give the examiner nothing to argue about.
The selector gives you a short code carrying your exact selection. Paste it into the order page and the classes and the fee appear.
Counted from the moment payment clears. If something in your selection looks clearly wrong, we say so and reissue the quote before filing rather than after.
That is the current time to a first result. There is a fast-track route in some circumstances — ask if the timing matters to you.
About a month after the registration fee is paid. The registration runs ten years and is renewable. You can also pay for five years at a time.
You get a provisional refusal setting out the reasons, and normally three months to respond, extendable. We send you a machine translation of it and tell you what we think the chances are — including when we think they are poor.
Where the fix is simply to delete some of the goods, the amendment is US$200. Where it needs a reasoned argument against a cited earlier mark, US$400. You are also free to stop there, or to instruct someone else.
No. Japan requires neither use of the mark nor a local presence before filing. It does require a representative resident in Japan to receive Patent Office communications, and we act as that representative. What you do need is a genuine intention to use the mark for what you claim.
Madrid is usually cheaper when you are filing in several countries at once and your home registration is secure. Direct filing is usually better when Japan is the main market, when your specification needs to be worded to Japanese practice, or when your home registration is itself still vulnerable — a Madrid designation falls with the basic mark during the first five years. Tell us your situation and we will say which we think fits.
It works against you. Under Article 3(1) of the Japanese Trademark Act, an unusually broad claim within one class leads the examiner to presume you cannot be using all of it, and a query follows. Answering it costs time and money. Our class search warns you before you reach that point so you can trim.
Yes — a Japanese registration is what Amazon's Japanese marketplace accepts. Note that examination takes 8 to 12 months, so file earlier than you think you need to. Some sellers file and begin the Brand Registry process once the application has a number; Amazon's own rules on pending applications change from time to time, so check their current terms.
Yes. A clearance search of earlier Japanese rights is US$250 for the first class and US$150 for each additional class. It is not compulsory, and for a distinctive invented word it is often not worth it. For a word that others in your field might plausibly have registered, it is.