JPO Participates in the Five Trademark Offices (TM5) Mid-Term Meeting

June 13, 2025

The Japan Patent Office (JPO) participated in the Mid-Term Meeting of the Five Trademark Offices (TM5)*¹, including Japan, the United States, Europe, China, and Korea, which was held in San Diego, U.S. from May 15 to 17.

At the meeting, each office discussed future goals and ways to proceed with the 11 cooperative projects and two newly proposed projects promoted by TM5 for the purpose of harmonizing trademark practice and procedures, as well as improving trademark services. In addition, a TM5 workshop was held to exchange views on the topics of Quality Practices in Trademark Examination and Pendency Efforts for Trademark Examination, which was followed by an exchange of opinions.

Regarding the "User Involvement Project*²", which is one of the three projects led by the JPO, it was agreed to hold a TM5/INTA Joint Workshop during next year's International Trademark Association (INTA) Annual Meeting on the tentative title of a "Comparison of Composite Trademarks."

Furthermore, regarding the "Bad Faith Trademark Project*³", the TM5 Offices reported the results of a workshop on countermeasures against bad faith trademark applications that was held this past January for IP Office employees from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia. It was also agreed that the next workshop will be held in Thailand.

Regarding the "IT Support for Trademark Examination Project*⁴", the TM5 Offices additionally agreed to hold an online expert meeting in July on the theme "Latest Initiatives for IT Tools at Each Office."

With respect to the project currently proposed by CNIPA to create a user guide summarizing information on trademark application procedures at individual TM5 offices, it was agreed to create the format for the user guide by the time of the TM5 Working-Level Meeting, which is scheduled for July of this year.

Additionally, regarding the new proposal from the USPTO for a project where the host office sets a theme for discussion each year among the five offices (tentatively titled the "TM5 Discussion Session Project"), it was decided to continue holding discussions with the aim of adopting the proposal during the TM5 annual meeting.

The TM5 User Session was held on the final day of the meeting for user representatives from industry groups and agent organizations, where each office reported its latest measures.

The 14th TM5 Annual Meeting, which will summarize this year's activities, is scheduled to be held in Washington DC, USA in October 2025.

The JPO will continue to contribute toward promoting the appropriate protection and utilization of trademark rights through the efforts of TM5.

• *1: The TM5 meeting is held annually, comprising the five major trademark offices of the Japan Patent Office (JPO), United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), and Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO). The meetings are hosted on a rotating basis, with the USPTO hosting this year. In addition, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) participates as an observer.
• *2: The JPO leads the TM5 joint workshops in cooperation with the INTA to disseminate information to users.
• *3: The TM5 offices aim to exchange information on their respective laws, regulations and operational practices regarding bad faith trademark filings, as well as to provide users with information in this regard.
• *4: The TM5 offices aim to exchange information on IT tools/systems for the purpose of optimizing trademark examinations.

Links

• The Five Trademark Offices (TM5)
• TM5 Website "User Involvement" (External link)
• TM5 Website "Bad Faith Trademark" (External link)
• TM5 Website "IT Support for Trademark Examination" (External link)

[Last updated 13 June 2025]