(The katakana corresponds to “Kids Money Literacy”.)

Printed matter; study-aid books; and others in class 16

Karuta playing cards [Japanese card game]; playing cards; and others in class 28

Arranging, conducting, and organization of seminars; educational and instruction services relating to arts, crafts, sports, or general knowledge; and others in class 41

The applied-for-trademark consists of the character string “” (The katakana corresponds to “Kids Money Literacy”) in standard characters. It is cohesive as a whole in appearance.

Even if “” suggests “Children’s knowledge and abilities concerning money” because the trademark is a combination of “Kids” meaning “children”, “Money” retaining its common inherent meaning, and “Literacy” meaning “reading/writing ability; knowledge of a particular subject”, it is difficult to say that the applied-for-trademark would be directly and specifically recognized as indication of quality in fields of the designated goods/services. Rather, it is reasonable to consider that the applied-for-trademark does not have any specific meanings and that it would likely be considered a coined word.

The appeal examiners did not find that “” has been commonly used in trading to indicate specific quality and other such characteristics directly and specifically in fields of the designated goods/services through ex-officio searches. In addition, the appeal examiners did not find any circumstances to determine that traders and consumers should perceive “” as indications of quality and other such characteristics of the goods/services.

With the above in mind, it is unreasonable to say that the applied-for trademark would indicate quality and other such characteristics or likely mislead as to quality of the goods/services in connection with the designated goods/services.

In the examination and the appeal stages, the applicant argued the following:

The applied-for-trademark consists of the character string “” in standard characters. The fonts and sizes of the characters are the same at an equal spacing interval. Thus, the trademark is cohesive as a whole in appearance. Further, it could be naturally pronounced at a breath, as a whole.

With the above composition in mind, it is reasonable to say that dealers and consumers would recognize the applied-for-trademark as a coined word as a whole, rather than understand the meaning of the trademark by identifying the meaning of each word, “Kids”, “Money” and “Literacy” and combining them.