International · JP
Trademark refusal rate in Japan: Madrid System filings
150,433 international registrations on record designate Japan. Among the 32,759 designations registered 2019–2022 (the resolved cohort we measure outcomes on), 63.6% received a provisional refusal, 4,695 (14.3%) are still refused outright, 0 partially, and 27,855 (85%) hold a grant of protection. That refusal rate is above the 4.4% median across the 60 most-designated offices.
How U.S. companies fare in Japan compared with 60+ other offices: where U.S. trademark owners get refused abroad.
52% of the registrations designating Japan also designate the United States. Those appear in USPTO data as well, so a USPTO clearance check catches them; the rest are invisible to a U.S.-only search.
Most-designated Nice classes in Japan
| Class | Goods / services | Registrations |
|---|---|---|
| Class 9 | Computers & Electronics | 44,963 |
| Class 42 | Computer & Scientific | 28,208 |
| Class 35 | Advertising & Business | 24,748 |
| Class 25 | Clothing | 18,435 |
| Class 5 | Pharmaceuticals | 17,380 |
| Class 41 | Education & Entertainment | 16,393 |
| Class 3 | Cosmetics & Cleaning | 16,333 |
| Class 7 | Machinery | 12,080 |
| Class 10 | Medical Apparatus | 11,621 |
| Class 18 | Leather Goods | 10,869 |
Who files into Japan
Office of origin of the registrations designating Japan, where the filers are based.
| Office of origin | Registrations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| United States (US) | 30,072 | 20% |
| European Union (EM) | 24,406 | 16.2% |
| China (CN) | 12,967 | 8.6% |
| France (FR) | 11,359 | 7.6% |
| Germany (DE) | 11,358 | 7.6% |
| Switzerland (CH) | 10,421 | 6.9% |
| United Kingdom (GB) | 8,259 | 5.5% |
| Italy (IT) | 8,257 | 5.5% |
International registrations designating Japan, by registration year
Registrations on record by the year they were registered internationally. Our copy covers registrations with activity since July 2025, so older years reflect renewals and decisions, not original volume.
| Year | Registrations | Volume |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 7,617 | |
| 2018 | 7,198 | |
| 2019 | 7,634 | |
| 2020 | 7,619 | |
| 2021 | 8,099 | |
| 2022 | 9,407 | |
| 2023 | 12,418 | |
| 2024 | 15,572 | |
| 2025 | 15,425 | |
| 2026 | 8,374 |
Planning to designate Japan? Run your mark through the free clearance risk check. It searches the international register in your classes and shows where similar marks were refused. If your mark has a logo, screen it with logo similarity search.