In an administrative appeal, the Appeal Board of the Japan Patent Office (JPO) overturned the examiner’s rejection, finding that the terms “STINGER” and “Stingers” were not considered confusingly similar.
[Appeal case no. 2025-000046, decided on August 5, 2025]
STINGER GC by LIV Golf
LIV Golf, a professional golf league founded in 2021, filed trademark application for the mark “STINGER GC” (see below) for use on clothing in Class 25 and golf tournaments in Cass 41 with the JPO on June 22, 2023 [TM Application no. 2023-69454].
The term “GC” is depicted in a noticeably smaller font size compared to “STINGER,” and therefore the element “STINGER” is perceived as the dominant portion of the mark.
Cited mark “Stingers”
On October 1, 2024, the JPO examiner rejected the mark based on Article 4(1)(xi) of the Japan Trademark Law by citing earlier trademark registration no. 6632507 for the stylized mark “Stingers” with device (see below).
The cited mark “Stingers” is used as the name of a professional badminton team managed by the cited owner.
On January 6, 2025, LIV Golf filed an appeal against the rejection with the JPO and disputed dissimilarity of the two marks.
JPO decision
A comparison of the applied-for mark and the cited mark shows differences in the presence of the letters “GC” in the former and the presence of a device element in the latter. When considered in their overall compositions, these differences result in a distinct visual impression, such that the two marks are dissimilar in appearance.
Further, when comparing the word element “STINGER” of the applied-for mark with the word element “Stingers” of the cited mark, several distinctions can be identified. These include the presence or absence of the terminal letter “s,” the use of all uppercase letters as opposed to a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, differences in typeface, and the manner of presentation—whether written in a straight horizontal line or with a slight upward inclination. Taken together, these variations further reduce the likelihood of visual confusion between the two marks.
In terms of pronunciation, the difference arising from the presence or absence of the final syllable “zu” is significant in light of the relatively short phonetic structures of the marks (five and six syllables, respectively). As a result, the two marks are unlikely to be confused phonetically.
From a conceptual standpoint, the applied-for mark conveys the idea of “something that stings,” whereas the cited mark conveys the idea of “things that sting.” The only distinction lies in the singular versus plural form of the word. Accordingly, the two marks may be considered to share a similar conceptual impression.
In summary, while the applied-for mark and the cited mark may be regarded as conceptually similar, they differ significantly in appearance and pronunciation. Taking into account the overall impressions, memories, and associations that the marks would create among relevant traders and consumers, the two marks can be regarded as dissimilar in their entirety.