In this article, we will take a deeper look at what it means when a trademark lacks distinctiveness.

The primary role of a trademark is to distinguish your products from those of others, but some words simply cannot fulfill this function. For example, if a beer is labeled "Beer" or rice crackers are labeled "Senbei," no one would recognize those words as a specific brand name.

If a particular individual were allowed to monopolize such terms, other businesses would no longer be able to use them, causing significant confusion in the marketplace. For this reason, trademark law specifies six main categories that are considered to "lack distinctiveness" and cannot be registered:

1. Generic names of goods or services These are the common names of the products themselves—such as "Apple" for an actual apple or "Personal Computer" for a PC. A name that everyone uses to refer to a product cannot be monopolized by one person.
2. Customary trademarks commonly used in the industry These are marks that may have started as specific brands but became generic within their industry over many years. Classic examples in Japan include "Masamune" for sake or "Kaki-no-tane" for rice crackers.
3. Terms describing the origin, quality, etc., of the product This includes words describing where a product is from, where it is sold, its quality, or its ingredients. For instance, "Aomori" for apples or "Shizuoka" for tea (geographic origins), as well as terms like "Delicious" for food or "Precision" for watches, are seen as mere descriptions and are not eligible for registration.
4. Common surnames or names Very common Japanese surnames like "Yamada," "Sato," or "Tanaka" fall into this category. Since many people share these names, it is considered inappropriate to grant a monopoly to a single individual.
5. Extremely simple and common marks This includes one or two letters of the alphabet (like "AB") or simple geometric shapes like circles and squares. Because these are often used as model numbers or part numbers, they are considered to have very little power as a distinctive brand marker.
6. Other marks that lack individuality Even outside the categories above, any mark that a consumer cannot recognize as a "specific brand" cannot be registered. Common catchphrases or simple background patterns (background motifs) typically fall under this rule.

In the world of trademark registration, the rule is that "words everyone wants to use" or "mere descriptions" should remain as common property, free for everyone to use.