A news report says that a total of 30 terms that trended in 2025 have been nominated for this year’s “Buzzword of the Year” award. These nominated words reflect the social and economic climate, such as “Trump Tariffs,” “Kokokomai (old-old-old rice),” “High Prices of Commodities,” “National Treasure (I saw it),” “Myakumyaku,” and “Emergency Gun Hunting / Bear Attacks,” among others.
As many of these buzzwords are widely used by the public, their distinctiveness often becomes an issue from a trademark perspective. For example, the phrases “Mogumogu Time” and “Sodane~,” which were used by the Japanese women’s curling team that won a medal at the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics and subsequently gained extensive media exposure, were nominated for the Buzzword of the Year in that same year. However, trademark applications for these terms were refused on the grounds of lack of distinctiveness under Article 3(1)(vi) of the Trademark Act.
Other grounds for refusal that may apply to trademark applications for buzzwords include violation of public order or morality (Article 4(1)(vii)), inclusion of another person’s name (Article 4(1)(viii)), identicalness or similarity with another person’s prior-filed or registered trademark (Article 4(1)(xi)), and likelihood of confusion as to source (Article 4(1)(xv)).
The winner of this year’s Buzzword of the Year award is scheduled to be announced on December 1, 2025.