Vietnam Trademark Registration for Korean Cosmetics & Retail

As the Vietnamese market rapidly expands, Korean cosmetics and retail brands face immense opportunities alongside the severe threat of intellectual property theft. To build a sustainable foundation and protect assets against counterfeiting, securing Vietnam trademark registration for Korean cosmetics & retail is a mandatory strategic step. Navigating cross-border legal barriers requires expertise; leveraging professional trademark registration services in Vietnam allows Korean investors to fully optimize this process. By mastering the trademark classification system in Vietnam and understanding the comprehensive framework for trademark registration in Vietnam, businesses can confidently expand operations and cement their brand authority.

Benefits of exclusive trademark registration for Korean retail and cosmetics companies in Vietnam

Merely possessing a strong reputation in Korea is insufficient to secure protection under Vietnamese law. Trademark Registration Certificate issued by the Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) serves as the instrument of absolute legal validity.

• Domestic infringement enforcement: Upon discovering unauthorized processing facilities or stores selling counterfeit goods, the enterprise possesses the full legal basis to request competent authorities (Market Surveillance Agency, Economic Police) to conduct sudden inspections.
• Border control against counterfeits: Korean enterprises have the right to request the Customs authority to apply border control measures. By providing information on the registered trademark, Customs will monitor and immediately suspend customs clearance, confiscating containers of goods exhibiting signs of intellectual property infringement before they infiltrate the domestic market.
• Ensuring legitimacy in commercial contracts: Exclusive trademark ownership proves to partners that your enterprise operates legally, professionally, and without latent risks of legal disputes. This is the mandatory entry ticket to place K-beauty cosmetics on the shelves of reputable distribution networks.
• The key to safe franchise deployment: Trademark registration empowers Korean enterprises to confidently transfer their business models and lawfully collect royalty fees without the risk of franchisees “stealing” or preemptively registering the brand.

Navigating the trademark classification system in Vietnam for Korean companies

Pursuant to the current Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property relies directly on the translated Nice Classification published by the Office to examine dossiers, assess the risk of trademark duplication, and calculate state fees. For Korean companies expanding into the Vietnamese market, especially in K-beauty, retail, and gastronomy, accurately identifying and applying the trademark classification system in Vietnam is a strategic step to establish a robust legal barrier.

Below are the focal classification groups frequently prioritized for registration by Korean investors:

Procedure for trademark registration in Vietnam for Korean companies

Dossier for trademark protection registration for Korean companies

According to the provisions of Decision 3675/QD-BKHCN, the composition of the trademark registration dossier for Korean organizations and individuals is fundamentally similar to that of domestic entities and includes:

• Trademark registration declaration according to the form issued by the National Office of Intellectual Property (submit 02 copies).
• Trademark sample to be registered (05 copies, minimum dimensions of 2x2cm and maximum not exceeding 8x8cm).
• List of goods or services bearing the trademark, classified according to the international classification of goods/services (Nice Classification).
• Documents proving the payment of registration state fees.
• Power of Attorney (POA) for the industrial property representative organization, in cases where the application is submitted through a representative.
• Documents proving the priority right (if requesting to enjoy priority rights under the Paris Convention).

In cases where the trademark is a collective trademark or a certification trademark, the dossier must be supplemented with:

• Regulations on the use of the collective or certification trademark.
• Detailed description of the characteristics and quality of the product (if any).
• Map of the geographical area (for trademarks related to geographical origin).
• Written permission to use the geographical name in the trademark, if the trademark contains elements of a geographical indication or administrative geographical name.

The entire dossier must imperatively be established in Vietnamese. If there are original documents in a foreign language, they must be translated into Vietnamese and notarized in accordance with regulations. Navigating this procedure effectively is essential for a successful trademark registration in Vietnam.

Process of trademark registration in Vietnam for Korean companies

The K-beauty wave and legal risks associated with the “counterfeit” epidemic

The Vietnamese market, characterized by a young population and a high degree of preference for Korean culture, presents a golden opportunity for Korean startup enterprises. From cosmetic distribution networks (K-beauty) to food and beverage (F&B) chains, market penetration is occurring at a rapid pace. However, the boundary between the opportunity for revenue breakthroughs and the risk of losing a brand entirely is exceptionally fragile.

Counterfeiting of Korean cosmetics and F&B brands

Never before has the issue of intellectual property infringement besieged Korean brands with such sophistication and on such a massive scale. For the K-beauty sector, the market is being manipulated by thousands of products labeled as cheap parallel imports, which are in reality counterfeit, substandard goods formulated from unverified chemicals.

In the retail and F&B sectors, the “theft” of intellectual property occurs openly on the streets. Many domestic business establishments blatantly copy everything from the logo, signage, and brand colors to the spatial design style of famous Korean F&B chains. This flagrant “knock-off” behavior not only causes severe confusion for consumers but also directly fractures the value chain, destroys the reputation of authentic distribution networks, and suffocates the revenue of legitimate investors.

The “FOELLIE” trademark dispute

This is one of the most typical and complex trademark disputes recently (2022 – 2024), involving the act of “trademark squatting”.

• Incident: Laorganic Co., Ltd (South Korea) is the official owner of the Foellie brand. However, upon entering Vietnam, they discovered that a Vietnamese individual/entity had preemptively registered the trademark “FOELLIE” at the National Office of Intellectual Property and was granted a protection title.
• Legal dispute: Based on this title, the Vietnamese party requested the Market Surveillance Agency to seize goods from the actual authorized dealer from Korea, while simultaneously offering to sell the trademark back to the Korean company at an exorbitant price.
• Result: The Korean company had to execute a procedure to invalidate the protection title of the Vietnamese party based on evidence of filing the application in bad faith and copyright over the logo.

The “SAMYANG” spicy noodle trademark infringement case

This incident involves trademark infringement and unfair competition concerning packaging identity.

• Incident: Samyang Foods Group (South Korea) owns the highly famous “Buldak” spicy noodle line. In the Vietnamese market, numerous domestic or smuggled noodle lines appeared with packaging copied exactly from the colors (black – red), the mascot image (fire-breathing chicken), and the typographical arrangement.
• Legal dispute: Samyang coordinated with law firms in Vietnam to send a Cease and Desist letter and requested the intervention of the Market Surveillance Agency. The crucial point is that the infringing parties did not use the name “Samyang” but copied the entire Trade Dress (commercial appearance), causing consumer confusion.
• Result: Many shipments were confiscated and destroyed, and the manufacturing facilities in Vietnam were forced to completely change their packaging designs to eliminate similarities with Samyang.
• Lesson: Beyond protecting the brand name, Korean F&B enterprises must protect the Industrial Design (packaging) and Copyright for advertising mascots.

Frequently asked legal questions from Korean investors

How does a Korean company without a branch in Vietnam file a trademark registration application?

Korean individuals or organizations without a permanent residence or commercial/production facility in Vietnam are mandatorily required to file a trademark registration application through an industrial property representative organization (such as licensed law firms) to execute procedures at the National Office of Intellectual Property.

Can the filing date in Korea (KIPO) be used as the priority date in Vietnam?

Yes. If an enterprise has filed a trademark registration application in Korea, then within 06 months from that filing date, when filing the application in Vietnam, the enterprise has the right to claim priority. This allows the enterprise’s filing date in Vietnam to be calculated as identical to the filing date in Korea, thereby preventing other parties from “squatting” the application during this period.

Are trademarks containing Korean characters (Hangul) directly protected in Vietnam?

Yes, but with conditions. Trademarks containing Korean characters can still be registered; however, the applicant usually must attach a phonetic transcription of the pronunciation and a semantic translation into Vietnamese or English within the application. The National Office of Intellectual Property will examine the application based on the distinctiveness of the graphics and the translated content to avoid duplication with existing trademarks.

Viet An Law – Trademark registration services in Vietnam for FDI enterprises

In the context of the increasingly integrated Vietnamese market, protecting intellectual property assets is not merely an administrative procedure but a survival strategy for foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, particularly those from South Korea. Viet An Law is proud to be a leading advisory firm, providing comprehensive brand protection solutions through professional trademark registration services in Vietnam with a dedicated roadmap:

• In-depth search and risk assessment services
• Drafting and establishing trademark rights
• Dossier management and processing during the examination phase
• Post-protection services and intellectual property management
• Consulting on infringement handling and combating counterfeit goods

The above information is the latest update from Viet An Law regarding Vietnam trademark registration for Korean cosmetics & retail. Should clients have any related inquiries or require support, please contact Viet An Law for the best assistance!