Laundry Services Trademarks Registration in Vietnam

For many clothes, when washing by washing machine or washing in the normal way cannot be cleaned properly, it can lead to damage of clothes and utensils. Therefore, consumers can use the laundry services to ensure that the clothes are kept fresh and durable and to save time and effort. When providing laundry services, business owners can apply for trademark protection. The trademark registration process takes 13-18 months for the Department of Property to receive and process the application. Owners can apply by themselves or through an industrial property representative of Viet An Law.

A trademark registration application includes the following documents:

• 01 trademark sample with dimensions bigger than 3 x 3 cm and smaller than 8 x 8 cm;
• A list of goods/services intended to register;
• A trademark registration declaration (if customers authorize Viet An Law to submit, this declaration will be signed by the representative of Viet An Law);
• A power of attorney;
• Receipts of fee payment.

Note: The list of goods and services must be classified according to the Nice Classification. According to the notice of the Intellectual Property Department in the Industrial Property Official Gazette No. 353, volume B (8.2017), from October 1, 2017, the classification of goods and services when applying for trademark registration is possible must base on the Nice Classification. Accordingly, laundry services are in class 37.

Process of trademark registration application:

• Form appraisal: This stage is performed to evaluate the validity of the application. The application is considered invalid if:
• The application does not meet formal requirements;
• The object stated in the application is not protected;
• The applicant does not have the right to register, even where the right to register belongs to many organizations or individuals but one or several of them do not agree to make the application;
• The application is submitted in contravention of the regulations on how to apply;
• The applicant does not pay fees.

In one of these cases, the Intellectual Property Office will ask the applicant to correct the deficiencies and then issue a notice of acceptance or refusal to accept the application.

• Publish the application on the gazette: The trademark registration application is published within two months from the date the application is accepted as a valid application and the applicant must pay the application publication fee.
• Content appraisal: Purposes of content appraisal of the application are to evaluate the ability of the object stated in the application to be protected under the protection conditions, and to determine the corresponding protection coverage. During the content appraisal, the Intellectual Property Office may request the applicant to explain the contents of the application and provide information within the nature of the object stated in the application.
• Grant and Publish the protection title: Trademark registration certificates will be valid from the date of issue until the end of 10 years from the date of applying. At the end of the validity period, the owner can extend the title for an additional 10 years (with an unlimited number of times) and must pay a fee.

For any information related to trademark registration in Vietnam for products and services, please contact Viet An Law for the most specific and detailed advice.