Washing Machines Trademarks Registration in Vietnam

According to the Law on Intellectual Property, a trademark owner is an organization, individual who has been granted a trademark protection title by a competent agency or has an internationally registered trademark by competent agencies has the right to recognize or have a well-known trademark. When a protection title has been granted, the owner has full right to use the trademark within the scope of protection or to allow another to use, dispose of, or prevent others from using the industrial property objects. Therefore, we can see the great benefits that trademark registration brings to its owners. The business owners in general and washing machine businesses, in particular, can conduct a trademark registration to protect their certain products.

Prepare a trademark registration application:

• 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 (These goods/services must be classified in class 35 according to the Nice Classification;
• 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 Viet An Law to apply;
• Receipts of fee payments.

Processing the application stages:

• Form appraisal (01 – 02 months): the Intellectual Property office consider the validity of the application (necessary documents, class classification, stated objects classification, right to submit…) and issue a notice to accept the application as a valid application or a refusal notice to accept (if the applicant does not correct mistakes in the application);
• Publish the application on the gazette (02 months);
• Content appraisal (09 – 12 months): the purpose of the content appraisal is to assess the possibility to protect the stated objects according to protection conditions and to determine the scope of corresponding protection. During the content appraisal, the Intellectual Property Office may request the applicant to explain the content in the application, provide information belonging to the nature of the stated objects in the application;
• Grant and Publish the protection title (01 – 02 months).

After receiving the protection title, in case there is any change, the owner has the right to request the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights to amend the following information on the protection title, provided that the owner pays the fee.

• Amend, supplement mistakes relating to the owner’s name and address;
• Amend, supplement regulations on using collective trademarks or certification trademarks.

Besides that, the protection title owner has the right to request the state management agency in charge of industrial property to reduce the scope corresponding protection. In this case, the corresponding application shall be appraised content and the requester shall pay the fee appraisal.

Basing on the information need to amend, supplement, these documents need to be required:

• A request declaration to amend, supplement the protection title;
• The original protection title;
• Documents certifying the change of name, address (original or notarized copy) if the requested content is changing the name, address;
• Documents proving the transfer of the ownership;
• Documents detailing the revised content;
• 05 trademark samples which are supplemented (if the owners request to supplement the trademark); 02 regulations on the using collective trademarks or certification trademarks (if the owners request to supplement the collective trademarks, certification trademarks);
• A power of attorney (in case submitting through the representative);
• Receipts of fee payments: supplementation fee, content appraisal fee, publishing fee.

For any information relating to register trademarks for products, services please contact Viet An Law for the most specific advice.