How to register trademark in Vietnam

How to register trademark in Vietnam is the important consideration of foreign investor intending to expand the market in Vietnam. In order to support businesses and individuals in trademark registration for their goods and services before marketing them as quickly and professionally as possible, Viet An Intellectual Property Representative provides guidelines of the way to register a trademark in Vietnam in this article.

Documents need to prepare when registering a trademark through Viet An Law

Viet An Law is an Intellectual Property Representative organization, so Clients will be guaranteed all rights when using our trademark registration service. To register a trademark through Viet An Law whether in Vietnam or abroad, customers only need to prepare the following documents:

• Trademark sample.
• List of goods and services that need to be searched and registered for trademarks.
• Sign the Power of Attorney according to the form of Viet An Law.
• Documents applying for priority rights (if any).
• Pay the prescribed fee.

Trademark registration process in Vietnam

Step 1: Research the trademark

To perform a trademark search, Clients only need to provide Viet An Law:

• Trademark sample;
• List of goods and services to research and register.

Note:

When choosing a trademark as Client’s brand name, make sure it is consistency or, preferably, the same trade name of enterprises and domain name Client already own. This will increase Client’s brand recognition and significantly reduce the chances of this trademark being infringed by a third party.

Viet An Law Firm will conduct for a preliminary research and examination the capable of trademark registration.

Free preliminary search

Viet An Law will conduct a free preliminary search for Clients to assess the ability of the trademark registration within 01 day from the date the customer provided the information.

After the preliminary search, if the trademark does not have the ability to register, Viet An Law will consult and provide the relevant references to find a solution for the trademark to be granted a certificate at later.

In-depth search service before filing an application

In case, after the preliminary examination of the trademark and it is likely to be registered, it is possible to search in depth through Vietnamese and international data to appraise the highest possibility of granting a protection title to the trademark.

In-depth search is not a mandatory step, but should be taken to increase the success of trademark registration and save time.

However, the trademark search is for reference only and is not a basis for granting or not granting a certificate (this partly related to the priority right of trademark registration as described above).

Dossiers for trademark lookup customers need to prepare: 10 trademark samples with sizes larger than 3 × 3 cm, not exceeding 8 × 8 cm. For an sound mark, the trademark sample is an audio file and a graphical representation of that sound.

In-depth trademark search procedure through Viet An Law Firm – Intellectual Property Organization, which takes 1-3 working days.

Trademark search results: Notice of trademark search results

Step 2: Submission of trademark registration and follow up the trademark registration process at the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP)

Stage 1: Submit trademark registration dossiers

After an in-depth lookup and a mark that is considered likely to be registered, Viet An Law – an Intellectual Property Representative  will conduct a trademark registration at the NOIP on behalf of Clients.

The trademark registration dossiers that Clients need to prepare:

• Power of Attorney (attached form)
• 01 trademark sample (not smaller than 3 × 3 cm, not exceeding 8 × 8 cm)
• List of goods and services intended for trademark registration. It is noted that:
  • For each additional group of protection goods/services, the fee for granting protection titlte increases a specific amount as prescribed by law;
  • For each group of goods/services registered for protection with more than 6 goods/services registered, additional fees must be paid for each product/service from 7th onwards plus:
• Viet An Law will prepare the remaining documents according to the regulations for the trademark application in NOIP and abroad as Client’s requirements.

In addition to the above-required documents, when a customer registers a collective mark, a certification mark… customer must provide additional documents to Viet An Law Firm as follows:

• Regulation on using collective mark/ certification mark;
• Explanatory statement on the particular (or specific) nature and quality of the trademarked product (if the registered trademark is a collective trademark used for a product of a particular nature or a certification mark for the quatity of the product or a trademark certifying a geographical origin);
• Map identifying the territory (if the registered trademark is a trademark certifying the geographical origin of the product).

The Agency receiving and processing trademark registration dossiers in Vietnam: Vietnam NOIP.

Results of Stage 1: The Declaration of trademark registration

Stage 2: Formality examination of Trademark Registration Application

The time limit for formality examination of trademark registration applications is one (01) month from the filing date.

• The NOIP will consider the application with eligibility in terms of form, label pattern, owner of the application, the right to file applications, classification, etc.
• If the application of enterprise satisfies the conditions, the NOIP will notify the acceptance of the valid application and publish it.
• If the application of the enterprise does not meet the conditions, the NOIP will issue a Notice of non-acceptance of the application and request the enterprise to amend. Enterprises make modifications as required and submit the amended documents to the NOIP.

Results of Stage 2 of the trademark application: Accepting a valid application.

Stage 3: Publication of trademark application

• Time limit for publication of trademark application: 02 months from the date of notification of valid application acceptance.
• Application publication include: Information about valid applications stated in the notice of acceptance of valid applications, trademark samples and list of goods and services.

The content of publication of a trademark registration application is the information related to a valid application stated in the notice of acceptance of the valid application, trademark samples and attached list of goods and services.

Stage 4: Substantive Examination of Trademark Registration Applications

• Time limit for substantive examination: 09 months from the date of publication.
• The NOIP shall examine the conditions for registering a trademark, thereby evaluating the possibility of granting a certificate for the trademark registered by the enterprise. If the trademark registration application satisfies all conditions, the NOIP shall issue a notice of intention to grant a trademark to the mark already registered by the enterprise.
• If the trademark registration application does not meet the conditions, the NOIP issues a notice not to grant a certificate for the trademark registered by the enterprise. The enterprise shall consider and send a written response to the decision of the NOIP, and at the same time provide grounds for granting a trademark protection certificate to the trademark of the enterprise.

Result of Stage 3: Notice of intention to grant a trademark protection title and notice for pay granting fee.

Stage 4: Pay the fee for granting Trademark Registration Certificate

After the decision to grant the Certificate, Viet An Law shall notice the Clients to pay the granting fee for the Cerificate and getting the Trademark Protection Certificate and deliver to the customer.

Time limit for granting Protection Title: 02-03 months from the date of paying fees for granting the Certificate.

Result of stage 4: Applicants obtaining Trademark Registration Certificate

Note:

According to the experience of Viet An Law Firm, the Trademark Registration period will usually last about 12-18 months from the date of accepting a valid application, i.e significantly longer than the statutory time. The reason is that the application volume is too large while the capacity of NOIP is not enough to meet this quantity.

Term protection of trademark in Vietnam

Vietnam’s regulations as well as most countries in the world about the term of trademark protection is 10 years from the filing date. After that, the trademark holder renews to maintain the validity of the trademark registration certificate. Accordingly, every time it expires, it will renew it again.

Service of trademark registration in Vietnam of Viet An Law

• Viet An Law supports application owners with free preliminary trademark search and provide service for in-depth search before registering.
• Consulting on registration conditions and procedures to ensure the highest ability of trademark registration in Vietnam.
• Consulting the plan to amend the trademark registration. Negotiate, draft, appraise and register a contract to transfer the right to use or own a trademark in Vietnam.
• Advice on the scope of protection of a trademark registration certificate.
• Representing foreign clients, businesses, and application owners in applying for a certificate of trademark registration, recording amendments and renewals of trademark protection titles in Vietnam.
• Handling trademark infringement and objection to trademark registration.
• Responding to a trademark registration application that is refused protection title.
• Complaint about issues related to the establishment and protection of trademark rights.
• Cancellation of the certificate of trademark registration in accordance with the law.

Clients have demand on trademark registration in Vietnam and abroad, please contact Viet An Law for the fastest, most professional support at the most reasonable cost!