Respond to a trademark opposition in Vietnam is not merely about submitting an explanatory document to the Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) to fulfil a formal procedure. This is an intensive process of analysing and contrasting each opposition ground against legal regulations, specific citations, evidentiary documents, and the protection scope of the filed trademark application, which is a critical turning point during trademark prosecution in Vietnam.
For the application to proceed through examination and potentially be granted a protection title, the applicant or the industrial property (IP) representative organisation must build precise legal arguments, respond comprehensively to every opposed point, and provide appropriate evidence. Through this, the applicant must prove that their right to register is lawful, the trademark meets the conditions for protection, and the grounds presented by the opposing party lack sufficient basis to refuse the application.
Responding to a trademark opposition in Vietnam is the act where the applicant submits a document to the Vietnam NOIP to answer the grounds, arguments, and evidence presented by a third party aimed at opposing the issuance of a trademark registration certificate.
The law typically uses the term “feedback opinion of the applicant”. However, in consulting practice, this procedure is commonly referred to as an opposition response or the process of responding to a trademark opposition in Vietnam.
The objective of the response document is to prove one or more of the following contents:
Note: The response document must be sent to the Vietnam NOIP, not just sent directly to the opposing party.
According to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law amended in 2025, an opposition to a trademark application must be filed within a time limit of 03 months from the date the application is published. When the opposition opinion meets the conditions for reception, the Vietnam NOIP notifies the applicant and, in cases where it is necessary to obtain an opinion, sets a time limit for the applicant to respond in writing.
The applicant needs to prepare a response document when receiving a notification from the Vietnam NOIP stating that a third party has opposed the trademark registration application.
To prepare a well-founded and persuasive response document concerning the contents of the party attempting to defend a trademark application, the responding party must note and clarify the following information:
Before responding, it is necessary to determine which category the opposition falls into: conflict with a prior trademark, lack of right to register, bad faith, conflict with a trade name, copyright, or another intellectual property right.
A generic response template should not be used for every case, because each opposition ground entails different legal conditions and burdens of proof when seeking to defend a trademark application in Vietnam.
According to Article 82 of the current regulations, the Vietnam NOIP sets a time limit of 01 month from the date of issuing the notification for the applicant to respond in writing.
A point requiring special attention is that the time limit is calculated from the date of issuing the notification, not automatically from the date the applicant actually receives the notification. Therefore, immediately upon receiving the document, the applicant must check the signing date, the issuing date, and the expiration date for the answer.
The time for the applicant to answer the opposition and the time for the opposing party to provide feedback in return are not counted into the time limit for the substantive examination of the trademark registration application.
Before answering the content, the applicant should check the procedural conditions of the opposition, including:
The opposition opinion must be established in Vietnamese, accompanied by documents or information sources for proof. Documents in another language must be translated into Vietnamese upon request.
If the opposition is filed late, lacks evidence, or cites a right formed after the filing date, the applicant needs to clearly state this deficiency right from the beginning of the response document as a foundational requirement for a trademark opposition in Vietnam.
It is necessary to clearly identify:
This section should neutrally and concisely present each ground raised by the opposing party. One should not misinterpret or skip unfavourable arguments.
For example: The opposing party claims that the trademark in the application is confusingly similar to the cited trademark according to point e, clause 2, Article 74, and claims that the applicant carried out the registration with bad faith according to point b, clause 1, Article 117.
The applicant must clearly state:
Each ground must be answered separately according to the structure:
Argument of the opposing party → applicable legal regulation → factual events → evidence → conclusion.
Merely declaring that “the opposition opinion has no basis” without analysing each legal condition is usually not persuasive enough, and the application is prone to being refused a certificate for trademark registration in Vietnam.
Responding to a trademark opposition based on confusingly similar trademarks
When the opposing party cites point e, clause 2, Article 74, the applicant needs to separately analyse two issues:
Regarding the sign, one should compare:
Regarding goods and services, it is necessary to consider:
For example: The opposing party cites the trademark “SUN RIVER” for drinking water to oppose “SUNRIVA” for cosmetics. The applicant can argue that although both signs contain “SUN”, the overall structure, pronunciation, and meaning are different; simultaneously, drinking water and cosmetics differ in nature, purpose of use, and distribution channels. However, the argument must be adjusted if the actual list contains more closely related products.
If the opposing party cites a well-known trademark or a trademark that is widely used and recognised, the applicant needs to check:
Registration certificates in foreign countries or general advertising posts on the Internet do not automatically prove that the trademark is well-known or widely recognised in Vietnam.
The response document must evaluate each document, pointing out exactly which documents do not reflect the Vietnamese market, fail to determine the time, or fail to prove the awareness level of consumers.
For a trade name, it is necessary to check whether the opposing party has proven lawful and actual use before the filing date. An enterprise registration certificate alone does not fully reflect the scope of trade name use, the business territory, and the customer group.
For copyright, it is necessary to clarify:
For example: If the opposing party claims that the logo in the application is a copy of their work but only provides a copyright registration certificate issued after the filing date, the applicant should not merely rely on the issuance date. It is necessary to further check the creation date, the process of forming the work, and documents proving actual ownership rights.
When an opposition relates to the right to register, the focus is usually on the relationship between the applicant and the opposing party, such as:
The applicant needs to provide contracts, power of attorney letters, distribution agreements, transaction vouchers, or documents proving they possess an independent right to register and defend a trademark application in Vietnam.
According to the current process, disputes regarding the registration right can be transferred for settlement at the Court. The Vietnam NOIP may request the opposing party to file a lawsuit and send a copy of the acceptance notice within a 02-month time limit. If not performed on time, the opposition is considered withdrawn, and the application continues to be processed, except for cases resolved directly during the examination process as prescribed.
Regarding an allegation of bad faith, the applicant needs to refute the chain of circumstances that the opposing party uses to prove that the applicant knew about the prior trademark and had the intention to misappropriate or obstruct.
The evidence that can be used includes:
For example: If the opposing party alleges that a distributor registers the manufacturer’s trademark in bad faith, the applicant can provide an agreement permitting the registration or prove they independently created the sign. Conversely, if the contract clearly defines that the trademark belongs to the manufacturer, a general denial will be difficult to persuade.
Depending on the case, the dossier may include:
Each piece of evidence should be numbered, with a description of the proof purpose, and directly referenced in the argumentation section. One should not submit a large volume of documents without explaining the legal value of each document.
Before the Vietnam NOIP issues a decision to grant or refuse to grant a protection title, the applicant can amend and supplement the application. However, the amendment must not expand the disclosed scope of protection and must not alter the essence of the registration subject matter.
In practice, as a tactic for the settlement of trademark opposition in Vietnam, the applicant may consider:
Amending the trademark specimen must be evaluated cautiously because significantly altering the components, structure, or overall impression can be deemed as altering the essence of the trademark.
After receiving the response document, if deemed necessary, the Vietnam NOIP may send the feedback opinion of the applicant to the opposing party and set a period of 01 month for the opposing party to answer.
The Vietnam NOIP can also organise a dialogue if deemed necessary or when both parties mutually request it. The settlement of a trademark opposition in Vietnam is determined based on the application dossier, evidence, the parties’ arguments, and any dialogue results.
After reviewing the dossier, the Vietnam NOIP may:
The opposition results are considered alongside the substantive examination results of the application. In case the application is withdrawn, the Office issues a notice to suspend the processing of the opposition.
Common mistakes to avoid when attempting to respond to a trademark opposition in Vietnam include:
An effective document needs to focus on the strongest ground and directly answer each element that the opposing party is obligated to prove.
With a team of highly experienced lawyers and intellectual property specialists, Viet An Law supports clients to defend a trademark application in Vietnam suitable for each case, ensuring strict arguments, comprehensive evidence, and minimising the risk of the trademark registration application being refused.
In case you receive an opposition notice regarding a trademark application before figuring out how to respond to a trademark opposition and settlement of trademark opposition in Vietnam, please contact Viet An Law for consultation, dossier review, and support in carrying out the procedures promptly.
