Procedure to Terminate a Trademark Protection Certificate in Vietnam

A trademark protection title is a document granted by a competent state agency to an organization or individual in order to establish industrial property rights to a trademark and is one of the bases for protecting ownership rights. However, a trademark protection title may be invalidated in some cases specified in the Intellectual Property Law at the request of the title owner or a third party. In the article below, Viet An Law will provide clients with some general legal advice on the procedure to terminate a trademark protection certificate in Vietnam.

What is trademark terminated?

• The protection title is terminated throughout the territory of Vietnam. The trademark registration certificate is valid from the date of issuance to the end of ten years from the date of filing, and can be renewed several times in a row, each for ten years, and there is no limit to the number of renewals.
• Termination of the validity of a trademark protection title is understood as the termination (non-continuation) of the validity of a trademark protection title or protection certificate that ceases to be valid from the time of termination.

Cases of a trademark protection certificate’s validity terminated

A trademark registration certificate is terminated in whole or in part when:

• The owner of the trademark registration certificate fails to pay fees and charges to extend the validity as prescribed;
• The owner of the trademark registration certificate declares the waiver of industrial property rights: In this case, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall consider and decide to terminate the validity of the protection title;
• The owner of the trademark registration certificate no longer operates business without a lawful successor;
• The trademark is not used by the owner or the person authorized by the owner for a period of 05 consecutive years before the date of the request for termination without plausible reasons, unless the use is started or restarted at least 03 months before the date of the request for termination;
• The owner of the trademark registration certificate for a collective mark fails to control or ineffectively controls the implementation of the regulation on the use of collective marks;
• The holder of the Certificate of Trademark Registration for the certification mark violates the regulation on use of the certification mark or fails to control or ineffectively control the implementation of the Regulation on the use of the certification mark;
• The use of a protected trademark for goods or services by the trademark owner or a person authorized by the trademark owner to mislead consumers about the nature, quality or geographical origin of such goods or services;
• The protected trademark becomes the common name of the goods and services registered for the trademark itself.

Time of procedure to terminate a trademark protection certificate in Vietnam

• In case the owner of the trademark registration certificate fails to pay charges and fees to extend the validity period within the prescribed time limit, upon the expiration of that duration, the validity of the trademark registration certificate shall automatically terminate from the date of the beginning of the next validity period. Fees for extension of validity are not paid. The National Office of Intellectual Property shall record the termination of the validity of the protection title in the National Register of Industrial Property and publish it in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property.
• In case the protection title holder declares the renunciation of industrial property rights, the NOIP shall consider and decide to terminate the validity of the protection title. The validity of the protection title shall be terminated from the date the National Office of Intellectual Property receives the written declaration of the protection title holder.
• For the remaining cases, the validity of the trademark protection title shall be terminated from the date the National Office of Intellectual Property issues the decision to terminate the validity of the protection title.

Right of organizations and individuals to request the termination of a trademark protection certificate in Vietnam

Organizations and individuals may request the termination of trademark protection titles:

• At the request of another person in case the trademark owner no longer exists and there is no legal successor or has not used the registered trademark for 5 consecutive years.
• At the request of other persons in case the Certificate issued to a person who does not have the right to register a trademark does not meet the protection conditions.

Based on the results of consideration of the petition for termination of the trademark protection title and the opinions of the parties concerned, the NOIP shall notify the refusal to terminate the validity of the protection title or decide to terminate the validity of the protection title in whole or in part.

Overview of procedure to terminate a trademark protection certificate in Vietnam

Subjects of implementation

Organizations and individuals that request:

• Owner of the Trademark Registration Certificate;
• Third Parties.

Implementing agencies

National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam

• Head office address: No. 384-386, Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi;
• Phone: 024.38583069 – 024.38585157
• Website: https://ipvietnam.gov.vn

Fees and charges

• Fee for publication of the Decision on termination of the protection title: 120,000 VND
• Fee for examination of request for termination of protection title: 180,000 VND
• Fee for requesting the termination of a protection title (per subject): 50,000 VND
• Registration fee for the Decision to terminate the validity of the protection title: 120,000 VND

Processing Time

• In case the protection title holder requests termination: 15 working days from the date of receipt of the request.
• In case the third party requests termination: 03 months from the end of the 2-month period when the NOIP notifies in writing the third party’s opinion to the protection title holder without feedback or from the date of receipt of the protection title holder’s opinion. This time limit may be extended for a maximum of 03 months if the holder of the Trademark Registration Certificate has a different opinion from the applicant requesting termination/cancellation.
• The time for carrying out other relevant procedures necessary to settle the request for termination/termination of the Trademark Registration Certificate is not included in the above-mentioned time limit.

Results

• Decision to terminate part/all of the validity of the protection title;
• Decision on refusal to terminate the validity of the protection title.

Specific order and procedures

Step 1: Receive the dossier of request for termination.

Organizations and individuals when using the services of Viet An Law will be supported to prepare and submit 01 set of dossier requesting the termination of the protection title of industrial property object being a trademark to the National Office of Intellectual Property by the methods of online submission through the online public service portal of the National Office of Intellectual Property.

Note: from August 10, 2025, according to the notice of the National Office of Intellectual Property, the NOIP will prioritize receiving administrative procedures for procedures for termination of trademark protection titles in the form of online.

In order to have a basis for completing the dossier as requested, you need to provide the following information and documents:

• Information for drafting a declaration of termination or termination of an industrial property object protection title according to Form No. 08 in Appendix II of Decree No. 65/2023/ND:
• Information about the applicant (Organizations and individuals requesting the termination/termination of the protection title): Full name, address, contact information (phone, fax, email);
• Information about the applicant’s representative (legal representative, authorized representative, authorized industrial property service organization): Full name, address, contact information (phone, fax, email);
• Information about the protection title requested to be terminated (type of title, number of the title);
• Documents included in the dossier of requirements and list of documents;
• Information on charges and fees (number of subjects, calculation of money accumulation, number of vouchers);
• Contents of requests and commitments of the applicant.
• Evidence (if any);
• Power of attorney (In case an individual or organization requests to authorize Viet An law to implement);
• A written explanation of the reasons for the request (clearly stating the number of the protection title, reasons, legal grounds, contents of the request for partial or full termination of the validity of the protection title) and relevant documents;
• Receipts of payment of charges and fees (in case of payment of charges and fees via postal services or directly into the account of the National Office of Intellectual Property).

The above documents need to be digitized and attached to the online declaration on the public service system.

Step 2: Processing the dossier of request for termination.

After receiving the dossier, the National Office of Intellectual Property will classify and process the dossier based on 2 cases:

Case 1: The certificate holder requests the termination by himself:

• Step 1: Examining the form and making a conclusion on the validity of the application;
• Step 2: Check the validity of the trademark registration certificate requesting termination;
• Step 3: Issue a decision to terminate the trademark protection title at the request of the applicant.

Case 2: The third party requests the termination of the trademark protection title

• Step 1: Processing the application: Appraisal of the form (evidence, reason for the request for termination) and making a conclusion on the validity of the application. In case the application is terminated, it may notify the return of the application or request amendments and supplements.
• Step 2: Send a Notice of Opinion to the Owner
• The National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a written notice of the opinion of the third party to the owner of the trademark registration certificate, when the owner of the trademark registration certificate his/her opinion.
• The National Office of Intellectual Property may organize a direct exchange of opinions between third parties and trademark protection title holders;
• Step 3: Issuing a Decision/Notification of Request Settlement Results
• On the basis of considering the opinions of the parties, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall issue a decision to terminate part or all of the validity of the protection title or a notice of refusal to terminate the validity of the certificate.
• The time limit for issuance of decisions and notifications is 03 months from the date of expiration of this time limit if the protection title holder has no opinion or from the date of receipt of the protection title holder’s opinion. This time limit may be extended for a maximum of 03 months if the protection title holder has a different opinion than the person requesting the termination or termination of the protection title.
• Step 4: Announce the decision
• Decisions on termination of trademark protection titles shall be recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property and published in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property.
• If disagreeing with the contents of the decision or notice of handling of the request for termination or termination of the protection title, the requester or the organization or individual may complain about such decision or notice in accordance with the law on complaints related to industrial property procedures.

The above is an analysis of the issue of procedure to terminate a trademark protection certificate in Vietnam. If you have any related questions or need advice on the provisions of the law, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!