Register a sugar products trademark in Vietnam

Sugar is an indispensable spice in the kitchen. Therefore, choosing a clean and safe trademark of sugar for daily use is gradually becoming a big concern for mothers for the health of the whole family. Many authors and trademark owners of sugar products are concerned about the risk of infringement. The question many clients are interested in is how to register a trademark. To answer clients’ questions, Viet An Law Firm offers an article instructing the way to register a sugar products trademark in Vietnam.

Legal basis

• Law on Intellectual Property 2005, as amended and supplemented in 2022.
• Decree 65/2023/ND-CP provides detailed regulations on industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, and management of plant varieties.

What is a trademark?

Trade mark according to the definition of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO): trademarks are “signs used to distinguish goods and services of the same or similar type from production facilities, different businesses”.

Intellectual Property Law also provides the following definition of a trademark: a sign used to distinguish goods and services of different organizations and individuals (Clause 16, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law).

Classification of trademark registration for table sugar products

Group 30: Sugar; Molasses water.

Group 35: Trading, import, and export of sugar.

Subjects have the right to register a sugar trademark

Under the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law, the right to register a trademark is:

• Organizations and individuals have the right to register trademarks for the goods they produce or the services they provide.
• Organizations and individuals conducting legal commercial activities have the right to register trademarks for products they put on the market but are produced by others, provided that the manufacturer does not use that trademark for the product and does not object to such registration.
• A legally established collective organization has the right to register a collective mark for use by its members according to the regulations on the use of collective marks; For signs indicating the geographical origin of goods or services, the organization has the right to register as a collective organization of organizations and individuals conducting production and business in that locality; For place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local Vietnamese specialties, registration must be permitted by a competent state agency.
• Organizations with the function of controlling and certifying quality, characteristics, origin, or other criteria related to goods and services have the right to register certification marks with the condition that they do not produce or trade the goods. those goods and services; For place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local Vietnamese specialties, registration must be permitted by a competent state agency.
• Two or more organizations and individuals have the right to jointly register a trademark to become co-owners.
• The person with the right to register, including the person who has submitted the registration application, has the right to transfer the right to register to another organization or individual in the form of a written contract, to inherit according to the provisions of law with conditions for transferred organizations and individuals must meet the conditions for people with corresponding registration rights.
• For a trademark protected in a country that is a member of an international treaty that prohibits the representative or agent of the trademark owner from registering that trademark and Vietnam is also a member, the representative or that agent is not allowed to register a trademark without the consent of the trademark owner unless there is a legitimate reason.

Some trademarks related to reputable sugar products on the market

Bien Hoa sugar trademark

Currently, this products have become familiar and indispensable products in the daily life and food production of the majority of clients  Maintaining exports to Middle Eastern countries and Southeast Asian countries has made Bien Hoa Sugar the only exporter in Vietnam’s sugar industry and has continuously increased export turnover.

This trademark was issued protection title on November 27, 2013, and registered for Group 30 sugars.

An Giang palm sugar trademark

An Giang palm sugar is processed entirely from natural ingredients, the main ingredient being the freshwater taken from the buds of the palm tree, thus always ensuring safety and quality. An Giang palm sugar with great uses is trusted and widely used because it is safe and has a unique flavor.

Dark Brown Sugar trademark

Korean Black Sugar product Dark Brown Sugar originates from Korea, produced on a modern technological line, ensuring food safety, hygiene and quality to consumers.

Process to register a sugar products trademark in Vietnam

Under the Intellectual Property Law and related documents, trademark registration for table sugar is carried out according to the following steps:

• First, prepare documents and trademark registration documents to fully meet the necessary documents according to law;
• Second, submit the application to the Intellectual Property Department with headquarters in Hanoi City and two representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City;
• Third, monitor the application appraisal process. Promptly respond in writing so that documents can be supplemented and completed upon request from the authorities;
• Fourth, after receiving notice of intention to grant a protection title, the applicant proceeds to pay the licensing fee;
• Fifth, receive trademark registration results.

Application for trademark registration of table sugar products

Dossier to register a trademark for table sugar products includes the following documents:

• Declaration requesting the issuance of the Trademark Registration Certificate;
• Trademark samples (9 attached samples, in addition to 1 sample attached to the Declaration);
• Documents proving the right to register (enterprise registration certificate, contract agreement, letter of confirmation, letter of agreement, decision or establishment license, organization charter) (01 copy);
• Power of attorney for Viet An Law as an industrial property representation service organization;
• Proof of payment of application fee (01 copy);
• The application for registration of a collective mark or certification mark must also include the Regulations on the use of collective marks/Regulations on the use of certification marks;
• Other documents:
  • Document confirming permission to use special signs (if the trademark sought to be protected contains symbols, flags, badges of domestic and international agencies and organizations, etc.);
  • Document confirming registration rights;
  • Document confirming enjoyment of registration rights from another person;
  • Documents proving priority rights (if the application claims priority rights).

However, a trademark registration application usually does not include all of the above documents, you need to consider how your case is registered to prepare the documents accordingly.

Legal notes on the trademark registration declaration

• Each trademark registration declaration is only required to be granted one protection title;
• All documents of the trademark registration declaration must be made in Vietnamese. Documents made in other languages must be translated into Vietnamese;
• Documents must be typed or printed with indelible ink, clearly, cleanly, without erasure or correction; In case of detecting insignificant spelling errors in documents submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property, the applicant can correct those errors, but at the place of correction, there must be a confirmation signature (and stamp, if any) of the applicant;
• Terms used in the trademark registration declaration must be common terms (do not use local languages, rare words, or create words). Symbols, units of measurement, electronic fonts, and spelling rules used in the application must comply with Vietnamese standards;

Authority and time for trademark registration of table sugar products

Trademark registration dossier submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property.

The time limit for publication of a trademark application is 02 months from the date of acceptance notification of the valid application.

From 09 months to 10 months from the date of acceptance of a valid application, there will be a notice of intention to issue a Trademark Registration Certificate and the application owner must pay the certificate issuance fee according to regulations. The sugar trademark registration certificate is valid for 10 years and valid throughout the territory of Vietnam.

Clients who need to register a trademark in Vietnam or abroad, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!