The process to register a foreign trademark in Vietnam:
Application for registration of a foreign trademark in Vietnam included:
- A declaration for registration made according to the sample form;
- A sample of the mark and a list of goods or services bearing the mark
- Power of attorney, if the application is filed through a representative (according to Viet An Law form);
- Documents proving the right to file the application where the applicant acquires such right;
- Documents evidencing the registration right, if such right is acquired by the applicant from another person;
- Receipt for payment.
Steps to register of a foreign trademark in Vietnam:
Step 1: Filing the application
The application shall be accepted by the Vietnam state management of industrial property only if it include two compulsory below:
- Application for registration of a foreign trademark which includes the information of the applicant and the sample of mark, goods and services list.
- Receipt for payment of filing fee.
Send the application to National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam.
The filing date of the application for registration is the date when NOIP receives the application or the date of the application for international registration.
Step 2: Formal examination of applications for registration of a foreign trademark.
The applications shall be subject to formal examination for evaluation of their validity. An application shall be considered invalid in the following cases:
- It does not fulfil the formal requirements;
- The subject matter stated in the application is ineligible for protection;
- The applicant does not have the registration right, including where the registration right belongs to more than one organization or individual but one or more of them do not agree to the filing;
- The application is filed in contravention of regulations on the filing method stipulated in article 89 of this Law;
- The applicant fails to pay fees and charges.
An application shall have its form examined within one month from the filing date.
Step 3: Publication of applications for registration of a foreign trademark.
The applications for registration of marks shall be published within two months as from the date such application is accepted as being valid.
Step 4: Substantive examination
Applications for registration of foreign marks which have already been accepted as being valid shall be substantively examined for evaluation of the eligibility for grant of protection titles for subject matter stated in such applications under protection conditions. For marks, applications shall be substantively examined within six (6) months from the date of publication of the application. (Article 119 Vietnam Law on Intellectual Property).
Step 5: Grant a protection title, entry into the register
Where an application for registration of industrial property does not fall into the cases of refusal to grant protection titles and the applicant has paid the fee, the State administrative body for industrial property rights shall decide to grant a protection title and enter it in the National Register of Industrial Property.
The term of foreign trademarks protection
A certificate of registered mark shall be valid from the grant date until the end of ten (10) years after the filing date and may be renewed for many consecutive terms, each of ten (10) years. Therefore, a trademark is an asset throughout the business operation of an enterprise.
Please contact Viet An Law Firm for more details on registering a foreign trademark in Vietnam!
