Invalidation of Trademark Registration Certificates in Vietnam

A trademark registration certificate is a document issued by a competent state agency to an organization or individual to establish industrial property rights to a trademark and is one of the bases for protecting ownership rights. However, a trademark registration certificate may be terminated in certain cases stipulated in the Law on Intellectual Property at the request of the certificate owner or a third party. In the following article, Viet An Law will provide customers with some general legal advice on the procedure for the invalidation of trademark registration certificates in Vietnam.

What is the invalidation of trademark registration certificates?

• The trademark registration certificate is valid throughout the territory of Vietnam. The Certificate of Trademark Registration is valid from the date of issuance until the end of ten years from the date of application, and can be renewed many times in a row, each time for ten years, and with no limit on the number of renewals.
• Termination of the validity of a trademark registration certificate is understood as the act of terminating (not continuing) the validity of the trademark registration certificate; the trademark registration certificate ceases to be valid from the time of termination.

Cases of invalidation of trademark registration certificates in Vietnam

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

• The owner of the Trademark registration certificate does not pay the fees to extend the validity as prescribed;
• The owner of the Trademark registration certificate declares to abandon the industrial property rights: In this case, the Intellectual Property Office shall consider and decide to terminate the validity of the protection certificate;
• The owner of the Trademark registration certificate is no longer in business and has no legal successor;
• The trademark has not been used by the owner or the person authorized by the owner for a period of 05 consecutive years before the date of request for termination of validity without a legitimate reason, except in cases where the use is initiated or resumed at least 03 months before the date of request for termination of validity;
• The owner of the Trademark registration certificate for a collective trademark does not control or ineffectively controls the implementation of the regulations on the use of the collective trademark;
• The owner of the Trademark registration certificate for a certification trademark violates the regulations on the use of the certification trademark or fails to control or ineffectively controls the implementation of the regulations on the use of the certification trademark;
• The use of a protected trademark for goods or services by the trademark owner or a person authorized by the trademark owner misleads consumers about the nature, quality, or geographical origin of the goods or services;
• A protected trademark becomes the common name of the goods or services registered under that trademark.

Time of invalidation of trademark registration certificates in Vietnam

• In case the owner of the Trademark registration certificate does not pay the fee to extend the validity within the prescribed period, upon the end of that period, the validity of the Trademark registration certificate will automatically terminate from the beginning date of the next validity period for which the fee to extend the validity has not been paid. The Intellectual Property Office shall record the termination of the validity of the protection certificate in the National Register of Industrial Property and publish it in the Industrial Property Gazette.
• In case the owner of a protection certificate declares to abandon the industrial property rights, the Intellectual Property Office shall consider and decide to terminate the validity of the protection certificate. The validity of the protection certificate shall be terminated from the date the Intellectual Property Office receives the written declaration of the owner of the protection certificate.
• In the remaining cases, the validity of the trademark protection certificate is terminated from the date the Intellectual Property Office issues a decision to terminate the validity of the protection certificate.

The right to request the termination of the validity of a trademark registration certificate of an organization or individual

Organizations and individuals may request termination of the validity of a trademark registration certificate:

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

Based on the results of the review of the request to terminate the validity of the trademark protection certificate and the opinions of the relevant parties, the Intellectual Property Office shall notify the refusal to terminate the validity of the protection certificate or decide to terminate the validity of all or part of the protection certificate.

Overview of procedures for invalidation of trademark registration certificates

Subject of implementation

Organizations and individuals in need:

• Owner of the Trademark registration certificate;
• Third party.

Implementing agency

Intellectual Property Office 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, charges

• Fee for publication of the Decision to terminate the validity of the protection certificate: 120,000 VND
• Fee for assessment of the request to terminate the validity of the protection certificate: 180,000 VND
• Fee for request to terminate the validity of the protection certificate (each subject): 50,000 VND
• Fee for registration of the Decision to terminate the validity of the protection certificate: 120,000 VND

Processing time

• In case the owner of the protection certificate requests termination: 15 working days from the date of receipt of the request.
• In case a third-party requests termination: 03 months from the end of the 02 months when the Intellectual Property Office notifies in writing of the third party’s opinion to the owner of the protection certificate, without any response, or from the date of receiving the opinion of the owner of the protection certificate. This period may be extended by a maximum of 03 months if the owner of the Trademark registration certificate has a different opinion from the applicant requesting termination/cancellation.
• The time for performing other related procedures necessary to resolve the request to terminate/cancel the validity of the Trademark registration certificate shall not be counted in the above time limit.

Implementation results

• Decision to partially/fully terminate the validity of the protection certificate;
• Decision to refuse to terminate the validity of the protection certificate.

Specific procedures and order

Step 1: Receive application for termination of validity.

Organizations and individuals using the services of Viet An Law will be supported to prepare and submit 01 set of documents requesting the termination of validity of the industrial property protection certificate, which is a trademark, to the Intellectual Property Office by online submission methods via the online public service portal of the Intellectual Property Office.

Note: From August 1, 2025, according to the announcement of the Intellectual Property Office, the Office will stop receiving administrative procedures for the procedure of terminating the validity of paper patents, meaning that the direct form or sending by post to the headquarters is no longer applicable.

To have a basis to complete the required documents, customers who need to terminate the validity of the trademark protection certificate need to provide the following information and documents:

• Information for drafting the Declaration of termination or cancellation of the validity of the protection certificate for industrial property objects according to Form No. 08 in Appendix II of Decree No. 65/2023/ND:
  • Information about the applicant (Organization, individual requesting to terminate/cancel the validity of the protection certificate): Full name, address, contact information (Phone number, Fax, Email);
  • Information about the applicant’s representative (legal representative, authorized representative, authorized industrial property service organization): Full name, address, contact information (Phone number, Fax, Email);
  • Information about the protection certificate requested to be terminated (type of certificate, certificate number);
  • Documents included in the request dossier and list of documents;
  • Information on fees (number of subjects, currency conversion, number of documents);
  • Content of the request, commitment of the applicant.
• Proof (if any);
• Power of attorney (In case an individual or organization requests authorization for Viet An Law to perform);
• Explanation of the reason for the request (clearly stating the number of the protection certificate, reason, legal basis, content of the request to terminate part or all the protection certificate’s validity) and related documents;
• Receipt of payment of state fees (in case of payment of state fees via postal service or directly into the account of the Intellectual Property Office).

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

Step 2: Processing the request for invalidation.

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

Case 1: The certificate owner requests to terminate the validity:

• Step 1: Examine the form and conclude the validity of the application;
• Step 2: Check the validity of the Trademark registration certificate requesting termination;
• Step 3: Decide to terminate the Trademark registration certificate at the request of the applicant.

Case 2: A third party requests termination of the trademark registration certificate

• Step 1: Processing the application: Examine the form (evidence, reasons for requesting termination) and conclude the validity of the application. In case the application is invalid, the application may be returned and amendments requested.
• Step 2: Send Notice of opinion to the owner
  • The Intellectual Property Office shall issue a written notice of the third party’s opinion to the owner of the Trademark registration certificate when the owner of the Trademark registration certificate has an opinion.
  • The Intellectual Property Office may organize a direct consultation between a third party and the owner of a trademark registration certificate
• Step 3: Issue Decision/Notification of request resolution results
  • Based on the consideration of the opinions of the parties, the Intellectual Property Office shall decide to terminate part or all the validity of the protection certificate or notify the refusal to terminate the validity of the certificate.
  • The time limit for deciding and notifying is 03 months from the date of expiry of this period if the owner of the protection certificate has no opinion, or from the date of receiving the opinion of the owner of the protection certificate. This time limit can be extended by a maximum of 03 months if the owner of the protection certificate has a different opinion from the person requesting the termination or cancellation of the protection certificate.
• Step 4: Announce the decision
  • The decision to terminate the validity of a trademark protection certificate is recorded in the National Register of Industrial Property and published in the Industrial Property Gazette.
  • If the applicant, organization, or individual disagrees with the content of the decision or notice to process the request to terminate or cancel the validity of a protection certificate, they have the right to appeal against the decision or notice in accordance with the provisions of law on appeals related to industrial property procedures.

Above is an analysis of the procedure for invalidation of trademark registration certificates in Vietnam. If you have any related questions or need advice on legal regulations, please contact Viet An Law for the best support!