Vegetable oil Products Trademarks Registration in Vietnam

Vegetable oil, also as known as cooking oil, is a familiar cooking ingredient, indispensable in families. There are many famous vegetable oil trademarks such as: Simply, Neptune, Tuong An, Meizan… Currently, there are also many new manufacturers investing and trading this product. To increase the competitiveness, the owners can refer to the following trademark registration process:

Group of trademark registration:

          The grouping not only helps to define the scope of trademark protection, but also makes searching for the possibility of protection the easiest and the most accurate. According to the law, trademarked products must be grouped according to the Nice Classification. Vegetable oil products is grouped in class 29.

Assessing the application process:

• Form appraisal (01 – 02 months): the Intellectual Property office assess the validity of the application (necessary documents, stated objects in the application is classified or grouped; right to submit)… After that, the Intellectual Property issues a notice to accept a valid application or to refuse to accept a valid application (if applicants fail to amend the application);
• Publish the application on the gazette (02 months);
• Content appraisal (09 – 12 months);

At this stage, the Intellectual Property office will evaluate the ability of the stated objects in the application to be protected according to protection conditions, determine the corresponding scope (volume) of protection. During the content appraisal, the Intellectual Property office may request the applicant to explain the content of the application and provide information within the nature of the stated objects in the application.

• Grant and publish the protection title (01 – 02 months).

A trademark registration dossier includes these documents:

• A trademark registration declaration (this declaration form is in 04-NH prescribed in Appendix A TT 01/2007/TT-BKHCN); (if the customers authorize the representative of Viet An Law, this declaration will be signed by the representative of Viet An Law);
• A trademark sample (with dimensions bigger than 3 x 3 cm, smaller than 8 x 8 cm);
• A legal copy of personal identification card if the owner is an individual; business registration certificate or investment certificate if the owner is an organization;
• A power of attorney;
• Receipts of fee payments.

Extend the validity of the protection title:

          To be granted an extension of the validity of a trademark registration certificate, within 06 months prior to the date of expiration of the Certificate of Trademark Registration, the owner of the certificate of trademark registration shall submit an application for renewal to the Intellectual Property office.

          The application for extension may be submitted later than the time limit specified above, but not later than 06 months from the date the protection title expires and the owner shall pay the renewal fee plus 10% of the fee renewal for each month of late submission.

          An application for extension includes these following documents:

• A declaration requesting to renew the protection title (the form is in 02-GHVB prescribed in Appendix C of this Circular);
• The original protection title(in case the request of recording);
• A power of attorney (if the customers submit the application through the representative);
• Receipts of the extension fee, publishment fee, recording fee.