Trademark Registration
Related Services
What is the trademark registration?
A trademark is a sign expressed in one or more colours such as words, images or a combination of both, used to distinguish goods or services of different organizations and individuals.
Legal services:
- Confirm the feasibility of the trademark registration;
- Register the Trademark in Vietnam and/or internationally;
- Transfer of registered trademarks, including advising on the transfer and drafting of all related documents (e.g. contract for the transfer of IP rights);
- Adjustments to the trademark owner’s information on protection titles or applications;
- Extend the validity of trademark protection titles;
- Carry out procedures to protest, complaint or cancel the validation of protection titles;
- Work with related agencies to request organizations or individuals to stop their IP rights infringement.
How to proceed?
- Contact us via phone, email or create a CRM account to define the required services with our lawyers.
- Whenever possible we will meet in person to define your legal strategy in depth.
- Our legal services will notably include our advisory on the feasibility of the trademark registration, and on how to identify the groups of products/services to be registered and best protect your IP rights.
- We will provide you with the list of required information and documents, as well as the application dossier drafted and translated by us in Vietnamese and English languages.
- During the registration process, we will assist you to liaise with the authorities and reply to their inquiries and refusal (if any).
- At any time, you can access the CRM system to manage and keep a track of your legal services.
The steps and procedures to register a trademark are as follows:
- Step 1: Submit the declaration dossier for registering the trademark at the “National Office of Intellectual Property” (“NOIP”).
- Step 2: Evaluation of the formality of the application.
- Step 3: Official announcement of the formality evaluation result.
- Step 4: Evaluation of the contents or substance of the application.
- Step 5: The NOIP issues the notice of intent to grant a trademark protection certificate and requests payment of the licensing fee (if have fulfilled the regulatory requirements).
- Step 6: The submitter pays the fee and the NOIP issues the trademark protection certificate.
In practice, 12 to 18 months are required to complete all the steps.
The Vietnamese intellectual property system is divided in three areas:
- Copyright and related rights administered by the Copyright Office of Vietnam;
- Industrial property rights – administered by the National Office of Intellectual Property (“NOIP”);
- Rights to plant varieties – administered by the Plant Variety Protection Office.
IP rights registered in Vietnam can be enforced as follows:
- Administrative action: Most of the IP disputes are settled through this method, which is fast and straightforward. The authorities may apply sanctions including warnings, fines, seizure or destruction of the counterfeit goods.
- Civil Court action: This process is lengthier, but the Court of Vietnam are enforcing IP regulations and protecting IP rights holders.
Individuals and foreign organizations shall submit their application through a representative of the IP Vietnam.
Protected trademarks shall meet the following conditions:
- Signs visible in the form of letters, words, drawings, images, including holograms or a combination thereof, expressed in one or more colors;
- Ability to be distinguished from goods and services of trademark owners from other entities.
The processing time for trademark applications to be granted protection licenses is 10 months. However, depending on the complexity of the application, the processing time can be more than 18 months.
The protection license is valid for 10 years from the date of application (priority date). Upon expiry of this period, the trademark owner shall apply to extend the time. There is no limit in the number of extensions.
Multiple trademarks can be registered according to the provisions of the Vietnamese laws. These trademarks are considered as associated trademarks.
