Vietnam trademark registration: A completed Q&A guide for industrial property (Part 1)

Intellectual Property Legal Articles

01/04/2024

Navigating the complexities of intellectual property (IP) law in Vietnam presents a fascinating confluence of domestic and international legislation. In this section, we’ll look at the laws governing trademark registration in Vietnam. Join us as we explore the depths of IP law and its guardianship by entities like the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam.

1. Legal framework

1.1 Which legislative and regulatory provisions govern IP law in Vietnam?

1.1.1 Domestic trademark provisions

Vietnamese domestic law on trademarks is essentially based on common intellectual property law, to which are added several provisions from the civil and criminal codes:

Civil Code No. 91/2015/QH13, dated November 24, 2015;
Law on Intellectual Property 50/2005/QH11 of November 2005 (Law on IP). This law was amended by Law 36, Law 42, and Law 07, which revised several articles of the main Law on IP;
The system of decrees and circulars guiding the Law on IP and their amending or supplementing documents.
Decree No. 99/2013/ND-CP dated August 29, 2013, on sanctioning of administrative violations in industrial property and its related amendments.

1.1.2 International trademark provisions

The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property (1883) is the main convention that laid the foundations for an international agreement on trademark law. As a relative of the Berne Convention (1886) applied to literary and artistic property, the Paris Convention is parallelly intended to govern industrial property.

Built on the foundations of the Paris Convention, several other major treaties now govern harmonized international trademark law:

The “Madrid system“ for the International Registration of Marks, based on an arrangement of the same name from 1989 on the harmonized international registration of trademarks, was joined by Vietnam in 2006;

EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), signed in 2020;
The WTO TRIPS agreements, signed in 2007,
The US-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement was signed in 2001.
Bilateral and multilateral agreements in which Vietnam is involved as a participant, signatory, or member regulate matters within the realm of intellectual property.

1.2 Which bodies are responsible for implementing and enforcing the copyright regime in Vietnam?

The main state management agency for intellectual property (‘’IP’’) is the Ministry of Science and Technology, with the specialized entity handling it being the IP Office. Additionally, there are several other relevant state agencies responsible for managing and handling violations and adjudicating matters related to IP, which may also include the court in cases of disputes, specifically:

1.2.1. Intellectual Property Office

The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, plays a crucial role in advising and assisting the ministry in the unified state management of IP.

It directly manages state activities related to industrial property through legal regulations. The office’s responsibilities include coordinating the drafting of legal documents, providing guidance, overseeing enforcement, and proposing measures to address IP violations. Additionally, it manages the establishment of industrial property rights, registers transfer agreements, and conducts activities related to patent protection.

The office also engages in international cooperation on IP matters. It participates in negotiations and provides various IP-related services as stipulated by law.

1.2.2. Other administrative bodies

In addition to civil and criminal proceedings, intellectual property infringement disputes in Vietnam are often resolved through administrative remedies.

Administrative bodies have the power to impose sanctions for trademark infringements, including warnings, fines, seizure and destruction of counterfeit goods, suspension of business licenses, re-exportation of imported infringing goods, or transit of goods out of the country.

This body of rules is set out in a general law setting out the principles of administrative violations and power of authority and in a decree that applies more specifically to industrial property rights, including trademark law.

For example, this decree sets out the penalties applicable to certain offenses:

Selling, offering for sale; transporting, transiting; storing; displaying for sale products or services infringing upon rights to trademarks;
Placing orders to, assigning, or hiring other parties to commit violations specified above [trademark infringement];
Production, importation, trading, conveyance, or warehousing of goods with counterfeit trademarks to sell them.

Depending on the type of violation, different administrative authorities are empowered to impose penalties, such as:

Scientific and technological inspectorates;
Information and communications inspectorates;
Market management offices;
The Competition Management Department
Provincial- and district-level People’s Committees;
Police offices.

1.2.3. Courts

The District People’s Courts of Vietnam have jurisdiction to determine first-instance civil and criminal intellectual property disputes.

The Provincial People’s Courts of Vietnam have jurisdiction to determine first-instance civil and criminal intellectual property disputes that involve litigants or assets outside of Vietnam or require international judicial cooperation.

Civil proceedings are more concerned with protecting and compensating rights holders for infringement of their property rights, while criminal proceedings are aimed at punishing counterfeiting by the courts (fines, destruction of goods, dissolution of the company, prison sentences for representatives, etc.).

Generally speaking, right holders favor civil action, which is taken from a commercial angle and enables them to repair infringements of their rights, whereas criminal proceedings are more likely to sanction the company, with fines paid to the state.

2. Protection Requirements

2.1 What is a trademark, and what are the substantive requirements for trademark protection?

In Layman’s terms, a trademark is any sign that distinguishes a company, its products, and its services from those of another company. A trademark is, therefore, an economic operator’s commercial identity card. It provides a link of trust and a guarantee of origin between the consumer and the chosen product or service.

Under Vietnamese law, to be eligible for protection, a sign registered as a trademark must meet two conditions:

An expressed form: It is a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings or images, holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colors or audio signals represented in graphic forms. The trademark is expressed as a sign and can take any form of material support, even auditory, a new feature introduced by the recent Law on IP (2022).
A distinctive sign is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the mark owner from those of other subjects. As regards distinctiveness, the Law on IP provides a precise definition: A mark shall be considered distinctive if it consists of one or several easily noticeable and memorable elements, or of many elements forming an easily noticeable and memorable combination, and does not fall into the cases deemed indistinctive specified in Clause 2 of Article 74 of the Law on IP [signs ineligible for trademark protection].

Distinctiveness is therefore subject to two conditions:

A positive condition: The sign presents elements that are perceived as unique and that the target audience will remember as being associated with the company;
A negative condition: The sign does not fall within the list of signs described as non-distinctive by nature (see 2.3 below).

Finally, the affixing of a trademark to a product or service sold, or its use in promotional communications, must make it possible to associate this sign with the quality, characteristics, needs, and cultural and economic references associated with the company.

2.2 Are there different types of trademarks in Vietnam?

The world of trademarks is extremely broad, and Vietnam allows economic players to register trademarks in a variety of forms:

Word mark;
Figurative marks;
Three-dimensional mark (representing a fixed 3D shape);
Specific color combination;
Distinctive trade dress;
Or, more recently,

A trademark can also combine these different elements. Any perceptible sign likely to distinguish a company on the market can represent a trademark.

In addition to the various forms that a brand can take, different categories of brands are more focused on their utility, such as:

A collective trademark is a type of trademark used to distinguish products and services marketed by members of an organization from those marketed by non-members. The organization, within which several companies operate, is the owner of the trademark.
The certification trademark is a type of trademark that guarantees that the goods and services marketed under this sign certify that the origin, raw materials, manufacturing process, quality, and safety guarantees expected of the goods and services covered conform to those expected by the owner of the trademark, who grants the right to use it to third parties.

The integrated mark designates a set of similar trademarks held by the same owner to cover its products or services, also known as a brand family.

2.3 What are the signs that are ineligible for trademark protection in Vietnam?

Ineligibility for protection is based on two categories of signs:

signs that are non-distinctive by nature (i) and
signs that cannot be protected as a trademark (ii).

Firstly, among the signs ineligible for protection under trademark law are several signs listed as non-distinctive by nature. The reason for their exclusion lies in the fact that these signs or their characteristics are not suitable for guaranteeing distinctiveness in the eyes of consumers. As it is too simple, descriptive, or associated with common ideas, names, and concepts.

Among these exclusions are, in particular:

Signs resulting in simple shapes and geometric figures, numerals, letters, or scripts of uncommon languages, except where such signs have been widely used and recognized as a mark;
Signs resulting in conventional signs or symbols, pictures, or common names in any language of goods or services that have been widely and regularly used and known to many people;
Signs indicating time, place and method of production, category, quantity, quality, properties, ingredients, intended utility, value, or other characteristics which are descriptive of goods or services, except where such signs have acquired distinctiveness through use before the filing of trademark registration applications in Vietnam;
Signs describing the legal status and business field of business entities;
Signs indicating the geographical origin of goods or services, except where such signs have been widely used and recognized as a mark or registered as collective marks or certification marks;
and others.

In second

The law on intellectual property sets out a series of signs that cannot be protected as trademarks. These signs often reproduce public or official elements. They may also deliberately mislead the consumer about product or service quality or origin, such as:

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to national flags or national emblems;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names, or full names of Vietnamese state agencies, political organizations, and other official organizations;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to real names, aliases, pseudonyms, or images of leaders, national heroes, or famous personalities of Vietnam or foreign countries;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to certification seals, check seals, or warranty seals of international organizations which require that their signs not be used unless such seals are registered as certification marks by those organizations;
Signs that cause misleading or confusion or deceive consumers as to the origin, properties, intended utilities, quality, value, or other characteristics of goods or services.

These (i) and (ii) exclusions are assessed and applied during the examination of the sign as part of the registration procedure and may serve as grounds for refusal of registration.

2.4 How are the requirements appreciated? Which body oversees appreciation in Vietnam?

The authority responsible for examining trademark registrations in Vietnam is the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN). This public office assesses the distinctiveness of the trademark not only on objective grounds (i.e., the exclusions or inherent non-distinctiveness of the signs defined above) but also on relative grounds (i.e., the proximity of the registered sign to earlier rights held by third parties). Distinctiveness will therefore be recognized based on these two checks.

A more detailed explanation of the examination by the IPVN will be given (see 3.5 below) on the grounds for refusal of registrations and the opposition procedure.

Note: Appreciation Guidelines

Here are some guidelines on how the IPVN assesses trademark registration. This includes the information on the signs that do not qualify for trademark protection:

Characters of languages that are imperceptible and unmemorable to the common knowledge of Vietnamese consumers (unreadable, incomprehensible, and unmemorable), such as characters not of Latin origin: Arabic, Slavonic, Sanskrit, and Chinese;
Combination of too many letters or words that is imperceptible and unmemorable, such as a sequence of too many characters not arranged according to a given order or rule, or a text or a paragraph;
word or phrase that is used in Vietnam as the common name of very related goods or services;
A common figure or geometric figure, such as round, ellipse, triangle, quadrangle, etc., or a simple drawing; a picture or image used merely as a background or ornamental pattern of a product or a product package;
A picture or image that is too tangled or complicated for consumers to easily perceive and memorize its details, i.e., a sign that consists of too many combined or overlapped images or lines;
A widely used picture, image, emblem, or symbol.

On the other hand, certain characteristics valued by the NOIP make a registered sign distinctive and eligible for trademark protection:

The character sign and the figure sign are all distinctive and combined into a distinctive whole.
The strong component of the mark (the element that has a strong effect on the senses of consumers, attracts their attention to, and gives an impression of the mark) is a distinctive character sign or figure sign. While other components are indistinctive or insignificantly distinctive.
If the combined sign consists of indistinctive or insignificantly distinctive character signs and figure signs, but a unique combination of those signs gives a particular impression, that combined whole is still considered distinctive.

3. Registration

3.1 Is there a trademark registration system in Vietnam? Is it mandatory?

Vietnam has a trademark registration system and a public information portal related to trademark registration. Except for certain cases involving well-known trademarks, a trademark is only protected in Vietnam if the protection registration process has been completed at the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IPVN). The registration system is, therefore, mandatory to obtain protection for trademarks in Vietnam.

The process involves the registration of the trademark being examined by the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) on the conditions of eligibility of the trademark, followed by the publication of the sign applied for as a trademark. The purpose of this publication is to make the registration public and enforceable, as well as to enable third parties to file any objections to the registration (see 3.6 below).

3.2 What are the formal, procedural, and substantive requirements for trademark registration in Vietnam?

Registering a trademark involves several stages, each of which is critical to the process. Here is a brief outline of the main stages in the registration procedure:

3.2.1. Preparation and submission of the application file

The application file must contain all information relating to the owner or his legal representative, as well as samples of the registered trademark. These samples must comply with certain formal criteria depending on the material medium used (color, graphic, verbal, auditory, etc.). Mandatory items include:

The trademark protection registration application (according to the IPVN template);
The sample of the sign (6 copies, printed in accurate color on a white background, 8 cm x 8cm);
Power of attorney (in case the request is filed through a representative).

Additionally, the trademark registration in the Vietnam dossier may require some of the following documents, depending on each specific case:

Documents certifying the permission to use special signs (if the trademark contains emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names, or full names of Vietnamese state agencies, organizations, or international organizations, etc.);
Paper on the assignment of the right to apply (if any);
Documents certifying the lawful right of registration (in case the applicant enjoys the right to file from another person);
Documents evidencing the right of priority.

But above all, the filing dossier must contain the following key elements:

The trademark description is:
- Where the mark consists of words or phrases of hieroglyphic languages, such words or phrases must be transcribed;
- Where the mark consists of words or phrases in foreign languages, such words or phrases must be translated into Vietnamese.
- Where the mark contains numerals other than Arabic and Roman numerals, those numerals must be transliterated into Arabic numerals.
Products and services covered by the trademark determine its legal protection. This protection only extends to registered categories of goods and services.

Determining the goods and services covered by a trademark is based on the principle of specialty. A trademark is registered to cover some specific goods or services that will be marketed under its affixing.

These classes of products or services are listed according to a worldwide classification known as the Nice Classification.

3.2.2. Formal examination by the IPVN

Within a theoretical period of 1 month, the registration will undergo a formal examination by the IPVN, which will ensure that the application meets the criteria for being received. Practically, based on our experience, the actual processing time for a formal examination often extends from 2 to 5 months.

Following this examination, the NOIP issues a notice of acceptance or refusal. It therefore decides whether the trademark application is eligible for protection. In the event of refusal, the holder is given 2 months to rectify the form of the request.

3.2.3. Publication of the trademark registration in Vietnam

A trademark application is accepted by Intellectual Property Vietnam. The application is then published within two months.

This publication is made on the IPVN’s official website and in the Industrial Property Official Gazette. The publication has the effect of making the trademark application visible to third parties; it therefore opens the possibility for third parties to oppose the registration by filing any objection. (see 3.6 below).

3.2.4. Substantive examination

We then enter the real phase of examining the trademark application. In which, this involves assessing protection criteria like distinctiveness and considering absolute and relative refusal grounds of the trademark registration (see 3.5 below).

According to the regulations, the result of this examination must be delivered within 9 months of the filing date. However, practice shows that the actual substantive examination period for trademark registration applications is often lengthly. As a result, this period can extend from 18 months to 3 years. In some expectional cases, it may even reach up to 5 years.

Following this examination:

the IPVN issues a Notice of intention to grant a trademark protection title; or
The IPVN issues a notice of intention to refuse the issuance of a protection certificate. This refusal allows a response from the holder, who can also appeal against this decision. In this case, the applicant is given 2 months to respond to IPVN’s intention to refuse.

3.2.5. Granting Trademark Registration Certificate

Once this final approval has been given, the owner must pay the fees relating to the registration and protection of his or her trademark. Subject to payment of these fees within 3 months, the IPVN will then issue the trademark registration certificate. Not to mention, the final stage of registration takes approximately 12 to 18 months from formal validation. Regarding the aforementioned feedback about practice, we observe a 2 to 3-year period to go through the entire registration process.

3.3 What fees does the governing body charge for registration? Do these vary depending on the type of sign?

The costs incurred in registering a trademark in Vietnam include a lump sum, along with additional costs for modifying the application (if applicable), adding classes of goods and services, or claiming priority. Here are the main costs and expenses, as detailed:

International classification fee for goods/services: 100,000 VND for each group of 6 products/services; from the 7th product/service onwards, 20,000 VND per product/service.
Application publication fee: 120,000 VND.
The fee for publishing the decision to grant the protection certificate is 120,000 VND.
The fee for recording the decision to grant the protection certificate is 120,000 VND.
Information retrieval fee for examination purposes: 180,000 VND for each group of 6 products/services; from the 7th product/service onwards, 30,000 VND per product/service.
Content examination fee: 550,000 VND for each group of 6 products/services; from the 7th product/service onwards in each group, 120,000 VND per product/service.
Fee for examining requests for priority rights: 600,000 VND per application/request.
Certificate issuance filing fee: 120,000 VND for the first group of products/services; from the second group onwards, 100,000 VND per group.
Application filing fee: 150,000 VND for each application.

3.4 Do I have to be represented to register a trademark in Vietnam?

In Vietnam, using an official representative before the IPVN is not mandatory in principle. However, for foreigners not permanently residing in Vietnam (individuals) and foreign entities without legal establishment or activities in Vietnam (organizations), appointing a representative to the IPVN is required. Having an official representative offers several advantages, including professional mastery of the trademark registration process, monitoring of IPVN notices, knowledge of NOIP practices, and efficient management of legal requirements for the application.
Representation is only allowed for law firms or entities that meet specific legal criteria, as outlined by the IPVN.

3.5 Can trademark registration in Vietnam be refused? If so, on what grounds?

During its substantive examination, the IPVN may refuse to register a trademark. Specifically, there are two main types of grounds for refusal:

(i) Absolute grounds, which result from the prohibitions or exclusions provided for in intellectual property law;
(ii) Relative grounds, which result from prior trademark rights held by third parties in Vietnam.

3.5.1 Refusal on absolute grounds: conformity of the sign with legal prohibitions and exclusions

The absolute ground describes a general rule that applies to all applications for trademark registration according to objective criteria and specific prohibitions that may not be infringed by the registered sign.

The absolute criteria are those that prevent a trademark from being recognized as valid because it does not comply with the general framework for a trademark purpose, including:

Signs that are indistinctive by nature;
Signs resulting in simple shapes and geometric figures, numerals, letters, or scripts of uncommon languages, except where such signs have been widely used and recognized as a mark;
Signs resulting in conventional signs or symbols, pictures, or common names in any language of goods or services that have been widely and regularly used and known to many people;
Signs indicating time, place, method of production, category, quantity, quality, properties, ingredients, intended utility, value, or other characteristics that are descriptive of goods or services, except where such signs have acquired distinctiveness through use before the filing of mark registration applications;
Signs describing the legal status and business field of business entities;
Signs indicating the geographical origin of goods or services, except where such signs have been widely used and recognized as a mark or registered as collective marks or certification marks as provided for in this Law.

In certain cases, signs are excluded from protection:

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to national flags or national emblems;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names, or full names of Vietnamese state agencies, political organizations, and other official organizations;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to real names, aliases, pseudonyms, or images of leaders, national heroes, or famous personalities of Vietnam or foreign countries;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to certification seals, check seals, or warranty seals of international organizations require that their signs not be used unless such seals are registered as certification marks by those organizations.

3.5.2 Refusal on relative grounds: assessing the likelihood of confusion regarding third parties’ prior rights

The IPVN may still refuse to register a sign, even if it meets the absolute grounds for registration. This can occcur when considering prior rights held by third parties. Specifically, when the applied-for sign is too similar to existing trademarks, there is still risk of confusion.

Assessing this risk may therefore lead to refusal. The main criterion taken into account by the IPVN will be to look at the classes of goods and services (referenced by the Nice Classification) covered by the conflicting signs. If these goods or services are similar or identical, the resemblance between the sign applied for and a prior sign belonging to a third party may result in refusal on relative grounds.

The search for a likelihood of confusion between the goods and services of two similar signs no longer necessary. This applies when the earlier sign is a well-known trademark. A well-known trademark enjoys particular fame and distinctiveness in Vietnam territory, leading to automatic confusion with any resembling sign.

The consideration of prior rights held by third parties includes the refusal of registration in the following cases:

Signs identical with or confusingly similar to registered marks. This applies to goods or services based on registration applications with earlier filing dates or priority dates;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to another person’s mark. This applies to marks that is widely used and recognized for similar or identical goods or services before the filing date or the priority date, as applicable;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to another person’s mark recognized as a well-known mark. This applies to goods or services identical or similar to those bearing the well-known mark. It also applies to dissimilar goods or services if the new mark affects the well-known mark’s distinctiveness or take advantage of its reputation;
Signs identical with or similar to another person’s trade name. This applies to trade names curently in use of such signs may confuse consumers about the origin of goods or services;
Signs identical with or similar to a geographical indication are protected. This applies if the use of such signs may mislead consumers about the geographical origin of goods.
Signs identical with or insignificantly different from another person’s industrial design. This is based on an industrial design registration application with an earlier filing or priority date;
Signs identical with or confusingly similar to names and images of characters and images. These characters and images are protected by copyright and were widely known before the filing date. The trademark application requires the permission of the copyright owner.

Note:

It is important to note that the IPVN compares trademark applications with earlier trademarks held by third parties. Besides, the IPVN also considers other existing and prior intellectual property rights or distinctive signs. Specifically, these signs include industrial designs, copyrights, or geographical indications.

Therefore, the trademark applied for must not infringe any prior rights, including any intellectual property rights.

3.6 Is there an objection procedure? If so, how does it work?

If the existing rights of third parties are to be considered, third parties need to express opinions and observations on published trademark applications. This prompts a thorough examination by the Office.

From the date of publication in the Official Gazette of Industrial Property, until the decision on granting a protection title is issued, third parties can express opinions. These opinions are submitted to the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights.
The written opinions of a third party are considered as information and a reference for processing applications for the registration of industrial property.

It is the publication of the trademark application that makes it enforeceable against third parties. This occurs after the formal acceptance of the application file. This publication allows the third parties a specific period to formulate observations.

For trademarks, the objection period is 5 months from the official publication of the trademark application.

The framework for this objection procedure is outlined below:

After an opposition application is filed, the IPVN will provide a copy of the grounds to the opposing party. This opposing party must respond within 2 months.
The opposing party may submit a further response to the justifications provided by the opposing party within the same 2-month period.
Within this procedure, the role of the IPVN can evolve:
- where there is an identity between the goods and services covered by the contested mark and the goods and services covered by the opposing mark, or
- when there is serious reason to believe that the two marks are registered for confusingly similar goods and services.

The opposition therefore has a real impact on the IPVN’s final decision. As it determines whether a protection title will be granted for the trademark application.

The main issue is to determine the likelihood of confusion between the conflicting trademarks. This involves the process to compare the similiarity of the classes of the goods or services involved.

3.7 Is there an international trademark registration system implemented in Vietnam?

3.7.1 The international registration system and priority rights

Vietnam is a member of the Madrid System, completed by the Madrid Protocol. In particular, this system allows for a single trademark applications to be used for registration in 114 member countries. The application is filed at the National Intellectual Property Office of one member state.

As part of the international trademark registration system, the IPVN has a window allowing:

from an application for registration of a trademark in Vietnam, to extend the application for national trademark registration in member countries of the Madrid System;
receive applications for the registration of international trademarks designating Vietnam from Madrid System member countries.

In both cases, trademark applicants will benefit from a right of priority for registration. This right of priority was instituted by the Paris Convention (1883) and has since been extended to all member countries of the Madrid System:

Any person who has duly applied for a patent, or the registration of a utility model, or an industrial design, or a trademark, in one of the countries of the Union, or his successor in title, shall enjoy, for filing in the other countries, a right of priority during the periods hereinafter fixed. […]
The priority period for patents and utility models is twelve months. Along with, for industrial designs and trademarks is six months.

In practical terms, filing a national trademark registration in Vietnam provides the applicant with a 6-month priority period. Along with, this allows them to extend their trademark registration from Vietnam to Paris Convention countries. Additionally, they can directly proceed with this extension via the IPVN. This applies to the countries that are members of the Madrid System.

Applications extended in this way will have the same date as the first application. Even so, this gives any applicant a ‘priority’ advantage in extending their rights.

3.7.2. International registration procedure

a) International trademark registration from Vietnam to other countries

The institution that centralizes international trademark registration within the Madrid System is the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization).

International registration therefore involves several stages:

Preparing an international trademark application in the legally required format;
Submission of this file to the trademark’s office of origin (in Vietnam, the IPVN);
The NOIP carries out a formal examination. This examination verifies if the application meets all the formalities and conditions for a valid international application.
Upon approval, the request is forwarded to WIPO.
The WIPO:
- confirms the validity of the international file and publishes it in the Official International Gazette or
- observes an irregularity and refers it back to the Office of Origin to request modifications from the applicant.
If the international application is confirmed, WIPOP will publish it. Subsequently, WIPO fowards the application to all the National Offices of designated countries that the trademark application is submitted.
Each office conducts a substantive examination based on its territorial protection criteria. This criteria largely harmonizes across the Paris Convention and the Madrid System.
Each office will issue a trademark protection certificate or refuse to do so. Often, it allows the applicant to rectify his application to comply with national requirements.
Thus, international registration is completed.

Note: The international trademark is not a single title of protection

The international trademark registration in Vietnam process does not issue a single title of protection. Protection is granted individually for each country specified by the applicant. Asides, the title is composed of all the national trademark titles independently protected in the countries selected by the applicant.
Each title is therefore independent of the others. The refusal of a trademark in one country would not entail the refusal in other countries applied for in the same proceedings.

Outside the Madrid system, trademark international registrations in Vietnam benefit from a single filing procedure. Applicants are therefore obliged to file national applications with each country in which protection is sought.

b) International trademark registration from another country designating Vietnam

In this hypothesis, the IPVN of Vietnam will receive compliant application files from the WIPO. Then, the IPVN will be responsible for ruling on the substantive examination based on Vietnamese law protection criteria. Subsequently, it will issue a certificate of registration for the Vietnamese dimension of the trademark

Based to the WIPO statistics database, the decade-long trend in trademark registration in Vietnam displayed a steady climb from 2013 to 2022. Initially, residents registered 38,267 trademarks in 2013, which grew impressively to 92,118 by 2022. Foreign entities also showed interest, although resident registrations consistently surpassed non-resident ones. Overall, the data, sourced from the WIPO statistical database, signals Vietnam’s growing prominence as a hub for trademark registration.