Considering trademark
registration activities, the subject holder must comply with certain conditions
to fulfill its trademark registration rights.
According to Article 13.1 Law on Intellectual Property amended in
2009:
-Organizations and
individuals may register marks to be used for goods they produce or services
they provide.
-Organizations and
individuals that conduct lawful commercial activities may register marks for
products they are marketing but produced by others, provided that the producers
neither use such marks for their products nor object to such registration.
-Lawfully established
collective organizations may register collective marks to be used by their
members under regulations on use of collective marks. For signs indicating
geographical origins of goods or services, organizations that may register them
are collective organizations of organizations or individuals engaged in
production or trading in relevant localities. For other geographical names or
marks indicating geographical origins of local specialties of Vietnam, the
registration must be permitted by competent state agencies.
-Organizations with the
function of controlling and certifying the quality, properties, origin or other
relevant criteria of goods or services may register certification marks,
provided that they are not engaged in the production or trading of these goods
or services. For other geographical names or marks indicating geographical
origins of local specialties of Vietnam, the registration thereof must be
permitted by a competent state agency.
-Two or more
organizations or individuals may jointly register a mark in order to become its
co-owners on the following conditions: i) This mark is used in the names of all
co-owners or used for goods or services which are produced or traded with the
participation of all co-owners; ii) The use of this mark causes no confusion to
consumers as to the origin of goods or services.
If the subject falls
into one of the cases mentioned above, they will have the right to register the
mark at the National Office of Intellectual Property. After the subject
condition has been met, consideration should be given to the condition that a
mark can be protected as a trademark. In particular (i) It is a visible mark in
the form of letters, words, drawings or images including holograms, or a
combination thereof, represented in one or more colors; (ii) It is capable of
distinctive goods or services of the mark owner from those of other subjects.
However, there are some
exceptions even when the mark satisfies those two conditions. For example,
marks identical with or confusingly similar to national flags or national
emblems; or marks identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags,
armorial bearings, abbreviated names or full names of Vietnamese State bodies,
political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-
politico-professional organizations, social organizations or socio-professional
organizations or with international organizations, unless permitted by such
bodies or organizations shall not be protected as a trademark.
In order to register for protection of a trademark, the registrant should pay attention to the
subject matter and the conditions for the trademark to be protected in order to
avoid being refused at the registration authority because of the failure to
meet the conditions for the subject or the conditions for protection.
IP
Attorney at ANT Lawyers – a Law
Firm in Vietnam,
a licensed IP agent in Vietnam shall be providing the advice to client to help
the clients evaluate and file registration for trademark, patent, copyright and
other IP related services
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