Registering a trademark protects intellectual property rights and builds reputation for the business. If you are planning to do business, register a trademark today to protect your intellectual property rights and develop your brand in the long term.

1. What is trademark registration?

A trademark – according to the definition of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WPIO): is a special sign (tangible or intangible) to identify a product or service produced or provided by an individual or organization.

Right to register a trademark

Pursuant to Article 87 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law (amended by Clause 13, Article 1 of the 2009 amended Intellectual Property Law), the right to register a trademark is stipulated as follows:

(1) Organizations and individuals have the right to register a trademark for goods they produce or services they provide.

(2) Organizations and individuals conducting legal commercial activities have the right to register trademarks for products they bring to the market but are produced by others, provided that the manufacturer does not use that trademark for the product and does not object to such registration.

(3) Legally established collective organizations have the right to register collective trademarks for their members to use according to the regulations on the use of collective trademarks; for signs indicating the geographical origin of goods and services, the organization with the right to register is a collective organization of organizations and individuals conducting production and business in that locality; for place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties of Vietnam, the registration must be permitted by a competent state agency.

(4) Organizations with the function of controlling and certifying the quality, characteristics, origin or other criteria related to goods and services have the right to register certification trademarks, provided that they do not conduct production and business of such goods and services; For place names and other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties of Vietnam, the registration must be permitted by a competent state agency.

(5) Two or more organizations and individuals have the right to jointly register a trademark to become co-owners under the following conditions:

a) The use of such trademark must be in the name of all co-owners or used for goods and services in which all co-owners participate in the production and business process;

b) The use of such trademark must not cause confusion to consumers about the origin of the goods and services.

(6) The person with the right to register as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of this Article, including the person who has filed the application for registration, has the right to transfer the right to register to another organization or individual in the form of a written contract, for inheritance or succession in accordance with the provisions of law, provided that the organizations and individuals to whom the right to register is transferred must satisfy the conditions for the person with the corresponding right to register.

(7) For a trademark protected in a country that is a member of an international treaty that prohibits the representative or agent of the trademark owner from registering that trademark, of which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is also a member, that representative or agent shall not be allowed to register the trademark without the consent of the trademark owner, except in cases where there is a legitimate reason.”

2. Trademark registration procedures

2.1 Procedures for registration

The procedure is divided into the following steps:

Step 1: Receiving the application

The application can be submitted directly or sent by post to the headquarters of the National Office of Intellectual Property in Hanoi, or to the 2 representative offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.

Step 2: Formal examination of the application

Check compliance with the formal regulations for the application. Based on this examination, draw a conclusion on the validity of the application:

If the application is valid, the National Office of Intellectual Property will accept the application.

If the application is invalid, the Office will notify the intended rejection of the application and state the reasons. The applicant has 2 months to respond or make corrections.

If the applicant fails to make corrections or makes corrections that do not meet the requirements, or does not have a valid objection, the Office will refuse to accept the application.

Step 3: Publication of the application

After a valid application is accepted, the application will be published in the Industrial Property Gazette.

Step 4: Examination of the application content

Evaluate the protection capability of the subject matter stated in the application based on the protection conditions. Determine the corresponding scope of protection.

Step 5: Decide whether to grant/refuse to grant a protection certificate

• If the subject matter does not meet the protection requirements, the Office will refuse to grant the certificate.
• If the subject matter meets the protection requirements and the applicant has paid all fees and charges on time, the Office will grant a protection certificate. This information will be recorded in the National Register of Trademarks and published in the Industrial Property Gazette

2.2 Profile components include

3. Viet My’s services in trademark registration

3.1 Detailed consultation before registration

We provide detailed consultation services to help you better understand the trademark registration process. Our team of experts will provide information and guidance on the requirements and regulations related to trademark registration, helping you make wise decisions.

3.2 Prepare a quality registration dossier

Preparing a trademark registration dossier is important to ensure the registration process goes smoothly. We will support you in collecting and processing the necessary information, from documents to images related to your trademark, to create the foundation for a quality dossier.

3.3 Carrying out the trademark registration process

Our team of experts will carry out the entire trademark registration process for you. From receiving the application to carrying out procedures related to the authorities, we are committed to supporting you to make this process smooth and effective.

3.4 Ensuring the registration application tracking process

After the application is submitted, we will ensure the tracking of the application’s processing progress. We will continuously update you on the situation and notify you of any requests or changes from the authorities. This helps you always have control and know the status of your trademark registration application.

Trademark registration is a necessity for businesses that want to protect their trademark ownership and develop their business in the long term. Business units can contact VIET MY LAW AND ACCOUNTING for support in registering their business trademarks.