What is a Trademark? Dossiers and Procedures for Trademark Registration in Vietnam

Registering a trademark helps protect legal rights, establish a brand, and enhance product value in today’s competitive market.

1. What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a sign used to distinguish goods or services of different organizations or individuals (Clause 16, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam 2005, as amended by Clause 1, Article 1 of the Law on amended Intellectual Property of Vietnam 2009).

2. Conditions for a Trademark to be Registered for Protection

According to Article 72 of the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam 2005, (as amended and supplemented), a trademark is eligible for protection if it meets the following conditions:

– It must be a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings, images, three-dimensional shapes, or a combination of these elements, presented in one or more colors, or a sound mark that can be graphically represented.

– It must be capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the trademark owner from those of other entities.

Note: The following signs are not protected as trademarks:

• Signs that are identical or confusingly similar to the National Flag, National Emblem, or National Anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, or of other countries, or the Internationale.
• Signs that are identical or confusingly similar to the symbols, flags, emblems, abbreviations, or full names of Vietnamese state agencies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-professional organizations, social organizations, or international organizations, unless authorized by such agencies or organizations.
• Signs that are identical or confusingly similar to the real name, pseudonym, pen name, or image of a leader, national hero, or celebrity of Vietnam or a foreign country.
• Signs that are identical or confusingly similar to the certification marks, inspection marks, or warranty marks of international organizations, which such organizations have requested not be used, unless the organization itself registers these marks as certification marks.
• Signs that mislead, cause confusion, or are deceptive to consumers about the origin, features, uses, quality, value, or other characteristics of the goods or services.
• Signs that are the inherent shape of goods or are required by the technical characteristics of the goods.
• Signs containing a reproduction of a work, unless authorized by the owner of that work.

3. Trademark Registration Dossier and Procedures

3.1. Trademark Registration Dossier

– A trademark registration declaration, typed according to Form No. 08, Appendix I of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP. (The trademark description must clarify the constituent elements of the trademark and its overall meaning, if any. If the trademark contains words or terms from an ideographic language, they must be transliterated. If it contains foreign words or terms, they must be translated into Vietnamese. If the trademark contains non-Arabic or non-Roman numerals, they must be translated into Arabic numerals. The list of goods/services in the declaration must be classified in accordance with the International Classification of Goods and Services (under the 12th Edition of the Nice Agreement)).

– 05 trademark specimens (The specimens must be identical to the one affixed to the declaration form in terms of size and color. Each component of the trademark must be clearly presented with a size no larger than 80mm and no smaller than 8mm, and the entire trademark must be presented within a frame of 80mm x 80mm. If color protection is requested, all trademark specimens on the declaration and in the dossier must be presented in the exact colors to be protected).

– Proof of payment of fees and charges.

– In the case of a collective mark or certification mark application, in addition to the above minimum documents, the application must include the following:

• Regulations on the use of the collective mark or certification mark.
• A statement explaining the specific nature and quality (or distinctiveness) of the product bearing the mark (if the registered mark is a collective mark for a product with a specific nature or a certification mark for product quality or geographical origin of a local specialty).
• A map of the geographical area (if the registered mark is a certification mark for the geographical origin of a product, or a mark containing a geographical name or sign indicating the geographical origin of a local specialty).
• Written permission from the Provincial or Central City People’s Committee to use the geographical name or other sign indicating the geographical origin of a local specialty for trademark registration (if the registered mark is a collective or certification mark containing a geographical name or sign indicating the geographical origin of a local specialty).

3.2. Application Submission Methods

Applicants can choose to submit a paper application or an online application through the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam’s (NOIP) online public service portal.

3.2.1. Paper Submission

Applicants can submit the trademark application in person or via postal service to one of the NOIP’s receiving offices:

• NOIP Headquarters: 386 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.
• NOIP Representative Office in Ho Chi Minh City: 31 Han Thuyen Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
• NOIP Representative Office in Da Nang City: 3rd Floor, 135 Minh Mang Street, Khue My Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District, Da Nang City.

When submitting the application by mail, the applicant must transfer the fees via postal service, then include a photocopy of the money transfer receipt with the application dossier to one of the NOIP’s receiving offices to prove payment.

(Note: When transferring fees and charges to one of the NOIP receiving offices, the applicant must mail the dossier to the corresponding receiving office).

3.2.2. Online Submission

– Conditions for online submission: The applicant must have a digital certificate and a digital signature, register an account on the Online Application Submission System, and have the account approved by the NOIP to carry out industrial property registration transactions.

– Online submission procedure: The applicant must fill out and submit the trademark application on the NOIP’s Online Application Submission System. After completing the declaration and submission, the System will send the applicant a Confirmation Slip for Online Document Submission. Within 01 month from the online submission date, the applicant must go to one of the NOIP receiving offices during business hours to present the Online Document Submission Confirmation Slip and accompanying documents (if any) and pay the required fees/charges. If the documents and fees/charges are complete, the receiving officer will assign a dossier number to the declaration on the Online Application Submission System. If the documents and fees/charges are incomplete, the application will be refused. If the applicant fails to complete the submission procedure as required, the online documents will be canceled, and a notice of cancellation will be sent to the applicant through the Online Application Submission System.

(Article 100, Article 101, Article 105 of the Intellectual Property Law; Article 24 of Circular 23/2023/TT-BKHCN/2023/TT-BKHCN)

3.3. Trademark Application Processing Time

From the date of receipt by the NOIP, a trademark application is examined in the following stages:

• Formal Examination: 01 month
• Publication of Application: Within 02 months from the date the trademark application is issued a decision on valid application acceptance.
• Substantive Examination: No more than 09 months from the publication date of the application.

(Article 110.3, Article 119 of the Intellectual Property Law; Article 9, Article 10 of Circular 23/2023/TT-BKHCN/2023/TT-BKHCN)

4. Trademark Registration Fees and Charges

– Application filing fee: 150,000 VND

– Publication fee: 120,000 VND

– Search fee for substantive examination: 180,000 VND/01 group of goods/services

– Search fee for the 7th item or more: 30,000 VND/01 item of goods/services

– Substantive examination fee: 550,000 VND/01 group of goods/services

– Substantive examination fee for the 7th item or more: 120,000 VND/01 item of goods/services.

5. Trademark Registration Services at VN Law Firm

To provide you with a detailed overview of the work we perform when providing trademark registration services, here is a quick list of the tasks VN Law Firm undertakes when registering a trademark for a client:

• Providing consultation on how to select a suitable trademark name with a high probability of registration.
• Conducting a search to assess the registrability of the trademark before filing the application.
• Filing the trademark registration declaration with the NOIP on behalf of the client.
• Monitoring the application through all stages of examination, from filing until the Notice of Granting a Trademark Registration Certificate is received from the NOIP.
• Receiving the trademark registration certificate and delivering it to the client.