KENFOX advises that after sufficient and valid documents are lodged, the Vietnamese Customs will issue Notification of Acceptance within 01 month.

KENFOX advises that the examination and supervision of IP imports and exports will be executed by the Vietnamese Customs within 02 years from the date of the Notification of Acceptance and it can be renewed for 02 additional year.

KENFOX advises that if Vietnamese Customs detects a shipment of imports/exports being suspected of violating Intellectual Property rights, the following steps will be taken by the Customs authority:

Step 1: The Vietnamese Customs shall send a Notification to the applicant via fax;

Step 2: Within 03 working days, the applicant is entitled to file an application for suspending customs procedures and obliged to advance a sum of money equal to 20% of the value of the goods consignment or at least 20 million Vietnam dong where it is impossible to value such goods.

Step 3: The Vietnamese Customs issues a Decision on suspension of customs procedures with regard to the goods consignment in question. Such Decision will be sent to the concerned parties. The term for such suspension is 10 working days, computed from the date when the applicant receives the suspension Decision. In case of request for IP assessment or expert opinion from the IP management authorities, the Customs shall continue suspending the customs procedures until receipt of the results relating thereto.

During the suspension period or the period when the preventive measure is applied, the Customs is obliged to execute the following work:

1. Requesting the owner of the goods consignment, the IP right holders to furnish the documents relating the goods (catalogues, IP assessment conclusion, foreign documents, the results of handling similar cases etc.);
2. Directly soliciting IP assessment at the IP assessment organizations or conferring with the IP management authorities for their expert opinion;
3. Organizing the sampling to exercise the right to solicit IP assessment;
4. Requesting additional assessment or re-assessment;
5. Coordinating, discussing with the IP grassroot management authorities when disputes, appeals about the right holder, protectability, IP protection scope, competence of administrative violation handling.

Upon expiration of suspension period or application of preventive measure, the Customs is obliged to execute one or all following pieces of work:

a) Deciding to accept the case in accordance with administrative procedures upon confirming the suspended goods in question infringed upon IPR based on the IP assessment conclusion; expert opinion; documents, evidences provided by the IPR holder.

Deciding to withhold the goods in case of grounds to affirm the goods in question is intellectual property counterfeit ones; infringing goods are foods, medicines, cosmetics, pet food, fertilizers, veterinary medicine, plant protection product, construction materials.

b) Completing the customs procedures for the goods in question;

c) Following the opinion from the court in case the applicant files a civil lawsuit;

d) Handing over the case to other IP enforcement authorities if the infringement is not within the competence of the Customs;

e) Temporarily withholding the settlement after receiving the written documents from the IP state management authorities, informing of disputes, appeals about the right holder, protectability, IP protection scope;

f) Handing over the case to the competent bodies for investigation and prosecution in case the infringement involves a criminal element