KENFOX IP & Law Office > Articles posted by KENFOX IP (Page 17)

Withdrawing an already claimed invalidation action in Vietnam

Withdrawing an invalidation request which has been filed with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (“IP Vietnam”) is not expressly provided for in the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam 2005, revised in 2009 and 2019 (“Vietnam IP Law”) and its by-laws. As a matter of practice, the IP Vietnam has accepted withdrawal of invalidation requests, provided that (i) the withdrawal authority is explicitly formed in the Power of Attorney and (ii) the requester of invalidation action has rendered reasons for such withdrawal. Therefore, a request for invalidation action already filed with the IP Vietnam can be withdrawn. The Vietnam IP...

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Responding to trademark refusal in Laos – Some takeaways

Under Laos IP Law, a mark cannot be merely descriptive. The idea behind preventing people from obtaining trademark protection for descriptive marks is that that individuals or commercial entities should not be allowed to claim exclusive trademark rights in descriptive words that competitors may need to use when describing their own goods/services. As a result, trademarks that comprise commonly descriptive (or generic) words are usually prohibited from being registered by the Laos IP Office. In practice, there are not uncommon instances where trademark applications face refusal/rejection based on an alleged descriptiveness of goods/services. However, those marks are not, in fact,...

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Main takeaways for seeking protection for industrial designs in Vietnam

Industrial designs serve as an valuable tool for any manufacturer who relies on the outward appearance of their products to attract customers and entice potential buyers to choose their offering over the competition. As such, features protectable as industrial designs can be used both purely as a form of aesthetic enticement, as well as a way to distinguish your products, helping them stand out from a multitude of similar goods. Combating design infringement has never been easy. Design registrations protect against infringers from producing the same goods or products which do not produce a different overall visual impression on an...

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Notification on re-filing trademark applications to keep trademark rights effective in Myanmar

On 28 August 2020, the Ministry of Commerce and Trade issued Notification No. 63/2020 on 28 August 2020 which states that the Soft Opening Period will start launching on 01 October 2020 for the marks owner under the section 93(a) of the new Trade Mark law. During the Soft Opening Period (i.e. from 01 October 2020 to 01 April 2020), the Myanmar Registrar will only receive applications for re-registration of the trademarks which have been previously registered with Myanmar Registrar, but not receive applications for registering new trademarks in Myanmar. ...

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Overcome a provisional refusal against an International Registration Designating Vietnam – difficult but never give up !

How should you address to overcome a provisional refusal against an International Registration Designating Vietnam (“IRDV”)? What steps can be taken to ensure your trademark is protected in Vietnam? In recent years, international registration of trademarks designating Vietnam has increasingly preferred taking into account of the simple and convenient procedures that can save a lot of time and money, but it also include many potential risks relating thereto. KENFOX IP & LAW OFFIC has assisted its client to overcome a provisional refusal against an IRDV under various proceedings in Vietnam....

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Some takeaways on overcoming provisional refusal against International Registration designating Cambodia

As you know, Cambodia became a member of the Madrid System for the International Registration of Mark on 05 June 5 2015. The system facilitates the filing of applications in multiple countries around the globe. Rather than having to file a trademark application in each country, a trademark owner can file a single application with their national or regional IP office, and then designates protection of their mark in Madrid member countries. This greatly simplifies and reduces the cost of the process, however in case your trademark faced a provisional refusal by the Department of Intellectual Property of Cambodia, what...

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How to effectively handle a trademark infringement in Cambodia?

Generally, when trademark infringements occur in Cambodia, the trademark owner may resort to administrative, civil, criminal procedures, or border control measures in order to protect their rights. From our experience, most of trademark infringement cases in Cambodia are handled through the administrative proceedings with the involvement of Cambodian Department of Intellectual Property ...

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