Cancellation of Bad Faith Trademark Registration in Laos: The PINDUODUO Case

[vc_row triangle_shape="no"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Download Many jurisdictions in Southeast Asia operate on a first‑to‑file basis for trademark protection. In Laos, the party who first files a trademark application generally secures priority regardless of whether it has used the mark. This rule creates a vulnerability when opportunistic registrants obtain local registrations for internationally known brands before the actual owners enter the market. However, a recent landmark decision by the Lao Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) highlights that the first-to-file rule is not an absolute shield for opportunism. Represented by KENFOX (LAO) IP Service CO., LTD, the true owner of the global e-commerce giant - Shanghai Xunmeng...

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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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Questions on trademark opposition/cancellation in Laos

KENFOX: Yes, it is possible for a third party file an opposition in Laos. The New IP Law No. 38/NA of 2017 introduces an opposition procedure in Laos. Previously, when a trademark owner registered his/her trademark, there was no publication procedure available to inform and allow interested third parties to oppose to a pending trademark. The interested third party was only able to file a cancelation request with the Department of Intellectual Property of Laos (“DIP”), once the trademark certificate was issued and the trademark was registered with the DIP. Under the old IP Law of Laos, it was only...

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