1. Well-known Vietnamese brands registered by overseas competitors are largely seen nowadays.It is not difficult to list out some typical cases such as Trung Nguyen coffee, Vinataba tobacco, Vifon instant noodles, Ben Tre coconut candy, Duy Loi foldable hammock...
Continue readingThe e-commerce market is growing in Viet Nam, but it is also used to trade counterfeit goods with increasingly sophisticated activities online. Counterfeit trading on e-commerce websites/platforms is largely seen nowadays in Vietnam. The consumers who have changed their traditional shopping habits recently and switched to online more over the past years, especially after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in floods of fake websites and/or online counterfeiting ...
Continue readingBad-faith trademark registration has largely seen in Vietnam nowadays, especially when foreign investors are shifting production from China to Vietnam following a recent US-China trade war. Trade marks in Vietnam are generally awarded on a “first to file” basis, resulting in floods of trademark applications, many of which imitate/ mimic foreign reputed brands that have yet to expand into the Vietnamese market. Invalidating a trademark registered in bad faith in Vietnam is not always easy as Vietnam IP Law does not define or contain specific provisions on bad faith. However, Snap Inc., a US-based company, has won a significant victory...
Continue reading1. At its fifty-third (23rd ordinary) and fifty fourth (31st extraordinary) sessions, the Madrid Union Assembly adopted amendments to Rules 3, 9, 21, 25 and 36 of the Regulations under the Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (hereinafter referred to as “the Regulations”) that will enter into force on February 1, 2021....
Continue readingTo be more compatible with the recent signed trade pacts, including European Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (“EVFTA”), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”), and most recently the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”) and the UK Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (“UKVFTA”), some new critical trademark examination principles/practices have been introduced/adopted by the IP Office of Vietnam (“IP Vietnam”). KENFOX IP & LAW OFFICE provides below several important takeaways....
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On 07 October 2020, Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) has issued Decision No. 4010/QĐ-SHTT on granting Geographical indication registration certificate no. 00086 for “Hàm Yên” orange. People’s Committee of Tuyên Quang province is the organization in charge of managing this Geographical indication (GI)....
Continue readingA draft of the amended IP Law of Vietnam has been released recently by the Ministry of Science and Technology of Vietnam and published in its website in November 2020 for public comments. The recent signing of big trade pacts, such as the European Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (“EVFTA”), the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (“CPTPP”), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (“RCEP”), the world’s largest trading bloc have triggered the comprehensive amendment of Vietnam’s IP Law that enacted in 2005. While a lot of progressive provisions have been introduced to this third amendment of Vietnam IP Law, some...
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The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) announces the adoption of the Vietnamese version of the Nice Classification 11-2021 Edition (NCL 11-2020) from January 1, 2021....
Continue readingThe Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Vietnam) issued Notice No. 13822/TB-SHTT dated 23 November 2020 on the application of regulations concerning persons with legal status to sign documents on behalf of the applicant in the registration procedure for establishment of industrial property rights and the related procedures. The Notice No. 13822/TB-SHTT has the following noteworthy points:...
Continue readingA civil case brought by Ngan Anh Enterprise at the Hau Giang Provincial Court against the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (“IP Vietnam”) is an interesting challenge to the government's approach to the determination of trademark similarity....
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