13 February

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Conducting a trademark search in Laos: Why and How?

Before filing a trademark application in Laos, it is advisable to conduct a search based on the trademark database of the Department of Intellectual Property of Laos (DIP) to determine the registrability of a proposed mark. Conducting a pre-filing trademark search is highly recommended for several reasons: Avoid potential trademark infringement: A trademark search conducted before filing a trademark application in Laos might help uncover any existing marks that may be similar to the one you intend to register. This can help you avoid infringing on the trademark rights of others and prevent costly legal disputes down the road. Save time and...

06 February

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Why should figurative marks and product labels be registered as copyright in Vietnam?

Posted by Ly Dinh

in Copyright, Vietnam

[vc_row triangle_shape="no"][vc_column][vc_column_text] Download Surprise, shock, bewilderment, anxiety, pessimism and a scenario that all doors are closed is a common state/feeling that many foreign trademark owners fall into when they discover that their trademarks, even their product packagings have been filed for trademark or industrial design registration by a third party in Vietnam. Other holders are desperate that the risk of business strategy in Vietnam will be broken down/jeopardized when they detect that their trademarks and/or their product labels being copied in their entireties, or only some minor changes thereof are made by the third parties for the purpose of business exploitation. Obviously, registering...

31 January

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Use your registered trademark in Vietnam or you will lose it

Posted by Ly Dinh

in Trademark in Vietnam

Obtaining a trademark registration does not mean a guarantee for the maintenance of the trademark validity, because the trademark holders are obliged to use their registered trademarks in commerce and renew the validity before it expires. The purpose of this regulation is to allow the removal of marks that exist on the trademark register but are not in genuine use and/or to block the phenomenon of trademark squatting which unreasonably prevent similar marks from entering the market. This mechanism helps to reduce the number of trademark disputes and reduce registrations acquired only for the purpose of unfair competition and trademark...

30 January

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How can I file a cancellation action against an industrial design in Laos

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download Entitlement: You or any third party has the right to submit a cancellation or elimination request of an industrial design registration within 05 (five) years as of the registration date in the publication in an official gazette for an industrial property registration with DIP. Grounds: Grounds for cancelling validity of industrial designs are provided in Article 45 of Lao IP Law as follows: The term of protection is expired; The design owner fails to renew his design patent and pay the applicable fees and service charges; The design patent is invalidated based on a finding that one or more requirements for...

30 January

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Can an industrial design be amended after registered/granted in Laos ?

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download The Lao IP Law only permits the correction of errors related to name, address or the applicant’s name and address according to the template form provided by DIP found in the publication of a patent after it has been granted. Correction requests must be made within 60 days of the date of publication and DIP shall record all changes in the database, document the registration and publish in the official gazette for the registration of industrial property. After the industrial design has been registered, an industrial design owner may submit a request to modify partial information in the documents related to...

30 January

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How can I file an opposition to an industrial design application in Laos ?

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download Entitlement: Any third party is statutorily entitled to file a Notice of Opposition to a pending design application in Laos after such design application is published in the official gazette for registration of industrial property in Laos. Deadline: A Notice of Opposition must be filed with DIP within 60 (sixty) days from the publication date on the official gazette for the registration of industrial property. Required documents: The documents shall be completed according to the form template provided by DIP and service charge paid, and the request for opposition to a design application shall comprise the following documents: (i) A Notice of Opposition...

30 January

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When and to what extent can applicant amend the industrial design application in Laos ?

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download As provided in Article 42 of the Intellectual Property Law, at any time an application is pending with the Department but before DIP has granted an industrial design thereon, and before the abandonment, final rejection, or other termination of proceedings on the application, the applicant may amend/divide the application, provided that any such amendment/division shall not change the essential appearance of an industrial design, that is, within the disclosure in the initial application. An application may be divided into one or more divisional applications by filing one or more subsequent applications that make reference to the application being divided. The second...

30 January

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How is an industrial design application examined in Laos ?

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download An application for a deign patent filed with DIP shall be subject to 2 phases of examination, i.e., formality examination and substantive examination. Formality Examination and Publication Within sixty (60) days since the date of receiving the application for an industrial design, DIP shall conduct a formality examination of the application regarding the completeness, accuracy and conformity with prescribed requirements. In case that the application is incomplete, incorrect, or not in accordance with the requirements set forth, DIP shall notify the applicant to provide documents or correct the application to meet the requirements within sixty (60) days from the date of notification. In case that the...

30 January

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Things to keep in mind when submitting a design application in Laos

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download 1. Is it possible to conduct an availability search for an industrial design in Laos before filing a design application in Laos? An applicant is able to submit its request with DIP to search for an industrial design that is in the database of DIP to identify whether such an industrial design subject to the search has already been registered or not, by identifying the classification of industrial design that needs to be searched, and by paying the relevant service charge. DIP, however, conducts the search based on its preliminary database only, and the search result does not mean that such an...

30 January

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INDUSTRIAL DESIGNS IN LAOS

Posted by Vu Thu Uyen

in Industrial Design

Download Copyright © 2023 KENFOX LEGAL BASIS Law on Intellectual Property No. 38/NA dated 15 November 2017; Decision on Industrial Design No. 35/MOST dated 20 January 2021. DEFINITION 1. What is an industrial design in Laos? The Law No. 38/LA on Intellectual Property (amended) dated 15 November 2017 (Lao IP Law) defines an industrial design as the form or shape of a product that needs to be created (including patterns, lines, colors, etc.). Specifically, an industrial design certificate protects a product’s special appearance which covers a pattern, a form, or an external feature of a novel product developed in Lao PDR, or elsewhere in the world, that...