04 November

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Shutting Down Lookalike Packaging Through Unfair Competition Law – PROSPAN vs. PROSTIBAME

in IPR enforecement, Notable Articles, Trademark, Vietnam

KENFOX IP & Law Office acted for Engelhard Arzneimittel GmbH & Co. KG. (Germany), owner of the “PROSPAN” cough remedy brand ( ), and its exclusive Vietnamese distributor, SOHACO, after a Vietnamese company (VINH AN THANG LONG Investment JSC) began marketing a PROSTIBAME cough “dietary supplement” in packaging deliberately modeled on PROSPAN’s presentation. The infringer avoided direct trademark conflict by using a different word mark (“PROSTIBAME”) (), and PROSPAN’s outer packaging had not been separately registered as a “trademark” or an “industrial design” in Vietnam - making a traditional infringement claim difficult. KENFOX responded by treating the dispute as an...

30 October

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Trade Name Rights Defeat Trademark Squatting: LChau Pharmaceutical Company Keeps Its Brand and the Squatter Loses Registration in Court

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Trademark, Viet Nam

KENFOX IP & Law Office has secured a major victory for LChau Pharmaceutical Company in a complex trademark-trade name lawsuit over the name “LChau”. This challenging case in Vietnam, which began in 2020 and spanned nearly 04 years, is not just a win for us; it's a significant victory for our client, a leading pharmaceutical giant in Vietnam with a network of nearly 2000 drug stores across the country. Back in 2016, our client acquired a series of 04 pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City, aiming to establish a comprehensive pharmacy ecosystem to meet the growing healthcare needs in Vietnam. In...

18 October

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Trademark Use in Vietnam: How to Correctly Understand and Effectively Rebut Non-Use Cancellation Attacks

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Vietnam

In Vietnam, owning a trademark registration is only half the battle - keeping it alive is where the real challenge begins. Many foreign businesses secure broad protection for their brands across a wide range of goods and services, only to discover years later that their registrations are vulnerable to non-use cancellation. What if your products haven’t yet entered the Vietnamese market? What if your app or website is used by Vietnamese consumers but your company is based abroad? Does that count as “use”? Vietnam’s IP Law draws a fine line between registered rights and active rights - and the distinction can...

03 October

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Identical Filing Dates, Identical Marks: Vietnam’s Resolution Mechanism and How Businesses Should Respond?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Viet Nam

Download In practice, it is not uncommon for two entirely independent entities to file applications to protect an identical or similar sign for the same goods/services - sometimes even on the very same day. What may appear to be a mere coincidence, however, presents an intriguing legal question: when both applications satisfy the filing-date requirement equally, who has priority? Who will be the lawful owner of the mark? In a rare case, a client of KENFOX IP & Law Office - Eurotek Vietnam Lubricants Co., Ltd. (Công ty TNHH Dầu nhớt Eurotek Việt Nam) - filed an application for the mark “”...

26 September

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“Bad Faith”, “Conflict of Rights”, and “IP Abuse” in Vietnam: What Lessons Can Be Drawn from the “Foellie” Trademark Dispute?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Vietnam

On 15 September 2025, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (“VN IPO”) issued a Decision No. 205432/QĐ-SHTT annulling the validity of Certificate of Trademark Registration No. 525787 for “FOELLIE” in the name of Lưu Ngọc Anh, thereby ending four years of dispute and bringing an end to a pattern of abusive assertions of IP rights. For Laorganic Co., Ltd. (Korea) - the true proprietor of the “” (“Foellie”) mark - this Decision is not merely a matter of victory or defeat. Beyond restoring their name as the rightful owner, it revives the entire commercial flow that had been throttled by...

22 September

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Trademarks in the Metaverse: How to Effectively Protect Trademarks for “Physical” Products in the Virtual Space in Vietnam?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark in Vietnam

Trademark disputes are becoming increasingly diverse, complex, and unceasing. Does the owner of a trademark for a “physical” automobile or watch, protected in Vietnam, China, or any other country, have the right to prevent a "virtual" version of the same product from appearing in an online game - with its logo intact and players willing to spend real money to acquire it? In a broader sense: Can using a mark on a virtual goods infringe the trademark for a physical goods? Traditionally, trademark infringement has been assessed based on the likelihood of confusion, in which the similarity between goods or...

17 September

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Freedom to Operate (FTO) in Vietnam: Why and How you can conduct an FTO before product launching?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Patent, Viet Nam

Launching a product in Vietnam without an FTO check is like driving at night with the headlights off, possible, but risky and expensive. Vietnam recognizes utility solutions (utility models), a powerful doctrine of equivalents in infringement analysis, and broad “Bolar”-style regulatory approval exceptions. Knowing which of these helps you, and which hurts you, often decides whether your launch flies or stalls. For foreign enterprises considering entry into the Vietnamese market, conducting a Freedom-to-Operate (FTO) search is not a simple administrative box to check; it is a critical, proactive tool for risk mitigation and strategic business planning. In a rapidly evolving economic...

25 August

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Trademark Cancellation for Non-Use in Vietnam: What Valuable Lessons Can Be Drawn?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Viet Nam

Download The trademark cancelaltion request against Trademark Registration Certificate No. 103943 (“DD DANTI, device”), filed and pursued by KENFOX IP & Law Office, lasted for a decade and has become a landmark case in the field of intellectual property (IP) in Vietnam. What initially appeared to be a straightforward matter of cancelling a trademark for non-use turned into a complex legal battle between enterprises competing to defend and secure their IP rights. This case has helped to more clearly define the regulations on "use of a trademark" under Article 124.5 of Vietnam’s IP Law, limiting ambiguous interpretations and preventing the abuse of...

22 August

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Trademark Enforcement in Laos: A Smart Strategy in a High-Risk Region

Posted by Quyen Nguyen

in Laos, Notable Articles, Trademark

What are the options for a trademark owner if their trademark is illegally used in Laos - one of Southeast Asia's most challenging jurisdictions? This was the critical question facing Luk Fook Company, a leading international jewelry brand, when its trademark was found to be in unauthorized use at a storefront within the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone, a region in Bokeo Province, Laos, known for its legal ambiguity and illicit activities. Although enforcement in such jurisdictions may appear impractical or fraught with risk, Luk Fook Company’s enforcement strategy demonstrates that targeted legal intervention, executed with precision and discretion, can yield...

22 August

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Trademark Assignment in Vietnam: Why It’s Refused and How to Overcome It?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Viet Nam

Trademark assignment in Vietnam is subject to strict statutory requirements and substantive examination by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (“IPVN”). In practice, assignments are frequently refused on grounds of potential confusion or non-compliance with mandatory provisions. Challenges become more acute if the assignor owns trademarks that are closely similar to one another or, in more serious circumstances, where the assignor’s trade name itself is also the trademark name. KENFOX IP & Law Office, with over 15 years of practical experience and expertise in IP protection in Vietnam, provides in-depth analysis of the risks associated with trademark assignment, along with strategic...