03 April

Sticky

China: CNIPA Proactively Refused and Invalidated Ambiguous-Concept Trademarks Such as “Zero Sucrose” and “Farm-Raised”

Download Many enterprises do not design trademarks to distinguish their goods from those of others - the core function of a trademark. Instead, they exploit the system to "privatize" common industry terminology. They treat the trademark registration certificate as a "legal free pass" to monopolize advertising messages (such as "Zero Sugar" or "Farm-Raised"). Armed with these registered marks, they can then turn around and restrict competitors from using descriptive terms that everyone should inherently have the right to use. Cloaking vague and exaggerated descriptive terms under the guise of an "exclusively registered trademark" creates a false veneer of credibility. Consumers are easily...

25 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Opposition Against the Trademark “7 DAYZ” / “7 DAYS PREMIUM MENWEAR & Device”: 5 Lessons in Trademark Protection in Vietnam

Posted by Quoc Anh

in Notable Articles, Trademark

Download In intellectual property portfolio management, challenging a subsequent trademark application that "borrows" ideas while being disguised by stylized details remains a complex issue. Therefore, protecting brand identity extends beyond mere name registration; it is a strategic battle to safeguard the "zone of recognition" within the minds of consumers. In this context, the successful prevention of trademark application No. 4-2023-36026 demonstrates a crucial principle: an effective opposition dossier must be built upon a strict integration of legal analysis regarding the similarity of the signs and designated goods/services, alongside a practical assessment of how the brand is perceived, recalled, and competes in...

12 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Cassation Protest in the Binh Minh Plastics Case: Restoring the Value of Expert Evidence in Trademark Dispute Resolution

Posted by Minh Chau

in Trademark, Trademark in Vietnam

Download On March 9, 2026, the intellectual property (IP) dispute between Binh Minh Plastics Joint Stock Company and Binh Minh Viet Plastics Joint Stock Company marked a significant procedural turning point: the Supreme People's Procuracy officially issued a Cassation Protest. This decision recommends the annulment of both the first-instance judgment of the People's Court of Ho Chi Minh City and the appellate judgment of the High People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City. Over the past period, this case has been considered a typical "bottleneck," exposing the unpredictability and latent risks within Vietnam's IP litigation system. Previously, despite holding the most robust...

12 March

0 Comments

Sticky

Trademark Litigation And Litigation Process In Vietnam

Posted by Quyen Nguyen

in Notable Articles, Trademark

Download Vietnam’s intellectual property (IP) framework has evolved rapidly during the past two decades. Vietnam is a member of major multilateral agreements such as the Paris Convention, TRIPS Agreement, the Madrid Agreement/Protocol, the EU-Vietnam Free‑Trade Agreement and other bilateral agreements. These treaties and Vietnam’s Law on Intellectual Property (IP Law) (amended in 2022), Civil Code (2015), Civil Procedure Code (CPC) (2015), Penal Code, Criminal Procedure Code and implementing decrees (Decree 65/2023/ND‑CP, Decree 99/2013/ND‑CP etc.) form the core of the country’s trademark system Vietnam offers several avenues for trademark owners to enforce their rights, including administrative actions, civil litigation, criminal prosecution, and border control measures....

10 November

0 Comments

Sticky

HAICNEAL vs. HAINOZAL: Stopping a Copycat Shampoo Line, Forcing Destruction of Labels and Printing Equipment, and Blocking a Trademark Hijacking

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Uncategorized, Vietnam

KENFOX IP & Law Office acted for Kunming Dihon Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (China), owner of the HAICNEAL medicated shampoo brand (), and its exclusive Vietnamese distributor, Dong A Pharmaceutical Trading Co., Ltd., after a Vietnamese company (ASEM VINA JSC) began producing and commercializing a shampoo using packaging that closely imitated HAICNEAL’s trade dress while marketing it under “HAINOZAL” ...

10 November

0 Comments

Sticky

Infringement ov er the trademark “SPY”: Tracking the Importer, Forcing Infringing Detergent off the Market, and Locking in Customs Protection

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Vietnam

Importer Identified, VIPRI Infringement Finding Secured, Multi-Agency Pressure Applied, Infringing Goods Removed from Market, Customs Protection Activated. KENFOX IP & Law Office represented MASSCO JSC, a leading Vietnamese chemical and cosmetics manufacturer and the registered owner of the “SPY” trademark (No. 231175), after an unauthorized seller began advertising “SPY” washing liquid on ZALO (a popular Vietnamese messaging / social commerce platform). Our investigation suggested that the products were imported from Thailand, so we moved immediately to identify the source. ...

07 November

0 Comments

Sticky

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

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, 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. ...

06 November

0 Comments

Sticky

Justice for “Foellie”: How KENFOX Invalidated a Bad-Faith Filing & Halted a Retaliatory Campaign of IP Abuse?

Posted by Dương Thúy

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Viet Nam

Case brief: KENFOX IP & Law Office recently resolved a four-year dispute surrounding the “Foellie” brand, acting for Laorganic Co., Ltd. (Korea), the legitimate owner of the Foellie mark and logo. Lưu Ngọc Anh, a Vietnamese individual – Director of La Pharma Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. applied to register the mark “FOELLIE” for the goods in Class 03 in 2020. Notably, our client, Laorganic had used their mark “” in Vietnam since 2018. In July 2022, our client filed an opposition against Lưu Ngọc Anh’s applied-for trademark “FOELLIE” with the Trademark Examination Centre (TEC) of the IP Office of Vietnam (IPVN)....

05 November

0 Comments

Sticky

RULE ONE: Forcing VIPRI to Reverse Itself, Establishing Trademark Infringement, and Shutting Down Unauthorized Online Sales

Posted by Quyen Nguyen

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Vietnam

KENFOX IP & Law Office represented RULE ONE PROTEINS LLC (“RULE ONE”), a-US based company, the registered owner in Vietnam of the “RULE 1 PROTEINS” () trademark (Registration No. 408163), in an action against Muscle Up Joint Stock Company, a Vietnamese seller that was advertising, offering for sale, and promoting nutritional supplements in Vietnam using “RULE 1 PROTEINS”, “RULE 1 R1 PROTEIN”, and “RULE ONE” across websites and Facebook pages without authorization. We first secured Bailiff’s Certification to capture irrefutable evidence of infringement across Muscle Up’s online channels. ...

05 November

0 Comments

Sticky

From Online Camouflage to Physical Crackdown: KENFOX’s Legal Strategy in the LACTOMASON Case

Posted by Quyen Nguyen

in Notable Articles, Trademark, Viet Nam

In July-August 2025, KENFOX IP & Law Office executed a coordinated anti-counterfeiting operation in Hanoi on behalf of a leading South Korean pharmaceutical company, holder of the registered “LACTOMASON” trademark in Vietnam. The infringer was not a “street-level counterfeiter”, but a sophisticated entity constructed to project lawful legitimacy. Operating under the guise of “Lacto Mason Vietnam Co., Ltd.”, the infringer built a complete façade of brand authenticity by copying nearly the entire identity ecosystem of our client – including product packaging, labeling, corporate name, website, social-media presence, and promotional collateral – and then deploying a digital-only distribution model (exclusively through e-commerce...