GENERAL COUNTRY INFORMATION
The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is the easternmost nation on the Indochina Peninsula and its capital city is Hanoi. Vietnam is home to 85 million people and boasts the second fastest growth rate among all countries in East and Southeast Asia. Its gross domestic product is about US$258.6 billion with a per capita of US$3.100.

Vietnam Trademark System
 

HIGHLIGHTS

Legal basis	Intellectual Property Law 2005
Major international treaties signed	Paris Convention Madrid Agreement and Protocol
Cost of obtaining a straightforward registration	Please contact us at  vietnam@mirandah.com
Average time to register a trademark	Minimum 12 months
Filing and prosecution procedures	Stage 1: Filing Stage 2: Examination Stage 3: Advertisement Stage 4: Opposition (if any) Stage 5: Registration
Registrable marks	Any distinctive device, brand, heading, label, ticket, name, signature, word, letter, numeral, or combination thereof, may be registered as a trademark
Number of classes	45 in line with the Nice Classification
Multiple class filing	Available
Filing of series marks	Not available
Necessary documents	Notarized Power of Attorney
Electronic filing	Not available
Common objections	Deceptiveness Prior conflicting rights Inventiveness, descriptiveness and non-distinctiveness
Opposition term	As from the publication date of application until prior to the date of decision on the granting of a trademark registration (about 6 months as from publication date)
Duration of protection	10 years from the filing date
Restoration of lapsed trademark	Within 12 months from the expiry of the last registration
Compulsory period of use to avoid cancellation action	No expiry dates for filing a cancellation trial in case an improper registration was granted for “unhealthy motives of the applicant” 5 years from the granting date for the other ones
Parallel Imports	Allowable
Use	Not necessary for filing purposes as an application can be filed based on “intention to use”
Useful links	www.mirandah.com www.noip.gov.vn

ENFORCEMENT

HIGHLIGHTS

Outline of the enforcement steps	Civil Infringement pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law 2005 (IPL) Unfair Competition Administrative Actions Effected by the various government department including the Ministry of Science; Technology and Department of Science and Technology at province; the Ministry of Trade, Economic Police and Customs   Criminal Actions A trademark owner may make denunciation for the investigation, and if convicted criminal actions to be brought against an infringer pursuant to Articles 156 158 and 170, 171 of the Criminal Code
Civil Remedies	Interlocutory / permanent injunction An order for the surrender or the destruction of the offending trademark or signage Damages or account of profits in lieu of damages A declaration of the plaintiff’s rights to the trademark and defendant’s infringement of these rights
Criminal Sanctions	Monetary fines or imprisonment or both Prohibition of importation; seizure; detention; forfeiture of counterfeit trademark   goods
Others	It is an offence to represent a trademark as registered when it is not
Time frame for various legal actions	12 – 36 months
Alternative dispute resolution	Mediation Arbitration
Any specialized courts for IP	Not available

OTHER INFORMATION **

Application and Registration Of Trade Marks From 2000 to 2006

Year

Application

Registration

	Local	Foreign	Total	Local	Foreign	Total
2000	3483	2399	5882	1423	1453	2876
2001	3095	3250	6345	2085	1554	3639
2002	6560	2258	8818	3386	1814	5200
2003	8599	3536	12135	4907	2243	7150
2004	10641	4275	14916	5444	2156	7600
2005	12884	5134	18018	6427	3333	9706
2006	16071	6987	23058	2505	6335	8840

Disclaimer: The information provided above is intended to serve as a general guideline and is not intended as legal advice. The information is correct at the time of printing.