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Measures against infringement products in Vietnam

After launching products in to the Vietnam market, your company may face with infringement by other company, which are local companies or even companies from other Asian countries.

Once other company infringes your company’s products, your company can conduct following methods:

Conciliation method: accordingly, S&B Law will act on behalf of your company to negotiate with the infringer (manufacturer, importer or distributor), requesting them to cease their infringement actions, signing Cease and Desist Letter to commit that they will not further produce/import/distribute infringement products;

Requesting the administrative measures from Authorities: accordingly, Vietnamese competent authorities will proceed administrative action on immediately cease the circulation of infringement products in Vietnam;

Border measures: accordingly, your company will register your IP right and sole distributor in Vietnam with the Customs Authorities.

Once a product that is suspected to infringement, it will be notified to your company or your representative in Vietnam. Upon your request to the imported product, the Customs authorities will have the final Decision on approval for importation or non-approval for importation.

IP matter concerning to the pharmaceutical products in Vietnam.

In IP aspect, set-out requirement are included as but not limited to the following:

– Your trademark must not be confusingly similar to or identical with registered trademarks for the same products of any third parties; and

– The Generic compound must not be infringement over patent invention of any third parties.

Therefore, in order to meet above said IP requirement, your company should:

For trademark:

– You must present a Certificate of Trademark Registration owned by your company; or

– You must present a License Agreement that entitle your company a legitimate use of a trademark in Vietnam; or

– You must present a Letter of Certification by Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Properties, accordingly NOIP confirm your legitimate use of the trademark; or

– You must present a Similarity Search with positive result of a trademark and copy application for the said trademark.

For Invention:

– You must present a Patent owned by your company; or

– You must present a Letter of Certification by NOIP, confirming your legitimate use of the invention in the products (if any).

Notes for Vietnam trademark registration

Trademark (TM) infringement in Vietnam is mushrooming in both intensity and scope.

As time for obtaining Certificate of Trademark Registration is 12 months counted from filing date (without any obstacle), one trademark is not protected during the examination period.

Therefore, in order to avoid any possible trademark infringement, producers had better filed application for TM registration at least one year before launching their new products into market.

It is much better to have a similarity search for the mark at National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) before filling application.

Since trademark registration is published once in Industrial Property Official Gazette, it can hardly be known to consumers and producers.

In order to avoid accidental infringement, trademark owner had better make announcement in newspapers

Trademark Registration Procedure in Vietnam

SBLAW would like to provide some information about trademark registration procedure in Vietnam as follows:

I.Required documents:

1.       Power of Attorney that empowers S&B Law in conducting actions on trademark registration in Vietnam;

2.       12 specimens of mark with the size not larger than 8cm x 8cm;

3.       List of goods/services (under Nice Agreement, version X); and

4.       Priority claiming documents (if any).

II.DURATION FOR OBTAINING TRADEMARK CERTIFICATE REGISTRATION:

For a straightforward case, it takes about 12 months from the filing date to obtain Certificate of Trademark Registration for an application.

1.       The formality examination lasts for 3 months from filing date.

2.      The substantive examination last 9 months from signing date of Acceptance of legitimate Application;

III.OUR TRADEMARK SERVICE

Our trademark attorney will file your trademark application in Vietnam and will carry our all needed tasks before National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) to get registration approval.

Since your trademark is filed with NOIP, we will send you our filling advice which will include application number and filling date.

 

Guideline for non-PCT Patent in Vietnam

Guideline for non-PCT Patent in Vietnam

INVENTION UTILITY SOLUTION
Term of Validity 20 years 10years
Criteria for protection – Novelty- Inventive step

– Industrial applicavility

– Novelty- Industrial applicability
Required documents
  1. Specification
  2. Power of attorney
  3. Certified document for claiming priority right (if any)

Deed of assignment (if any)

All you have to do is provide us the above required documents

PROCEDURE

Each application shall have to undergo formality and substantive examinations.

INVENTION UTILITY SOLUTION
Formality examination 1 month from the filing date (if all required document is submitted) or from the date of supplementation of all documents.
Deadline to file request for substantive examination Within 42 months from the priority date Within 36 months from  the priority date
Substantive examination 12 months from the date of examination request or date of publication (if examination request is filed upon filing)
Duration (As stipulated by law) 13 months

Note:

–         Application can be filed without original PoA at the filing date. However, a  copy is filed at filing and the original should be submitted within 3 months from the filing date.

–         Applications claiming Paris Convetion priority must be filed within 12 months from the priority date.

–         In Vietnam, the process of a patent application may be considerably accelerated if any its patent family in US, EU or JP was already granted.

Legal Service on Copyright in Vietnam

SBLAW provide the copyright legal service in Vietnam as follows:

  • Consulting legal issues which relate regulations of copyright and related rights;
  • Representing authors, holder of the copyrights, holder of related rights in conducting procedure of submitting applications in order to register copyrights and related rights delegated;
  • Taking part in legal relations associating with copyrights and related rights so as to protect legal interests of authors, holder of copyrights and related rights in delegation;

PCT Regime in Vietnam

S&B Law would like to provide you guideline for PCT Regime in Vietnam as follows:

I.ENTRY INTO NATIONAL PHASE 

• 31 months from priority date.

Note: The International Preliminary Examination Report (IPER) is a strong reference for patent examiner.    

II. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

1.  Copy of PCT application and amendment thereof;

2.  International Search Report and IPER (recommended);

3.  Deed of Assignment (DoA), if any;

4.  Power of Attorney (PoA);

Note: PCT applications can be filed without PoA, DoA. However, the originals should be submitted within 34 months counted from the priority date of the applications.

III. PROCEDURE IN NATIONAL PHASE  

Duration of Formality examination:     1 month from the filing date

Deadline for examination request:        42 months from the priority date

Duration of Substantive examination:  12 months from the date of examination request or date of publication (if examination request is filed upon filing.

Note: In Vietnam, process of a PCT application may be considerably accelerated, if any of its patent family in US, EU, JP was granted.

Dispute resolution and enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam

SBLAW is one of the most successful intellectual property law firm in Vietnam, we provide legal service on dispute resolution and enforcement of IP rights:

1.Providing legal opinion, representing clients to work with Vietnamese authorities such as NOIP in dealing with appeals applications concerning the acquisition of industrial property rights:

  • Filling appeal application against refusal decisions of granting protection titles for industrial property objects (trademarks, patent and industrial design);
  • Filling opposing applications for registration of industrial property objects (trademarks, patent and industrial design);
  • Filling an appeal application against decisions on the granting title of protection for industrial property objects (trademark, patent, industrial design);

2. Advising, representation for clients and work with Vietnam competent authorities in the enforcement of their industrial property rights in Vietnam:

  • Working and obtaining from the Vietnam authority a conclusion and evaluation on any alleged infringing acts of industrial property objects;
  • Contacting and working with infringers and requesting them to stop their infringements;
  • Contacting working with Vietnam authorities to take appropriate actions against infringers;
  • Conducting anti-counterfeiting campaigns on behalf of client;
  • Being lawyers to protect clients’ right and interests in civil case at tribunals to solve intellectual property disputes.

Protection of copyright and related rights in Vietnam

SBLAW – IP International Law Firm will provide the legal services concerning copyright and related rights as follows:

1. Advising matters related to the protection of copyright and related rights, including:

  • Searching on information related to the registration of copyrights in Vietnam;
  • Advising and obtaining the registration of copyrights;
  • Advising and representing clients in negotiations and the preparation of the licensing and/or assignment contract of copyright and other copyright-related contracts;
  • Filling an appeal application against decisions on the granting or refusal of granting a certificate of registration of copyright at Copyright Authority.

2. Providing legal opinion and representation for clients in the enforcement of copyright and neighboring rights, including:

  • Contacting and working with the infringers to request them stopping their infringements
  • Working with the Vietnam competent authorities and requesting them to take actions against infringers;
  • Being lawyers to protect clients’ interest and rights in civil case at tribunals to solve copyright infringements in Vietnam.

3. Advising information technology (IT) law of Vietnam, such as the copyright protection of computer software and works, metarials distributed through the Internet.

Legal service on protecting of industrial design in Vietnam

SBLAW will provide the legal service on protecting of industrial design in Vietnam as follows:

– Providing legal services relating to protection of industrial design in Vietnam:

– Giving legal opinion on the registrability of industrial design in Vietnam.

– Giving legal opinion on the use of industrial design in Vietnam;

– Conducting industrial searches on the registrability  and use of industrial design;

– Filing applications for the registration of industrial designs

– Advising and proceeding with the recordal of assignment of pending industrial design applications;

– Advising and and proceeding with the recordal of changes related to industrial design applications, such as  the name or address of the applicants;

– Advising and proceeding with the recordal of changes related to the granted Certificates of industrial design registration based on the ownership assignment and merger; or recordal of change of name and address of the owner of the Protection Certificate.

– Advising and representing clients to renew the validity of  industrial design.

Licensing, franchising and technology transfer in Vietnam.

SBLAW provides legal advice and represent clients in the following works:

  • Negotiation and preparation of licensing and/or assignment agreements of industrial property rights such as patent, trademark, industrial design in Vietnam.
  • Franchising contracts and technology transfer contracts and carrying out legal procedures for approval and/or recordal of the above mentioned agreements, contracts at the Vietnamese authorities.

Protection of trademark, trade name and geographical indication in Vietnam

SB Law – IP International Law Firm  provides clients with legal services protecting trademark, trade name and geographical indication in Vietnam  as follows:

1. Providing legal advice and representing clients in the rights formation over trademarks in Vietnam:

– Giving legal opinion on the registrability and use of trademarks;

– Giving legal opinions on the selection and use of trademarks in Vietnam market;

– Searching trademark on the registrability;

Filing trademark applications at NOIP;

– Giving legal advice and conducting the assignment recordal of trademark applications

– Giving legal advice and conducting the changes recordal of trademark applications; such as, the name or address of the  applicants, the list of goods/services under NICE 10, or a sample of the trademark application;

– Providing legal advice on and proceeding with the changes recordal relating to the granted Certificates of trademark registration based on the ownership assignment and merger; or recordal of name change and/or address of the owner of the Trademark Registration Certificate.

2.Giving legal advice and representing clients in works concerning the renewal of the validity of trademark registration certificate at NOIP:

  • Advising and renewing validity of trademark registration certificate;
  • Advising on the use of registered trademarks in Vietnam to avoid cancelation process.

3. Giving legal advice and representing clients in filling  trademark applications under The Madrid System (Madrid protocol and agreement);  filling trademark applications in EU, ASEAN countries, USA, Japan, China and other countries.

4. Giving legal advice and representing clients in the formation and use of the rights over trade names in Vietnam

5. Providing legal advice and representing clients in the formation and use of the rights over geographical indication in Vietnam.

Protection of inventions/utility solutions in Vietnam

SBLaw Firm provides clients with legal services relating inventions/utility solutions as follows:

– Giving opinion on the patent-ability of inventions and utility solutions;

– Conducting patent searches in Vietnam

– Researching and providing information of inventions/utility solutions and science technologies in Vietnam and other countries such as nations of Asean, Europe Union, USA, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, China, Russia;

– Giving opinion on patent validity in Vietnam;

– Giving opinion on patent infringement case in Vietnam;

– Patent proceedings before the National Office of Industrial Property of Vietnam (NOIP) including protests and petitions;

– Prosecution and defense of claims of patent infringement in the Vietnam Courts and other authorities;

– Consultation and patent prosecution under PCT phares.

– Designating lawyers to take part in negotiating, drafting, assessing and registering the contracts which relate to used rights, owned rights and transferred patent inventions protected in Vietnam and in foreign countries.

Protection and anti-piracy of copyright in Vietnam

SBLAW would like to provide you some information about protection and anti-piracy of copyright in Vietnam as follows:

Copyright infringement in Vietnam is now increasing sharply. An author or owner of a copyright work has the right to claim for protection if any of the following acts is conducted with respect to that work without his/her content:

  1. Publicizing or disseminating a work; performing a theatrical work broadcasting a film or video tape ; making audio or visual recordings or a live broadcast from the place of performance;
  2. Adding, reducing or amending the contents of the work;
  3. Imitating plastic art works for sale or for personal use;
  4. Copying the contents of another person’s work to put into one’s own work;
  5. Duplicating, setting or assembling radio and/or television programs, audio tapes  and disks, music tapes and disks , film and computer software for the commercial purposes;
  6. Translating , re-creating, transforming or adapting works,

According to the Vietnam Civil Code and IP Law, in case his/her  copyrights are infringed, the author or owner of the work shall be entitled to request inspectors of the Ministry of Information and Communication to compel the infringer to cease the infringement, to apologize publicly, to issue a public rectification, and/or to compensate for damage.

According to Vietnam IP Law, copyright disputes and infringement shall be handled under administrative, civil or criminal procedures.

Copyright Registration and Protection in Vietnam

SBLaw would like to provide you the legal procedure of copyright registration and protection in Vietnam as follows:

1.Required documents:

– Two sets of your works. (in case the works is computer software, it should be recorded in 02 CDs);

– Documents identifying that you are legitimate author or owner of the above works;

– The Description of the works in case it is computer software.

– Notarized Power of Attorney in favor of our firm (S&B Law).

It takes about 10 days to obtain the Certificate of Copyright or Certificate of Ownership if there are not any obstacles.

Note:

If a mark was decorated in form of an art work and, it can be granted for Certificate of Copyright.

Therefore, when this mark can not be granted for Certificate of Trademark Registration due to cited marks or other causes, the owner may apply for Certificate of Copyright.

2. Our fee

The fees for copyright matters in Vietnam are dependent on the actual works.

Usually, clients are charged US$ 100-150 for registration of an applied fine art work and US$ 1000 – 2000 for an anti-piracy case.

SBLAW will immediately provide the total estimated cost for specific case upon client’s request.