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GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION PROTECTION OF “QUẢN BẠ” FOR SEEDLESS PERSIMMON

By
sblaw
-

On 05/07/2017 the National Office of Intellectual Property has issued Decision No.2148 /QĐ-SHTT on granting Geographical indication registration certificate No. 00056 for the famous “Quản Bạ” seedless persimmon. Hà Giang Provincial People’s Committee is the organization in charge of managing this GI.

Quản Bạ is a district of Đồng Văn Plateau Geopark. The name Quản Bạ reminds people of the Quản Bạ twin mountains with kital beauty life and the famous seedless persimmon fruit, the sweet fruit which has become a special product of Hà Giang Province. “Quản Bạ” seedless persimmon has a long history, with persimmon trees of more than 300 years old still in Nghĩa Thuận commune.

In mid-August of to lunar calendar, Quản Bạ persimmon is given as a gift for friends and relatives, or displayed on five-fruit tray in traditional Lunar Moon Festival. This typical culture has created the value as well as reputation of persimmon which are passed on for hundreds of years till today.

Quản Bạ persimmon is round in shape and glossy yellow in color. There are 20 to 25 fruits per kilogram. The fruit is fragrant with favorable sweetness, is crunchy and rich in sugar particulates. Total sugars level is at 10,25 – 20,23 %, Brix level is at 5,30 – 26,50 %, dry matter is at 20,60 – 30,52 %, tanin level is at 0,14 – 0,48 %, Carotene content ranges from 150,58 – 462,00 mg per 100g.

“Quản Bạ” seedless persimmon’s reputation and peculiarity are atttributed to the geographical area which is suitable for the growing of seedless persimmon trees and to the accumulated experience of the people throughout the production process.

The geographical area for growing “Quản Bạ” seedless persimmon has the average altitude of more than 1,000 metre, flat terrain with slopes less than 20o, and thick soil with minimal erosion. Cool climate throughout the year results in high quality, good and stable productivity seedless persimmon. The soil properties of this area is red – yellow ferralitic soils on metamorphosed rock, the soil’s mechanical composition is from medium to high amount of silt, soft soil texture, good potential fertility, relatively high total humus content, and good drainage. Total annual average rainfall ranges from 1.200 to 2.100 mm, total annual heat ranges from 5.000 to 6.500oC, annual average temperature is 14 – 18oC. Temperature amplitude between day and night is 8,6 – 9,5oC which is higher than other areas. Annual average humidity is between 81 – 87%. Thanks to these climatic and soil properties, the geographical area is suitable for growing temperate plants, including seedless persimmon.

The experience and technical know-how of the people growing “Quản Bạ” seedless persimmon also play a significant roles in the ever-growing reputation of the product. In addition to the experience accumulated generations to generations, persimmon producers also learn and apply advanced science and technology in selecting the quality breed and multiplying it, garden designing, planting, fertilizing, watering, trimming, anti-pest techniques as well as methods of removing the acerbity taste and conserving the persimmons for high quality reputable products which are trusted by the consumers.

Geographical area consists of: Tam Sơn town, communes of Nghĩa Thuận, Thanh Vân, Bát Đại Sơn and Quản Bạ of Quản Bạ District, Hà Giang Province.

Geographical Indication and International Trademark Division

Source: http://www.noip.gov.vn/web/noip/home/en?proxyUrl=/noip/cms_en.nsf/(agntDisplayContent)?OpenAgent&UNID=DF9F00226589A03C4725818000366E4E

GRANT OF PROTECTION OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION “KAMPONG SPEU” FOR PALM SUGAR

By
sblaw
-

On 28 December 2016, the National Office of Interlectual Property of Viet Nam issued Decision No. 5046/ QĐ-SHTT on granting Geographical Indication Certification No. 00053 for the infamous Kampong Speu palm sugar.

The name of “Kampong Speu” is related to sugar production and palm sugar is known as a traditional production of this area and this appellation had been protected as a geographical indication in the Kingdom of Cambodia.

Kampong Speu palm sugar includes four types: sugar powder; sugar paste; sugar block and sugar syrup.

The peculiar characteristics and quality of the product is described as follow:

* Sugar powder:

– Texture: no adherent to finger; sixe of grain is or smaller than 1.5mm; from dry to good dry.
– Color: range varies from slightly pale yellow (G3) to slightly dark yellow (G4).
– Aroma: palm sugar aroma; without aroma of: mushroom, burning.
– Taste: very sweet; the taste of palm sugar is from medium to strong; there has a bit sour and bitter taste.
– Chemical characteristics: Brix > 95%; pH = 4.5-6.5; Aw ≤ 0,45.

* Sugar paste:

– Texture: no adherent or adherent very little to finger; there is crystal grain from average to many.
– Color: ranges from very pale yellow (G1) to very dark yellow (G5).
– Aroma: palm sugar aroma; without aroma of: mushroom, burning.
– Taste: medium to strong sweetness; the taste of palm nectar is from medium to strong; there has a bit sour and bitter taste.
– Chemical characteristics: Brix = 85%- 95%; pH = 4,5 – 6,5; Aw ≤ 0,8.

* Sugar block:

– Texture: there are transparent fibers of medium to large size, with a little powder; from dry to very dry.
– Color: ranges from slightly pale yellow (G3) to light brown (G7).
– Aroma: palm sugar aroma; without aroma of: mushroom, burning.
– Taste: medium to strong sweetness; the taste of palm sugar is from medium to strong; there has a bit sour and bitter taste.
– Chemical characteristics: Brix = 90%- 95%; pH = 4,5 – 6,5; Aw ≤ 0,7.

* Sugar syrup:

– Texture: adherent.
– Color: ranges from slightly pale yellow (G3) to very dark brown (G11).
– Aroma: medium nectar aroma.
– Taste: medium sweet; medium taste os palm sugar; there has a bit sour and bitter taste.
– Chemical characteristics: Brix = 50%- 70%; pH = 3,5 – 6,5; Aw ≤ 0,85.

Kampong Speu palm sugar has these peculiar characteristics by virtue of natural geographic condition and accumulated experience of the producers.

Palm trees are planted and grown on yellowish red podzolic soil, which is sandy soil that has a minimum depth of 80 centimeters and good drainage. Deep sandy planting soils is a factor influencing the quality of the sugar, particularly the palm sap appears to be more concentrated, which explains the rich aromatic level of Kampong Speu palm sugar. The geographical area has low rainfall, which also contributes to the high concentration of sugar in the sap.

The people of Kampong Speu harvest palm sap after the squeezing and the cutting of palm inflorescence. The palm sap collection and “Kampong Speu palm sugar” production starts from 1st December till 31st May of each year.

The utensil to collect the sap is container (“Bampong”) made from bamboo. A small piece of Popèl wood (Shorea cochinchinensis, Hopea recopei và Shorea roxburghiana) or of Koki wood (Hopea helferi, Hoea helferi và Hoepa pierrei) is placed in each container prior to putting it on the tree. The use of gutter (“phnear”) is prohibited to channel palm sap from several flowers to the container. The producer can put 1 female flower or mix 4 male flowers of palm tree per container at maximum.

Palm sap shall be collected within 15 hours after the containers being installed. The processing of sap, including putting palm sap in the pan, shall start within 2 hours following the collection of the sap. Palm sap is poured directly into the pan, without being put in another container prior to the processing. Before the processing, palm sap is filtered using a tight strainer (15 microns at maximum). After use, the producers have to clean any material used for palm sap filtration with cold water and then boiling water. The use of chemical substances is prohibited at all stages of production.

Cooking utensil is an improved cook stove with a chimney or a conventional stove when using gas for cooking.

The duration of boiling depends on the type of sugar produced:

– Powder sugar: The duration of boiling is 3 hours plus 15 minutes and the duration of agitation is at least 30 minutes. After that, powder sugar is shifted and its dimension is 1.50 mm at maximum.

– Sugar paste: The maximum duration of boiling is 3 hours and the duration of agittion is at least 15 minutes.

– Sugar block: The duration of boiling is 3 hours plus 15 minutes and the duration of agitation is at least 20 minutes.

– Sugar syrup: Sugar syrup is produced from palm sap and the duration of boiling is 2 and a half hours at maximum.

When the evaporation has reached the target point, the pan is taken out of the stove and crystallization starts in order to bleach the palm sugar. This agitation has to be done manually by using a kind of churn (“Antok”) and a stick (“Khno”) made from wood or inox.

Before the packaging, the product shall be stored in soil jars (pottery), plastic container or plastic bag compatible with food. The product is stored in a place where dry, clean and far from the sunshine. The duration of temporary storage before packaging is 3 months. The duration of use is best before 1 year in respect of sugar paste and sugar block, 2 years for sugar syrup and 3 years for powder sugar.

The materials used as package are unlikely to affect the quality of the product.

The geographical origin:

* The delimited geographical area for producing and processing Kampong Speu palm sugar consists of the following districts:

– Oudong and Samrong Tong districts, Kampong Speu province;
– And Snuol district, Kandal province.

* The packaging of “Kampong Speu palm sugar” can be done in the 3 districts above or in the bordering districts as below:

– Kampong Tralach, Sameakki Mean Chey, Rolea Bier and Krong Kampong Chhang of Kampong Chhnang;
– Oral, Thpong, Phnom Sruoch, Basedth, Kong Pisey and Krong Chbar Mon of Kampong Speu;
– Kandal Stoeung and Ponhea Lueu of Kandal;
– Phnom Penh Municipality.

 Geographical Indication and International Trademark Division

Source: http://www.noip.gov.vn/web/noip/home/en?proxyUrl=/noip/cms_en.nsf/(agntDisplayContent)?OpenAgent&UNID=6E5BB204E789F86647258183003632EA

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION PROTECTION OF “HƯNG YÊN” FOR LONGAN FRUIT

By
sblaw
-

On January 23rd, 2017, the National Office of Intellectual Property has issued Decision No. 186/QD-SHTT on granting Geographical indication registration certificate No 00055 for the famous “Hưng Yên” longan fruit. Hưng Yên’s Department of Science and Technology is the organization in charge of managing this GI.

Longan fruit is long known as a famous treat, and is the pride of the people of Hưng Yên. Grown along the Red River, Hưng Yên longan fruit has existed for nearly 300 years and is a part of the history of the town of Hiến. In the Pagoda of the town of Hiến there is the oldest longan tree which is considered as the ancestor tree. A stele was made in honor of the tree. The folklore tells a story of an official who traveled through Hưng Yên in the longan season. He tasted the fruit and experienced an unforgettable flavour. Knowing this is a valuable fruit, the official offered this fruit to the King, and ever since longan has been known as the fruit for Kings. Lê Quý Đôn, a famed scholar, when tasted the longan offered to the King, described the fruit: “the pulp is mouthful thick and the flavour is as holy water”. The distinctive flavour and characteristics of the longan fruit is well-known in daily lives as well as folk poems and songs:

“No matter if you travel North or East
The taste of Hưng Yên longan is unforgettable”
“Our land is the land of love
Our land is the land of longan”
“Sunrise on the Red River
Green shade of longan tree fills the field”

Hưng Yên longan has a prominent and easily noticeable characteristics. The fruit has a round shape, with dark-brown skin, the diameter is from 25.61 to 29.36 mm, the height is from 23.98 to 27.61 mm, the weight is from 9.35 to 13.28 gram per fruit. Vitamin C content is from 45.12 to 59.32 mg per 100 gram, total organic acid percentage is 0.04 – 0.17 %, total sugar percentage is from 13.89 to 17.37%, total soluble solids content is from 17.63 to 20.88 Brix, water content is 18.38 – 22.09. The taste of Hưng Yên longan is distinctive, with fresh and soft aroma, the pulp is thick, dry and transparent with crispy texture and sweet flavour.

The reputation and characteristics of Hưng Yên longan are attributable to the geographical condition suitable to the development of longan trees and the experiences of the people. The area growing Hưng Yên longan has a flat terrain alongside the Red River and Luộc River which has rich soil. The topography is inconsistent, sloping from North-West to South-East, with sunken boxes that are usually filled with water, forming strips, zones and areas with height differences which intertwine into wave formation. Soils for growing longan are Dystri-Haplic Fluvisols, Eutri-Haplic Fluvisols, and Areni-Hapli Fluvisols. The soil’s mechanical composition is from loamy sand to sandy loam. The soil has neutral reaction, pHKCL between 6.8 and 7.7. The Organic carbon and total protein content at average level. Total phosphate content and bio-available phosphate content are ranging from average to very rich. Annual average rainfall is from 1,300 to 1,700 mm, which is a high rate of rainfall. Annual average temperature is 20 – 24oC. Annual average humidity is 80 – 85%. Annual average evaporation is 1.000 – 1.100 mm.

The experiences of the people has significant contribution to the renowned reputation of Hưng Yên longan. Not only possessing long-established growing and tending techniques, the farmers here also embrace and apply new science and technology in tending, harvesting and processing to create high quality products. The farmers have learned how to choose high quality and highly productive longan trees for grafting, to choose Spring and Autumn which have high humidity and rainfall to grow new trees for better survival. The farmers have also learned to breed honeybee for better pollination, cutting winter leaves, branching, hoeing around the tree canopy in order to hinder the development of the trees to create the best condition for blooming flower and bearing fruit. Moreover, the farmers pay attention to cutting branches, young leaves, flowers and fruits in order to harvest the best longan fruits, and other know-hows for the unique longan of Hưng Yên.

Geographical area: Hưng Yên City, the districts of Khoái Châu, Tiên Lữ, Kim Động of Hưng Yên Province.

Geographical Indication and International Trade Mark Division

Source: http://www.noip.gov.vn/web/noip/home/en?proxyUrl=/noip/cms_en.nsf/(agntDisplayContent)?OpenAgent&UNID=5956C2091DE9BB294725818300102FCC

PROTOCOL AMENDING THE WTO TRIPS AGREEMENT OFFICIALLY ENTERED INTO FORCE

By
sblaw
-

On the sidelines of the 47th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos City, Switzerland (Davos 2017), in the morning of 19 January (local time), Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had a meeting with Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Roberto Azevedo. At the meeting, the Prime Minister informed the WTO Director General that Viet Nam ratified the Protocol amending the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement).

On this occasion, in addition to Viet Nam, four other countries, namely Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Liechtenstein and the United Arab Emiratesalso submitted Instruments of Acceptance of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement that brought to two-thirds the number of WTO members which have ratified the amendment. The two-thirds threshold was needed to formally bring the amendment into the TRIPS Agreement.
The date of 23 January 2017 marked as the effective date of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement. This Protocol is the first amendment of the WTO TRIPS Agreement since it came into force in 1995, and secures a legal pathway to access to medicines with reasonable prices in accordance with WTO’s rules.

I. Background

1. History of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement

The Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement) was signed on 15 April 1994 and came into effect from 01 January 1005 together with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO). TRIPS Agreement is an important multilateral treaty on intellectual property rights (IPRs). Regulations of the TRIPS Agreements are legally binding to all WTO Members. The TRIPS Agreements entered into force with Viet Nam since the date Viet Nam became a Member of WTO (1997).

The TRIPS Agreement provides minimum standards on protection of inventions, trademarks, industrial designs, copyright and related rights and other IP subject-matters. In the field of invention, the TRIPS Agreement requires Members to provide protection for inventions in all areas of technology, including pharmaceutical. In implementing those provisions, many WTO Members who are least developed and developing countries have to face with many difficulties in implementing public health policies, particularly access to pharmaceutical resources by the public. This is due to the lack of flexible mechanism of the TRIPS Agreement on protection of public health, namely the mechanism for the use of inventions without permission of the right holder (also known as the compulsory licensing mechanism). One of the conditions of this mechanism is that production under compulsory licensing must be predominantly for domestic market (Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement). This leads to the consequence that a Member who wishes to use this mechanism for a certain drug to prevent the risk of an outbreak but its pharmaceutical industry is incapable to produce it and that Member cannot request other Members to produce such kind of drug (due to the limitation set out by Article 31(f) of the TRIPS Agreement).

In order to resolve such difficulty, on 14 November 2001, in Doha, Qatar, the WTO Ministerial Conference made a Declaration on TRIPS and public health, of which Paragraph 6 “provided that Members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in pharmaceutical sector may face with problems in effectively use of technology transfer in accordance with provision of TRIPS Agreement on compulsory licensing”, and requested the TRIPS Council “to find quick solutions to resolve the problems and submit report to the TRIPS Council by end of 2002”.

In implementation of the Declaration of 14 November 2001 of WTO Ministerial Conference, on 30 August 2003, the WTO General Council approved a Decision (hereinafter referred as “Decision 2003”) to set up a temporary mechanism to allow WTO Members to manufacture pharmaceuticals under compulsory licensing for exporting to Members with insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in pharmaceutical sector. In addition, the Decision also requires the TRIPS Council to propose amendments of the TRIPS Agreement relating to this issue.

On 6 December 2005, the WTO General Council passed a Decision on promulgation the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement.

2. Main contents of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement

The Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement added a new Article (Article 31bis) after Article 31 and an annex to Article 73 of the TRIPS Agreement in order to formally set up the Mechanism provided for in Decision 2003. Main purpose of the Protocol is to ease the the world’s poors to access to medicines; and to create mechanisms for countries lacking pharmaceutical production capacity to meet their domestic needs, and to allow those countries to link with eligible export countries.

Article 31bis of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement provided that the obligations of an exporting Member under Article 31(f) shall not apply with respect to the grant by it of a compulsory licensing of a pharmaceutical patent. It means that the provision of pharmaceuticals under the compulsory licensing does not limit to its domestic market, but allow that Member to export generic medicines.

In order to facilitate the application of Article 31 bis, the Annex of the TRIPS Agreement provides interpretation of main terms, such as “pharmaceutical product”, “eligible importing Member”, “exporting Member”; procedures to implement Article 31bis; conditions to grant a compulsory licensing; obligations of importing/exporting Member, etc. Accordingly, any Member, whatever a developed, developing or least developed country, shall be able become an eligible importing Member by submitting a Notification of intension to use the mechanism as an importing Member to the TRIPS Council. Importing Members may use the mechanism for all medical situations or only for some certain circumstances.

The Protocol provides mechanisms that WTO Members who are eligible importing Members or exporting Members under system of Article 31 bis and Annex of the TRIPS Agreement have to comply with.

“Eligible importing Member” means any least-developed country Member, and any other Member that has made a notification to the TRIPS Council of its intention to use the system as an importer. According to with paragraph 2(a) of the Annex of the TRIPS Agreement, an eligible importing Member has made a notification to the Council for TRIPS, that:

– specifies the names and expected quantities of the product(s) needed;

– confirms that the eligible importing Member in question, other than a least developed country Member, has established that it has insufficient or no manufacturing capacities in the pharmaceutical sector for the product(s) in question;

– confirms that, where a pharmaceutical product is patented in its territory, it has granted or intends to grant a compulsory licence in accordance with Articles 31 and 31bis of this Agreement and the provisions of this Annex.

“Exporting Member” means a Member using the system to produce pharmaceutical products for, and export them to, an eligible importing Member under compulsory licence. According to with paragraph 2(a) of the Annex of the TRIPS Agreement, the compulsory licence issued by the exporting Member under the system shall contain the following conditions:

– only the amount necessary to meet the needs of the eligible importing Member(s) may be manufactured under the licence and the entirety of this production shall be exported to the Member(s) which has notified its needs to the Council for TRIPS;

– products produced under the licence shall be clearly identified as being produced under the system through specific labelling or marking;

– before shipment begins, the licensee shall post on a website information on the quantities being supplied to each destination, the distinguishing features of the product(s) referred to; and

– the exporting Member shall notify the TRIPS Council of the grant of the licence, including information about name and address of the licensee, product quantity, duration of the licence, etc.

In addition, paragraph 4 of the Annex of the TRIPS Agreement provides that Members of the Protocol shall ensure the availability of effective legal means to prevent the importation into, and sale in, their territories of products produced under the system and diverted to their markets inconsistently with its provisions.

Full text of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement is available at:

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/wtl641_e.htm

II. Viet Nam’s Instrument of Acceptance of the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement

On 16 January 2017, President Tran Dai Quang signed Decision No. 109/2017/QD-CTN ratifying the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement and notifying Viet Nam’s intension to use the mechanism under the Protocol as an importing Member (used WTO’s Notification Model 1, only in case of a national emergency or other circumstances of extreme urgency). This Decision took effect since the date of signing.

III. Information on WTO Members ratified the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement

The Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement takes effect for all WTO Members that have ratified it. The WTO sets the deadline of 31 December 2017 for WTO Members have not yet ratified to complete the procedures. WTO Members who have not yet ratified the Protocol are still subject to the Provisional Mechanism under Decision 2003 until such Member ratifies the Protocol.

List of WTO Members ratified the Protocol amending the TRIPS Agreement is available at:

https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/trips_e/amendment_e.htm

Source: http://www.noip.gov.vn/web/noip/home/en?proxyUrl=/noip/cms_en.nsf/(agntDisplayContent)?OpenAgent&UNID=C192C76C8018438047258138000E8F35

REGULATIONS ON THE CRIMES OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF CRIMINAL CODE 2015

By
sblaw
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No Criminal Code 1999[1] Criminal Code 2015[2]
1 Article 170.- Breaching the regulations on the granting of industrial property protection deeds

1. Those who are competent to grant protection deeds and breach the law provisions on the granting of industrial property protection deeds, have already been disciplined or administrative sanctioned for such act but still commit it, causing serious consequences, shall be subject to non-custodial reform for up to three years or to a prison term of between six months and three years.

2. Committing the crime in one of the following circumstances, the offenders shall be sentenced to from two to seven years of imprisonment:

a) In an organized manner;

b) Committing the crime more than once;

c) Causing very serious or particularly serious consequences.

3. The offenders may also be banned from holding certain posts for one to five years

 

 
2 Article 170a. Infringing upon copyright and related rights

1. Those who without permission of holders of copyright or related rights, commit either of the following acts of infringing upon copyright or related rights currently protected in Vietnam on a commercial scale, shall be imposed a fine of between fifty million and five hundred million dong or subject to non-custodial reform for up to two years:

a/ Reproducing works, phonograms or video recordings;

b/ Distributing to the public copies of works, phonograms or video recordings.

2. Committing the crime in either of the following circumstances, offenders shall be imposed a fine of between four hundred million and one billion dong or sentenced to between six months and three years of imprisonment:

a/ In an organized manner;

b/ Committing the crime more than once.

3. Offenders may also be imposed a fine of between twenty million and two hundred million dong, banned from holding certain posts or practicing certain professions or performing certain jobs for between one and five years.

 

 Article 225. Infringement of copyrights and relevant rights

1. A person who, without the consent of the holders of copyrights and relevant rights, deliberately commits any of the following acts which infringe upon copyrights and relevant rights protected in Vietnam on the commercial scale or earns an illegal profit of from VND 50,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or causes a loss of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 to the holders of such copyrights and/or relevant rights, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 300,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years’ community sentence:

a) Reproducing works, phonograms or video recordings;

b) Distributing to the public copies of works, phonograms or video recordings.

2. This offence committed in any of the following cases shall carry a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 06 – 03 years’ imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence has been committed more than once;

c) The illegal profit reaped is VND 300,000,000 or over;

d) The loss incurred by the holders of copyrights and relevant rights is VND 500,000,000 or over;

dd) The illegal goods are assessed at VND 500,000,000 or over.

3. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 200,000,000, prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain works for 01 – 05 years.

4. Punishments incurred by a corporate legal entity that commits any of the offences specified in this Article:

a) commits the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article on the commercial scale or  earns an illegal profit of from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or causes a loss of from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 to the holders of such copyrights and/or relevant rights, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000; earns an illegal profit of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 200.000.000 or causes a loss of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300.000.000 to the holders of such copyrights and/or relevant rights or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 100.000.000 VND to under VND 300,000,000 VND but have been applied the administrative sanction for one of the aforementioned acts stipulated in this Article or have been sentenced for such crime, not yet entitled to criminal record remission but repeat their violations shall be liable to a fine of from VND 300,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000;

b) A corporate legal entity that commits this offence in the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be liable to a fine of from VND 1,000,000,000 to VND 3,000,000,000 or has its operation suspended for 06 – 24 months;

c) The violating corporate legal entity might also be liable to a fine of from VND 100,000,000 to VND 300,000,000 is prohibited from operating in certain fields or raising capital for 01 – 03 years
3 Article 171. Infringing upon industrial property rights

1. Those who intentionally infringe upon industrial property rights to marks or geographical indications currently under protection in Vietnam on a commercial scale, shall be imposed a fine of between fifty million and five hundred million dong or subject to non-custodial reform for up to two years.

2. Committing the crime in either of the following circumstances, offenders shall be imposed a fine of between four hundred million and one billion dong or sentenced to between six months and three years of imprisonment:

a/ In an organized manner:

b/ Committing the crime more than once.

3. Offenders may also be imposed a fine of between twenty million and two hundred million dong, banned from holding certain posts or practicing certain professions or performing certain jobs for between one and live years

 Article 226. Infringement of industrial property rights

1. A person who infringes upon industrial property rights to a trademark or geographical indication which are protected in Vietnam in the form of counterfeit trademark and/or geographical indication with a commercial scale and earns an illegal profit of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or causes a loss of from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 to the owner of such trademark or geographical indication, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 shall be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 500,000,000 or face a penalty of up to 03 years’ community sentence.

2. This offence committed in any of the following cases shall carry a fine of from VND 500,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 06 – 03 years’ imprisonment:

a) The offence is committed by an organized group;

b) The offence has been committed more than once;

c) The illegal profit reaped is VND 300,000,000 or over;

d) The loss incurred by the owner of the brand name or geographical indication is VND 500,000,000 or over;

dd) The illegal goods are assessed at VND 500,000,000 or over.

3. The offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 200,000,000, prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain works for 01 – 05 years.

4. Punishments incurred by a corporate legal entity that commits any of the offences specified in this Article:

a) commits the acts specified in Clause 1 of this Article on the commercial scale or  earns an illegal profit of from VND 200,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 or causes a loss of from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000 to the holders of such trademark or geographical indication, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 300,000,000 to under VND 500,000,000; earns an illegal profit of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 200.000.000 or causes a loss of from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300.000.000 to the holders of such trademark or geographical indication or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 100.000.000 VND to under VND 300,000,000 VND but have been applied the administrative sanction for one of the aforementioned acts stipulated in this Article or have been sentenced for such crime, not yet entitled to criminal record remission but repeat their violations shall be liable to a fine of from VND 500,000,000 to VND 2,000,000,000;

b) A corporate legal entity that commits this offence in the case specified in Clause 2 of this Article shall be liable to a fine of from VND 2,000,000,000 to VND 5,000,000,000 or has its operation suspended for 06 – 24 months;

c) The violating corporate legal entity might also be liable to a fine of from VND 100,000,000 to VND 500,000,000, be prohibited from operating in certain fields or raising capital for 01 – 03 years.

The criminal code 2015 deleted the crimes of breaching the regulations on the granting of industrial property protection deeds. This is the result of practical implementation of Criminal Code 1999 in more than 15 years since the effective date of this code. The lawmakers realized that it is not necessary to punish the person who are competent to grant protection deeds to industrial property objects in Vietnam. Therefore, from the effective date of the criminal code 2015 (January 01, 2018), breaching the regulations on the granting of industrial property protection deeds will not be considered as crime.

The criminal code 2015 still keep 02 (two) Articles for 02 (two) crimes on the intellectual property rights including the infringement of copyrights and related right and another one is infringement of industrial property right with the same infringement activities, namely:

  • In regard of copyright and related rights: the activities of i) reproducing works, phonograms or video recordings and ii) distributing to the public copies of works, phonograms or video recordings;
  • In regard of industrial property rights: the activities of infringement against the trademark and geographical indication which are currently protected in Vietnam in the form of counterfeit trademark or counterfeit geographical indication only.

However, there are 02 (two) majority differences between Criminal Code 1999 and Criminal Code 2015 which shall be considered as the revolution in lawmaking until now:

  • Firstly: The criminal responsibility of corporate legal entity. From January 01st, 2018, the corporate legal entity shall bear the criminal responsibility for the crimes which are performed by a corporate with the conditions of i) the criminal offence is committed in the name of the corporate legal entity; or ii) the criminal offence is committed in the interests of the corporate legal entity; iii) the criminal offence is under instructions or approval of the corporate legal entity; iv) the time limit for criminal prosecution has not expired. The corporate legal entity shall bear the criminal responsibility for the infringement upon copyrights and/or related rights and the infringement upon trademark and geographical indication.
  • Secondly: The signs of crimes relating to the intellectual property rights are very clear. Although, the criminal code 2015 use the sign of “on the commercial scale” which is the same with the criminal code 1999 and has not been guided clearly until now, the criminal code 2015 used another signs for settling the crimes on intellectual property including the illegal profit, the loss/damage of the holders/owners of copyrights, related rights and trademark, geographical indication or the amount of the violating goods. In addition, the history of crime or administrative violation of the infringer will be a legal basis for settling the violation. The quantities of these signs have been pointed out, therefore, it will be easy for the owners as well as the authority state bodies in settling the infringement actions against intellectual property. However, regarding to the sign “on the commercial scale”, it is required to have the detail guideline on this sign in the form of a joining circular between Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Public Security (MPS), The Supreme People’s Court of Vietnam (SPC) and The Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam (SPP) or a resolution of SPC.

In any way, we believe that the criminal code 2015 will become the effective legal basis against the crimes including the crimes on the intellectual property rights in Vietnam.

[1] Criminal Code 1999 means Criminal Code which has been issued on December 21th, 1999 and Law amending and supplementing some articles of Criminal Code 1999 which has been issued on June 19th, 2009

[2] Criminal Code 2015 means Criminal Code which has been issued on November 27th, 2015 and Law amending and supplementing some articles of Criminal Code 2015 which has been issued on June 20th, 2017

Filing a Trade mark application in Vietnam

By
sblaw
-

Question: We are one of intellectual property firm in Japan and found your information from the internet.

Could you please kindly quote us the newest best of price for filing a Trade mark application in Vietnam?

Please offer the relative fees of procedure as below request(included official fee and Attorney’s fee) ：
1. Filing an application for Trade make(office charge and your service fee)

2.How many items of goods for one service(basic)

3.Additional fee for each items of goods of one service
4. Priority
5. Registration & granting TM Certificate
6. Translation fee for items of goods

7.Response to an Office Action(if any)

Furthermore , please also kindly let us know the information as below.

1. The time frame
2. Requested Documents(has any Notarization or legalizations of doc. requested?)

3.Requested Information

Answer: Regarding your enquiries concerning the subject matter, we would like to advise you on procedure and our updated fee schedule in relation to the trademark registration proceeding in Vietnam as follows:

1.FEE SCHEDULE

1.1   Trademark information

–       Trademarks: (Please specify)

–       Class(es): (Please specify)

1.2      Fee schedule

 In Vietnam, multi-class application is applicable. The basic fees are calculated based on the number of class of goods/services (G/S) in each application as well as the number of products designated in each class in the application.

Below is the breakdown of charges for registering a trademark in Vietnam, in a smooth case, for your consideration

1.2.1. Trademark searches (Optional)

 Trademark search for 01 trademark in one class

Description Official Fees

(USD)

 Attorney’s Fees

(USD)
1.  Fee for conducting search 01 trademark in one class (optional) – 85.00
2.  Communication costs (if any)   30.00
Sub-total: 115.00
5% VAT:     5.75
Bank charge:    25.00
TOTAL 145.75

                          In words: One hundred forty-five US Dollars and seventy-five Cents

Note: The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US25.00) and actual communication costs ($US30.00)

1.2.2. Trademark registration

 Trademark registration for one trademark in one class:

 

Description Official Fees

(USD)

 Attorney’s Fees

(USD)
1.   Fee for filing an application and issuing certificate      forone class of goods/services within 6 items*

–      for each additional Class from the 2nd one

–     for each additional goods/services from 7th one (if any)

–  fee for priority claims of one trademark application

 65.00

45.00

10.00

37.00

 126.00

81.00

3.00

50.00
2. Fee for granting a registration certificate for one trademark in one class of G/S (without limitation of number of goods/services in each class)*

–  Fee granting a registration certificate for each additional class from the 2nd one

 22.00

 

8.00

 45.00

 

27.00
3. Fee translation from English to Vietnamese for items of goods/services and/or priority documents for each 100 words  (If any) 6.00
4. Fee translation from Chinese to Vietnamese for items of goods/services and/or priority documents 20.00
5.  Communication costs (*) 30.00
Sub-total (with *): 288.00
5% VAT: 14.40
Bank charge: 25.00
TOTAL with (*) 327.40

            In words: Three hundred twenty-seven US Dollars and forty Cents

Note: 

 -The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US25.00) and actual communication costs ($US30.00).

–In case of any office action or possible opposition which may occur during the application proceedings, an additional charge may be incurred, upon your approval.

 2.Procedure and timeline

 2.1. The duration of a trademark searches is around 10-15 working days.

 

2.2. The duration for a trademark application from mature to proceed to registration is around 14-18 months from the filing date, involving these stages (1) examination as to formality and publication on the Gazette (3-4 months); (2) examination as to substance (9-12 months) and (3) issuance of registration certificate for the registered mark (2-4 months). Kindly note that the term for registration process normally takes longer to several months in practice due to the workload of the NOIP and the slow examination process by the NOIP’s examiner.

 3.Required documents and information

 

–       Name and address of the Applicant;

–       List of Goods/Services

–       Specimen of the applied mark (in e-copy only)

–       An original Power of Attorney which is simply signed by the Applicant. No need notarization or Legalization. Please be informed that a scanned/faxed copy of the Power of Attorney is acceptable upon filing provided that the original copy is submitted within 01 month from the filing date; One original Power of Attorney can be used for filling one or more applications. (SBLAW’s form

SBLAW’s Profile

By
sblaw
-

ENG-convert-02 ENG-convert-03 ENG-convert-04 ENG-convert-05 ENG-convert-06 ENG-convert-07 ENG-convert-08 ENG-convert-09 ENG-convert-10 ENG-convert-11 ENG-convert-12 ENG-convert-13 ENG-convert-14 ENG-convert-15 ENG-convert-16 ENG-convert-17

TRADEMARK RENEWAL IN VIETNAM

By
sblaw
-

Question: We are foreign company and kindly provide us with your best quotation (flat fee) for filing trademark renewal in Vietnam.

When reverting, please also provide us with the requirements for the same.

Answer: Regarding your enquiries concerning the subject matter, we would like to advise you on the procedure and our fee schedule in relation to the trademark renewal proceeding in Vietnam as follows:

1/Fee Schedule:

Description Official Fees

(USD)

 Attorney’s Fees

(USD)
1.    Fee for trademark renewal for the first class

 

– Fee for trademark renewal for the second class

 20.00

 

3.00

 140.00

 

100.00
2.   Fee for using Certificate of Trademark Registration

every 10 years in one class of G/S without limitation of number of goods/services in each class (required fee for trademark renewal)

 35.00 30.00
3.   Communication Cost 30.00
Sub-total: 255.00
5% VAT 12.75
Bank charge 20.00
TOTAL 287.75

Note:  The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT, Communication Cost $US30, Bank charge ($US20).

2.Procedure and Timeline

As stipulated, the renewal of trademark registration shall be proceeded within 6 months from the date of expiration at the end of TMRC. The duration of examination of trademark renewal is around 3-6 months from the date of filling renewal application to the actual receipt of recored-renewal.

However, in some cases, it will take further 3-6 months to examine of trademark renewal by the NOIP’s examiners due to backlog of the trademark applications of the NOIP or any possible shortcomings in examination process of trademark.

3.Required documents

–   An original of Trademark Registration Certificate (TMRC) in case your client wish to record renewal of trademark in the protection titles, otherwise we will record on the NOIP’s database directly without an original of TMRC.

–   An original Power of Attorney with a simply signature of the Applicant (form of SBLAW). Please be informed that a scanned/faxed copy of the Power of Attorney is acceptable upon filing provided that the original copy is submitted within 01 month from the filing date.

We hope the above is of your assistance. Should you have any inquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you very soon.

 

 

 

Apply one trademark in Vietnam

By
sblaw
-
trademark registration
trademark registration

Question:  We’re one company from Hongkong, now we’d like to apply the trademark for products of electric socket and switch, could you introduce some of famous companies’ trademarks you have succeed in applying? what’s more,please also introduce the process,time and price of your trademark application

Answer: Regarding your enquiries concerning the subject matter, we would like to advise you on procedure and our updated fee schedule in relation to the trademark registration and renewal proceeding in Vietnam as follows:

1.GENERAL INTRODUCTION

SBLAW has been recognized as one of the leading and highly recommended business law firms in Vietnam. SBLAW advised clients in a wide variety including foreign and domestic investment consultancy, business law, intellectual property, banking and finance, corporate, commercial, property and real estate, tax, agreement and contract, arbitration and litigation, M&A, leasing, construction, employment, insurance, enterprise development and management.

SBLAW is a perfect choice for large and medium-sized businesses, local and international corporations and organizations. SBLAW is a full-serviced law firm, dedicating to many clients who have been working with us for many years, among IBM, AIA, TOTAL, ExonMobil, ESCO, HTC, CSC, LG, DBS bank, ICBC, ING Bank, Hong Leong Bank, Bridge Mind Consulting Pte., Ltd; Luxasia; DSM Singapore Industrial Pte., Ltd, Nippon Steel, Innovar Vietnam, SmartEbook.com, UBM, Netrove Venture, Argentina Embassy in Vietnam, MSH (non-government organization), ADRA, Military Bank, VICEM, VINACONEX, VNPT, VTC Online, VSTV, Vinacomin, Trung Nguyen Group, Kinh Do Group Corporation, HIPT, Viettel Real Estate,  VietsovPetro.

 2.FEE SCHEDULE

 2.1      Trademark information

–       Trademark:

–       Class: 09

–       List of Goods:   Electric socket and switch

2.2      Fee schedule

 In Vietnam, multi-class application is applicable. The basic fees are calculated based on the number of class of goods/services (G/S) in each application as well as the number of products designated in each class in the application.

Below is the breakdown of charges for registering a trademark in Vietnam, in a smooth case, for your consideration

2.2.1. Trademark searches (Optional)

 Trademark search for 01 trademark in one class

Description Official Fees

(USD)

 Attorney’s Fees

(USD)
1.  Fee for conducting search 01 trademark in one class (optional) – 85.00
2.  Communication costs   30.00
Sub-total: 115.00
5% VAT:     5.75
Bank charge:    25.00
TOTAL 145.75

                          In words: One hundred and forty five US Dollars and seventy five Cents only

Note: The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US25.00) and actual communication costs ($US30.00)

2.2.2. Trademark registration

 Trademark registration for one trademark in one class:

Description Official Fees

(USD)

 Attorney’s Fees

(USD)
1.   Fee for filing an application and issuing certificate      forone class of goods/services within 6 items*

–      for each additional Class from the 2nd one

–     for each additional goods/services from 7th one (if any)

 65.00

45.00

10.00

 190.00

122.00

5.00
2. Fee for granting a registration certificate for one trademark in one class of G/S (without limitation of number of goods/services in each class)*

–  Fee granting a registration certificate for each additional class from the 2nd one

 22.00

 

8.00

 68.00

 

41.00
3.  Communication cost 30.00
Sub-total: 375.00
5% VAT: 18.75
Bank charge: 25.00
TOTAL 418.75

            In words: Four hundred eighteen US Dollars and seventy-five Cents

 Note:  The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US25.00) and actual communication costs ($US30.00). In case of any office action or possible opposition which may occur during the application proceedings, an additional charge may be incurred, upon your approval.

 3.Procedure and timeline

 The duration of a trademark searches is around 10-15 working days.

 The duration for a trademark application from mature to proceed to registration is around 14-18 months from the filing date, involving these stages (1) examination as to formality and publication on the Gazette (3-4 months); (2) examination as to substance (9-12 months) and (3) issuance of registration certificate for the registered mark (2-4 months). Kindly note that the term for registration process normally takes longer to several months in practice due to the workload of the NOIP and the slow examination process by the NOIP’s examiner.

 4.Required documents and information

–       Name and address of the Applicant;

–       List of Goods/Services

–       Specimen of the applied mark (in e-copy only) (available)

–       An original Power of Attorney which is simply signed by the Applicant. No need notarization. Please be informed that a scanned/faxed copy of the Power of Attorney is acceptable upon filing provided that the original copy is submitted within 01 month from the filing date; One original Power of Attorney can be used for filling one or more applications.

Legal loopholes in handling trademark infringements in Vietnam

By
sblaw
-
trademark in vietnam
trademark in vietnam

Legal loopholes in handling trademark infringements in Vietnam is the article of Mr. Pham Duy Khuong – partner of SBLAW, this is published on the Vietnam Law Magazine.

Intellectual property (IP) infringements in Vietnam, including infringements upon well-known trademarks, have prevalently occurred with subtle tricks and are considerably difficult to control. These  have caused damage not only to businesses but also to customers.

According to Ministry of Science and Technology statistics, the number of IP infringement cases has complicatedly increased in Vietnam. Infringements upon well-known trademarks occur in various fields from clothing, cigarettes, food and beverage, etc. to all kinds of industrial machinery. Counterfeit products are publicly sold in the market at half or even one-third of authentic products’ prices.

From 2012-2015, the authorities handled 18,329 cases with signs of IP infringement, producing and trading counterfeit goods, with administrative fines up to VND 73 billion, and prosecuted 120 cases of counterfeiting and IP infringement with 196 defendants.

IP infringements in general and trademark infringements in particular harm genuine businesses, cause confusion, reduce customer trust in protected products as well as cause damage to customers who buy counterfeit goods.

According to current regulations, manufacturers, importers, traders and storers of counterfeit or trademark-infringing products could be fined up to VND 250.000.000 (about USD 12.000) and the infringers could face imprisonment.

In spite of those strict punishments, and IP and trademark infringements remain widespread due to the fact that some businesses lack information and some try to take advantage of the reputation of famous brands.

Our many years of experience in resolving trademark infringements show that taking advantage of the reputation of famous brands is an easy way to earn profit and many companies and manufacturers use it as a quick way to develop their own brands. The infringers often try to manufacture the counterfeit/ infringing products in Vietnam. However, with some kinds of products which could not be manufactured locally, the infringers import them, most of which originate from China.

For locally made products, the most important thing in dealing with the infringing act is to figure out the location of the manufacturer as well as the warehouse where a large volume of counterfeit/infringing products is stored. But handling the imported goods is more complicated.

If the imported products are smuggled goods, the IP rights owner may only take action against the distributors who sell the counterfeit/infringing products on the market. Because it is an impossible mission, in this case the IP rights owner needs to cooperate with competent authorities to prevent the smuggling.

If the imported products are imported legally, according to the current Intellectual Property Law and Customs Law, the IPs owner has the right to request customs authorities to watch and temporarily cease the importation, known as the border control measure, if such products have been proved to be infringing or counterfeit.

Accordingly, the IP rights owner should submit the documents attesting to its rights (certified copies of certificates of registration or other adequate documents) and the documents relevant to the goods, including a list of authorized importers, mode of importation of genuine goods, description of how to distinguish the genuine goods from infringing ones, documents on the origin of genuine goods, pictures of genuine goods, and notarized and legalized power of attorney (in case the application is filed through a local IP agent in Vietnam). Within 20 days after receiving the application, the customs office will send the applicant a notice stating whether it accepts or rejects the application. The validity term of the application and enclosed documents is one year from the date of the acceptance notified by the customs office and extendable for a further one year upon the request of the applicant. Then, the IP rights owner must re-file a new application if it would like to continue monitoring the imported goods.

From 2012-2015, the authorities handled 18,329 cases with signs of IP infringement, producing and trading counterfeit goods__Photo: Internet

However, even that the request of the IP rights owner has been accepted by the customs to take the border control measure, it is still difficult to discover and handle the counterfeit/infringing goods.

One of our clients who is a famous manufacturer in the field of chemistry materials used in water purification is a victim of counterfeit products. Although the client had already requested the customs to perform the border control measure and the infringers had been punished, they continue to import and distribute counterfeit products on the market.

It means that border control measure is not a powerful tool for preventing importation of counterfeit/infringing products due to some difficulties arising recently. Vietnam has applied the clearance automatic system (VNACCS) for importation, and it necessitates the issuance of guidelines for the border control measure because VNACCS changes in nature this measure.

Before VNACCS is applied, custom registration and custom clearance need to be performed directly by the customs agents but now they are automatically performed by VNACCS based on the lines of goods as specified by the system (green, yellow and red lines based on the risk of goods as classified by the customs in which goods in green lines will be exempted from physical inspection). Therefore, the system only checks the information provided by the importers and it could only find out the counterfeit/infringing products if the information is same/similar to the protected trademark. However, the information of trademark on the registration form is not compulsory. If an importer does not provide the trademark of goods or the trademark appearing on goods is different from the information on the registration form for importing green line goods, it is impossible to discover the counterfeit/infringing goods in this stage.

Another challenge in performing the border control measure is some loopholes in the Law on Customs and IP Law as well as the unclear regulations of the IP Law on this matter. According to the IP Law, customs authorities may decide at their own discretion to apply administrative and preventive measures such as caution or monetary fine, temporary custody of persons, infringing goods and material evidence, etc. for handling counterfeit/infringement products if they find out these goods without the request of IP right owners. However, there are not yet clear regulations for guiding this power concerning the procedure and the compensation responsibility of customs authorities in case their conclusion is wrong. In addition, the Customs Law does not regulate this power of customs authorities.

Furthermore, it is also difficult to handle infringers according to the criminal procedures because the current Penal Code does not have clear provisions on the signs of crimes related to intellectual property rights.

In order to resolve the above situation, it is required to issue detailed guidelines on the border custom measure that are suitable with the VNACCS procedure applied by customs authorities, especially with the power of customs authorities to detect, check and handle the products which are alleged to be counterfeit or infringe upon the protected trademarks or other protected IP rights in Vietnam, and on the exemption of authorities from the responsibility for all claims or requests for compensating the damage that may arise during the settlement of infringements.

In particular, the lawmakers should accelerate the issuance of the new Penal Code so that the court could impose strict punishments on the infringers.

Although enforcement of IP rights in Vietnam has seen a lot of improvement, it is still a challenge for authorities to identify, verify and handle infringements. Therefore, the law should be further changed to deal with the complicated and sophisticated development of counterfeit products.-

(*)

Hanoi Office:
Fl 18, Center Building, Hapulico Complex, 85 Vu Trong Phung Street, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.
Tel: (84) 4 62 62 0246 | Fax: (84)  4 66 64 0246
Hotline: 0904 340 664		 HCM City Office:

5 Floor, VTP Building, No.8 Nguyen Hue Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCM City
Tel: (84)(08) 352.08.101| Fax: (84)(08) 352.08.102
Hotline: 0907 319 888 
Website: www.sblaw.vn
www.baohothuonghieu.com

Infographic: Geographical Indication in Vietnam

By
sblaw
-
Infographic: Geographical Indication in Vietnam
Infographic: Geographical Indication in Vietnam

INFOGRAPHIC: REGISTER INDUSTRIAL DESIGN IN VIETNAM

By
sblaw
-
Infographic: Industrial design in vietnam
Infographic: Industrial design in vietnam

INFOGRAPHIC: PATENT REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM

By
sblaw
-
PATENT REGISTRATION
PATENT REGISTRATION

INFOGRAPHIC: REGISTER TRADEMARK IN VIETNAM

By
sblaw
-
trademark registration
trademark registration

Trademarks registration information

By
sblaw
-
trademark in vietnam
trademark in vietnam

Question: We are a USA company specialized in wine exportation. We would like to register a Trademark in Vietnam in order to extend our company to this market. We plan to register a logo, relating to the selling of bottles of wine.

We would like to know approximately the detailed and estimated cost for such a procedure.

Answer:  Regarding your enquiries, we would like to advise you on procedure and our updated fee schedule in relation to the trademark registration proceeding in Vietnam as follows:

 1. FEE SCHEDULE

 1.1. Trademark information

–       Trademark: Please specify

–       Class: 35 – Selling of bottles of wine

1.2      Fee schedule

In Vietnam, multi-class application is applicable. The basic fees are calculated based on the number of class of goods/services (G/S) in each application as well as the number of products designated in each class in the application.

Below is the breakdown of charges for registering a trademark in Vietnam, in a smooth case, for your consideration

1.2.1. Trademark searches (Optional)

 Trademark search for 01 trademark in one class

Description

Official Fees

(USD)

Attorney’s Fees

(USD)

1.  Fee for conducting search 01 trademark in one class (optional)

–

100.00

2.  Bank charges

  20.00

Sub-total:

120.00

5% VAT:

    6.00

TOTAL

126.00

                        In words: One hundred and twenty six US Dollars

Note: The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US 20.00)

 1.2.2. Trademark registration

 

Trademark registration for one trademark in one class:

 

Description

Official Fees

(USD)

Attorney’s Fees

(USD)

1.   Fee for filing an application and issuing certificate      forone class of goods/services within 6 items

65.00

190.00

2. Fee for granting a registration certificate for one trademark in one class of G/S (without limitation of number of goods/services in each class)

22.00

70.00

Communication cost

30.00

Bank charge:

25.00

Sub-total

402.00

5% VAT:

20.10

TOTAL

422.10

            In words: Four hundred twenty two US dollars and ten cents

Note:  The above-quoted fees include 5% VAT of our service charge, bank charges ($US25.00) and actual communication costs ($US30.00). In case of any office action or possible opposition which may occur during the application proceedings, an additional charge may be incurred, upon your approval.

 2.      Procedure and timeline

 2.1. The duration of a trademark searches is around 10-15 working days.

 2.2. The duration for a trademark application from mature to proceed to registration is around 14-18 months from the filing date, involving these stages (1) examination as to formality and publication on the Gazette (3-4 months); (2) examination as to substance (9-12 months) and (3) issuance of registration certificate for the registered mark (2-4 months). Kindly note that the term for registration process normally takes longer to several months in practice due to the workload of the NOIP and the slow examination process by the NOIP’s examiner.

 3. Required documents and information

 –       Name and address of the Applicant;

–       List of Goods/Services

–       Specimen of the applied mark (in e-copy only)

–       An original Power of Attorney which is simply signed by the Applicant. No need notarization. Please be informed that a scanned/faxed copy of the Power of Attorney is acceptable upon filing provided that the original copy is submitted within 01 month from the filing date; One original Power of Attorney can be used for filling one or more applications.

We hope the above is of your assistance. Should you have any inquiry, please do not hesitate to contact us.

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