Frequently Asked Questions – Trademark- Part 1

Mark means any sign used to distinguish goods or services of different organizations or individuals.

The sign must be visual and include any of the followings: word, phrase, logo, image or combination of these factors displayed in black-white or colors.

Example:

2.      HOW MANY TYPES OF TRADEMARKS IN VIETNAM?

There are basically four types of Marks protected under the Vietnam Law on Intellectual Property: Certification Mark, Collective Mark, Integrated Marks, Well known Mark.

For example: 

3.      RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MARK AND BRANDNAME, TRADE NAME, INDUSTRIAL DESIGN, COPYRIGHT? 

Brandname is a term popularly used in traditional language and in business with a wide-range meaning. It can refer to trade indication, or show the meaning of the overall trade indication, for example: Mark, Trade Name, Geographical Indication, Indication of Origin,… In another word, Brandname concept can be not only understood as Mark but also trade name, Geographical Indication, Indication of Origin.   

For example:

Referring to National Brandname: Made in Vietnam

Referring to Brandname of Industries: Agricultural Food Brands

Referring to Brandname for some products originated from some specific geographical reagions: Phu Quoc Sauces, Luc Ngan Lychee, Tan Cuong Tea

Referring to Brandname of enterprises: Trung Nguyen Café, Vinamilk, PetroVietnam, Vinataba

Referring to Brandname (Mark) for products/services: Wave α (motorcycle), CLEAR (shampoo), Techcombank (bank), Prudential (insurance)   

Geographical indication (signals refer to product originated from a local reagion or country provided that the product has its reputation, quality or typical features on the ground of geographical conditions and soil of the reagion. (Note: Earlier, there existed parallelly two industrial subjects, geographical indication and Appellation and origin of goods. Right after the 2005 intellectual property law issued, these subjects were merged into one called geographical indication).

For example: Phu Quoc sauces, Tan Cuong Tea, Doan Hung grapefruit. 

Trade name is used to call in commercial activity, must have distinguisability among names of enterprises in the same field of business and in the same trading reagion.

For example: Halong Canned Food Stock Corporation and Vissan Limited One member Company

Industrial Design means the outward appearance of a product embodied in three dimensional configuration, lines, colours or a combination of such elements. To be protected, the industrial design must meet 3 criteria: (i) novelty, (ii) creativeness, và (iii) industrial applicability.

For example: 

Copyright: means rights of an organization or individual to works which such organization or individual created or owns. Such kinds of works exist in the forms of cinematography, architecture, sculpture, art, literature and science, applied art…

For example:    Applied art works

4.      WHY A TRADEMARK SHOULD BE REGISTERED?

The house where you are living, the motorbike which you are riding, the pen which you are writing, etc., they are all properties which you are easy to hold. Holding will become completely different if you are a producer of a product to which a brandname is attached. When the product is brought to the Market, the brandname is not in your hand for decision or control. Supposedly, your product is fast-selling, and some of your unfair competitors wish to take advantage of your reputation and prestige and use or imitate the brandname to paste on their products for unrighteous benefits. Bad consequence from this is that the customers shall be confused because they can not discriminate your product from your competitors’, and a volume of benefit which must belong to you goes to the competitors’ pockets. Of course, the worst result in this case, your brandname shall loose its reputation and your business can be broken down.

To assist the customers in not being confused in purchasing and to guarantee the authentic producers protected for their investment và reputation, Vietnam Law provides exclusive right protection mechanisim by allowing the true men to register their brandnames and use exclusively in commerce.