Is it illegal to apply goods labels to products purchased from other traders in Vietnam?

Main Content

• If the product is distributed domestically, is it necessary to write anything on the goods label?
• If the product is distributed abroad, is it necessary to write anything on the goods label?
• Is it illegal if a goods label registered for intellectual property rights is imported for distribution but is arbitrarily apply another label for sale?

If the product is distributed domestically, is it necessary to write anything on the goods label?

Pursuant to Article 9 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of Vietnam (amended by Clause 4 Article 1 of Decree 111/2021/ND-CP of Vietnam) on responsibility for labeling:

- The entity responsible for labeling shall, including supplementary label, shall ensure that the labeling is made truthful, clear, precise and correctly reflect the substance of the goods.

- For goods manufactured for domestic circulation, the manufacturer shall be responsible for labeling. The entity responsible for labeling shall keep assuming responsibility without regard to an authorization of labeling to another entity.

- In case goods are not eligible for export and are returned for circulation in the country, organizations and individuals shall, before putting such goods into circulation, label them in accordance with the provisions of this Decree.

- Organizations and individuals that import goods into Vietnam shall include the mandatory information on the labels of imported goods prescribed in this Decree.

Thus, if the product you distribute is a domestically produced product, and if the time of receipt from the manufacturer, the product has the manufacturer's label, you do not need to write any information on goods labels. The manufacturer must be responsible for that in accordance with the regulations of Article 9 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of Vietnam on responsibility for labeling.

Trường hợp dán nhãn hiệu hàng hóa mua về từ thương nhân khác có vi phạm pháp luật hay không?

If the product is distributed abroad, is it necessary to write anything on the goods label?

(1) Pursuant Clause 3 Article 7 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of Vietnam:

"3. If the good imported into Vietnam of which the label has not represented or represented insufficiently mandatory information in Vietnamese, a supplementary label containing mandatory information in Vietnamese is required and the original label shall remain unchanged. The Vietnamese content shall be consistent with the original label text.”

(2) Pursuant Clause 3, 4 Article 8 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of Vietnam:

“3. The supplementary label shall be attached to the commodity or commercial container without obscuring mandatory information of the original label.

4. The content of the supplementary label shall contain the Vietnamese translation from the mandatory information of the original label and additional other mandatory information according to the nature of the commodity as prescribed in this Decree. The entity responsible for labeling shall take responsibility for the content’s accuracy and truthfulness. The content displayed on the supplementary label shall also contain additionals without misleading the information of original label and correctly reflect the nature and origin of the good."

Thus, if the product you distribute is a product manufactured abroad, if at the time of receipt of the goods from the manufacturer, the product already has the manufacturer's label and there is no Vietnamese information on the goods labels, you need to have a supplementary label according to the regulations of Clause 3 Article 7 and Clauses 3, 4 Article 8 of Decree 43/2017/ND-CP of Vietnam when putting products into circulation and must keep the original label.

Is it illegal if a goods label registered for intellectual property rights is imported for distribution but is arbitrarily apply another label for sale?

(1) Regarding administrative violation sanctions

- Depending on the severity and infringement, your company may be administratively sanctioned under Article 11 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP of Vietnam (amended by Point a, Point b, Point c, Point d Clause 10 Article 1 of Decree 126/2021/ND-CP of Vietnam).

(2) May be subject to criminal prosecution Pursuant to Article 226 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam (amended by Point a, Point b Clause 53 Article 1 of Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code 2017 of Vietnam):

- A person who commits infringements upon industrial property rights which involve counterfeit products using another’s brand name or geographical indication protected in Vietnam for commercial purpose or to earn 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 brand name 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.

- This offence committed in any of the following circumstances carries a fine of from VND 500,000,000 to VND 1,000,000,000 or a penalty of 06 - 03 years' imprisonment:

+ The offence is committed by an organized group;

+ The offence has been committed more than once;

+ The illegal profit reaped is ≥ VND 300,000,000;

+ The loss incurred by the owner of the brand name or geographical indication is ≥ VND 500,000,000;

+ The illegal goods are assessed at ≥ VND 500,000,000.

- 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.

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

+ Any corporate legal entity that commits an offence specified in Clause 1 of this Article for commercial purpose or to earn 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 for the owner of the brand name 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 for the owner of the brand name or geographical indication, or with the violating goods assessed at from VND 100,000,000 to under VND 300,000,000 while having incurred an administrative penalty or having an unspent conviction for the same offence shall be liable to a fine of from VND 500,000,000 to VND 2,000,000,000;

+ A corporate legal entity that commits this offence in any of the circumstances 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;

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

(3) If the owner of the brand name is damaged, you will have to compensate for the damage in accordance with the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam.

You can refer to Article 205 of the Intellectual Property Law 2005 of Vietnam (amended by Clause 11 Article 2 of the Amendments to some articles of Law on Insurance Business and Law on Intellectual Property 2019).

Thus, according to the above regulations, if you buy products from another enterprise (company A, they have registered intellectual property rights to the brand name), and want to sell the products applied to your own label, you must be agreed by the seller. If you have not obtained the consent of the seller, and you arbitrarily apply the label as a product of your company, you are infringing the intellectual property rights of company A.

Depending on the severity and infringement, your company may be administratively penalized according to Article 11 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP (amended by Point a, Point b, Point c, Point d Clause 10 Article 1 of Decree 126/2021/ND-CP) or prosecuted for criminal responsibilities according to Article 226 of the Criminal Code 2015 of Vietnam (amended by Point a, Point b Clause 53 Article 1 of the of Law on Amendments to the Criminal Code 2017 of Vietnam), and you must compensate company A for the damage pursuant to Article 205 of of the Intellectual Property Law 2005 of Vietnam (amended by Clause 11 Article 2 of the Amendments to some articles of Law on Insurance Business and Law on Intellectual Property 2019).

If you buy products from company A, then produce and process to create a new product, you can apply the label of your company to the product without infringing on intellectual property rights.