What are the prohibited acts of naming enterprises in Vietnam? What are the identical and confusingly similar names in Vietnam?
What are the prohibited acts of naming enterprises in Vietnam?
In Article 38 of the 2020 Law on Enterprises in Vietnam on the prohibited acts of naming enterprises as follows:
Prohibited acts of naming enterprises in Vietnam
1. Use of any name that is identical or confusingly similar to another enterprise’s name that is registered in accordance with Article 41 of this Article.
2. Use of the name of a state authority, the People’s military unit, political organization, socio-political organization, socio-political-professional organization, social organization, social-professional organization as part or all of an enterprise’s name, unless it is accepted by that authority, unit or organization.
3. Use of words or symbols that are against the country’s history, culture, ethical values and good traditions.
Thus, there are three prohibited acts of naming enterprises:
- Use of any name that is identical or confusingly similar to another enterprise’s name that is registered;
- Use of the name of a state authority, the People’s military unit, political organization, socio-political organization, socio-political-professional organization, social organization, social-professional organization as part or all of an enterprise’s name;
- Use of words or symbols that are against the country’s history, culture, ethical values and good traditions.
What are the prohibited acts of naming enterprises in Vietnam? What are the identical and confusingly similar names in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)
What are the identical and confusingly similar names in Vietnam?
According to the provisions of Article 41 of the 2020 Law on Enterprises in Vietnam, a name is considered identical to a registered enterprise’s name in the following cases:
- The Vietnamese name of the applying enterprise is pronounced similarly to a registered enterprise’s name;
- The abbreviated name of the applying enterprise is identical to the abbreviated name of a registered enterprise;
- The foreign language name of the applying enterprise is identical to the foreign language name of a registered enterprise;
- The proper name of the applying enterprise is only different from the proper name of a registered enterprise by a natural number or a letter in the Vietnamese alphabet or any of the letters F, J, Z, W that is written right after the proper name with or without a space;
- The proper name of the applying enterprise is only different from the proper name of an registered enterprise of the same type by the word “và” (“and”) or the symbol “&”, ”, “.”, “,”, “+”, “-”, “_”;
- The proper name of the applying enterprise is only different from the proper name of an registered enterprise of the same type by the word “tân” or “mới” (“new”) that is written right before or after the proper name;
- The proper name of the applying enterprise is only different from the proper name of an registered enterprise of one of the phrases “miền Bắc” (“north”), “miền Nam” (“south”), “miền Trung” (“central”), “miền Tây” (“west”), “miền Đông” (“east”);
- The proper name of the applying enterprise is identical to that of a registered enterprise.
How to name the enterprise in foreign language correctly?
In Article 39 of the 2020 Law on Enterprises in Vietnam, there are regulations on foreign-language enterprise names and enterprise abbreviations as follows:
Enterprise’s name in foreign language and abbreviated name
1. The enterprise’s name in a foreign language is the name translated from the Vietnamese name into one of the Latin-based languages. The proper name of the enterprise’s may be kept unchanged or translated into the foreign language.
2. In case an enterprise’s name is in a foreign language, the text size of the foreign name shall be smaller than the Vietnamese name displayed at the enterprise’s headquarters, branches, representative offices and business locations and on the enterprise’s transaction documents, records and materials published by the enterprise.
3. The abbreviated name of an enterprise may be abbreviation of its Vietnamese name or foreign language name.
In addition, in Article 37 of the 2020 Law on Enterprises in Vietnam on names of enterprises as follows:
Names of enterprises
1. The Vietnamese name of an enterprise shall contain two elements in order:
a) The type of enterprise;
b) The proper name.
2. The type of enterprise shall be “công ty trách nhiệm hữu hạn” or “công ty TNHH” for limited liability companies; “công ty cổ phần” or “công ty CP” for joint stock companies; “công ty hợp danh” or “công ty HD” for partnerships; “doanh nghiệp tư nhân”, “DNTN” or “doanh nghiệp TN” for sole proprietorships.
3. The proper name shall consist of letters in the Vietnamese alphabet, the letters F, J, Z, W, numbers and symbols.
4. The enterprise’s name shall be displayed at the headquarters, branches, representative offices and business locations of the enterprise and printed or written on transaction documents, records and printed materials published by the enterprise.
5. Pursuant to regulations of this Article, Articles 38, 39 and 41 of this Law, the business registration authority is entitled to refuse to register enterprise’s name.
Thus, the enterprise’s name in a foreign language is the name translated from the Vietnamese name into one of the Latin-based languages and shall contain two elements in order: the type of enterprise and the proper name.
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