What is validity of certificate of registered mark in Vietnam?

What is validity of certificate of registered mark in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 93 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law supplemented by Clause 29, Article 1 of the 2022 Amended Intellectual Property Law, the validity of protection titles is stipulated as follows:

Validity of protection titles

1. Protection titles shall be valid throughout the entire territory of Vietnam.

2. An invention patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of twenty (20) years after the filing date.

3. A utility solution patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of ten (10) years after the filing date.

4. An industrial design patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of five (5) years after the filing date and may be renewed for two consecutive terms, each of five (5) years.

5. A certificate of registered design of semi-conducting closed circuits shall be valid from the grant date until the earliest date among the following:

 (a) The end of ten (10) years after the filing date;

 (b) The end of ten (10) years after the date the layout design was first commercially exploited anywhere in the world by a persons with the registration right or his or her licensee;

 (c) The end of fifteen (15) years after the date of creation of the layout design.

6. A certificate of registered mark shall be valid from the grant date until the end of ten (10) years after the filing date and may be renewed for many consecutive terms, each of ten (10) years.

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According to the above regulations in Vietnam, a certificate of registered mark has a protection period of 10 years from the date of filing the registration application. After expiration, the owner can renew the protection many times in a row, each time 10 years.

What is validity of certificate of registered mark in Vietnam? (Image from the Internet)

When do protection titles expire in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 95 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law as amended by Clause 30, Article 1 of the 2022 Amended Intellectual Property Law, it is stipulated that the validity of a protection title shall be wholly or partially terminated in the following cases:

a) The owner fails to pay the stipulated validity maintenance or extension fee or charge;

b) The owner declares relinquishment of the industrial property rights;

c) The owner no longer exists, or the owner of a certificate of registered mark is no longer engaged in business activities and does not have a lawful heir;

d) The mark has not been used by its owner or the licensee of the owner without justifiable reason for five (5) consecutive years prior to a request for termination of validity, except where use is commenced or resumed at least three (3) months before the request for termination;

dd) The owner of a certificate of registered collective mark fails to supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of the regulations on use of the collective mark;

e) The owner of a certificate of registered certification mark violates the regulations on use of the certification mark or fails to supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of such regulations;

g) The geographical conditions decisive to reputation, quality or special characteristics of products bearing a geographical indication have changed resulting in the loss of such reputation, quality or characteristics of products.

h) The use of the protected mark for goods and services by the mark owner or a person permitted by the mark owner causes users to misunderstand the nature, quality or geographical origin of such goods or services;

i) The protected mark has become a common name of the goods or service registered for the mark;

k) The foreign geographical indication is no longer protected in its country of origin.

Which signs are ineligible for protection as marks in Vietnam?

Pursuant to Article 73 of the 2005 Intellectual Property Law, amended and supplemented by Points a and b, Clause 21, Article 1 of the 2022 Amended Intellectual Property Law, it is stipulated that signs ineligible for protection as marks:

Signs ineligible for protection as marks

The following signs shall be ineligible for protection as marks:

1. Any sign that is identical or confusingly similar to the national flags, national emblems, national anthems of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and other countries, or The Internationale;

2. Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names or full names of Vietnamese State bodies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio- politico-professional organizations, social organizations or socio-professional organizations or with international organizations, unless permitted by such bodies or organizations.

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Thus, signs that are ineligible for protection as marks include:

- Any sign that is identical or confusingly similar to the national flags, national emblems, national anthems of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and other countries, or The Internationale;

- Signs identical with or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names or full names of Vietnamese State bodies, political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio- politico-professional organizations, social organizations or socio-professional organizations or with international organizations, unless permitted by such bodies or organizations.

- Signs identical with or confusingly similar to real names, aliases, pseudonyms or images of leaders, national heroes or famous personalities of Vietnam or foreign countries.

- Signs identical with or confusingly similar to certification seals, check seals or warranty seals of international organizations which require that their signs must not be used, unless such seals are registered as certification marks by such organizations.

- Signs which cause misunderstanding or confusion or which deceive consumers as to the origin, properties, use, quality, value or other characteristics of goods or services.

- Any sign that has the inherent shape of the product or a shape that is the result of the technical properties of the product;

- Any sign that contains a copy of the work, unless it is permitted by the work owner.

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