Guidance on identifying violations of regulations on indications on the protection of industrial property rights in Vietnam from November 15, 2024

Guidance on identifying violations of regulations on indications on the protection of industrial property rights in Vietnam from November 15, 2024 (Image from the Internet)

On September 30, 2024, the Minister of Science and Technology of Vietnam issued Circular 06/2024/TT-BKHCN amending Circular 11/2015/TT-BKHCN guiding Decree 99/2013/ND-CP on administrative sanctions related to industrial property in Vietnam.

Guidance on identifying violations of regulations on indications on the protection of industrial property rights in Vietnam from November 15, 2024

Violations of provisions on indications on protection of industrial property rights and transfer of industrial property rights specified in Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP will be determined according to the regulations in Article 7 of Circular 11/2015/TT-BKHCN (amended by Circular 06/2024/TT-BKHCN) specifically as follows:

(1) Acts of incorrect guidance on legal status specified at Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP are understood as providing misleading information that an object is protected under industrial property rights in Vietnam although it is not or has not been, even in cases where the object has filed for registration but has not been granted a protection certificate or the certificate has been revoked, terminated or expired at the time the guidance is labeled on goods, packaging, business means, including:

- Labeling goods, goods packaging, business means with misleading guidance about goods, services bearing a trademark protected under industrial property rights such as: “trademark granted exclusive protection certificate,” “trademark protected,” “trademark of the monopoly of...” or guidance with similar meaning, including using the symbol ® (guidance on trademark protection in Vietnam).

In cases where the symbol ® is used on goods, goods packaging (including subsidiary labels for imported goods) with truthful guidance information about the trademark protection status in Vietnam, it shall not be considered a violation under Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP;

- Labeling goods, goods packaging, business means with misleading guidance about goods being protected under industrial property rights for patents, industrial designs such as: “product granted exclusive industrial design protection,” “product granted exclusive patent protection,” “produced under patent protected process of...” or guidance with similar meaning, including using the symbol “P” or “Patent” (guidance that the product, goods are produced under a patent protected).

In cases where the symbol “P” or “Patent” is used on goods, goods packaging (including subsidiary labels for imported goods) with truthful guidance information about the patent protection status in Vietnam, it shall not be considered a violation under Point b, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP.

(2) Acts specified at Point c, Clause 1, Article 6 of Decree 99/2013/ND-CP are understood as follows:

- Acts of transferring trademark use rights not made in the form of a written contract in the case of using transferred trademarks on goods, goods packaging is the act of receiving trademark use rights from the rights holder and using that trademark on goods, goods packaging but not expressed in the form of a contract with complete contents prescribed in Clause 1, Article 144 of the Intellectual Property Law.

Written consent, Letters of Approval, or similar documents of the rights holder with content allowing a party to use a trademark under protection without full contents prescribed in Clause 1, Article 144 of the Intellectual Property Law shall not be considered a trademark use rights transfer contract;

- Misleading acts are acts of marking on goods, goods packaging phrases like “manufactured under the industrial property object use contract of...” or guidance with similar meaning in Vietnamese or foreign language in one of the following cases:

- The user has not been legally transferred the usage rights of industrial property objects according to the provisions of the law;

- There is an object use contract between the parties, but information like the name or contract number in the guidance content is incorrect.

- Acts of not marking guidance are acts of not marking on goods, goods packaging guidance on whether the product, goods are manufactured under the industrial property object use contract.

More details can be found in Circular 06/2024/TT-BKHCN which comes into force in Vietnam from November 15, 2024.

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