• Trademark fees

Fees associated with filing a trademark application in Vietnam as well as other trademark fees are available in the fee calculator.

• Multiple-class applications

The multiple-class trademark applications are possible in Vietnam.

• Minimum filing requirements in Vietnam

The applicant or trademark agent must prepare all the required documents before registering: a trademark application made in the prescribed form; proof of payment of the official fee; trademark samples and information identifying the mark as provided (usually prepared by the trademark agent). Filing documents for a trademark application in Vietnam must be submitted in Vietnamese.

• Requirements for a Power of Attorney

The original Power of Attorney must be submitted within one month from filing a trademark application in Vietnam. Notarization or legalization is not required.

• Priority document

The certified copy of the priority document must be translated into Vietnamese and may be provided within three months from the filing date.

• Substantive examination

Substantive examination is carried out for trademark applications in Vietnam. It defines the registrability or potential conflicts with other trademarks. Upon Vietnamese trademark practice, the examination usually takes about 22-26 months from the publication date of an application.

• Opposition period

The period for filing opposition against a Vietnamese trademark application by a third party begins on the publication date and concludes after 5 months from the publication date.

• Grant, validity term and trademark renewal

If neither oppositions nor objections arise, the decision to grant a trademark certificate will be issued and the official grant fee must be paid within three months from the date of that decision. The validity term of a trademark in Vietnam is ten years from the date of filing and can be renewed each time for ten years unlimitedly. To renew the validity of a trademark certificate, the trademark owner must file a request for renewal and pay the renewal fee within 6 months before the expiry of the preceding validity term. The trademark may be also renewed within six months after the renewal due date provided that a prescribed surcharge is paid. 

• Use requirement

The trademark in Vietnam is subject to invalidation in case it has not been used within three consecutive years.

• Representation by a trademark attorney

It is required for the foreigners to perform the trademark prosecution in Vietnam through an agent, registered Vietnamese trademark attorney.

• What can be registered as a trademark in Vietnam

Letters, words, drawings or images, including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colours are registrable as a trademark in Vietnam.

• Notes

1. Online Search Databases: IP search in Vietnam, IP Office of Vietnam, International Trademarks.
2. Registration of a trademark in Vietnam takes about 24-28 months.
3. The time limit to file a response to the provisional refusal of an international registration in Vietnam is 3 months from the date on which the notification is sent to WIPO. It is possible to request an extension of this time limit. For foreign applicants, it is necessary to appoint a local representative for filing the response.

Brief summary is based on the information provided by HAIHAN-IP on 27.02.2024
Please contact us if the above information is not in conformity with Vietnamese IP Laws