Recordal of Trademark Assignment

 

Assignment of a trademark right means the transfer of ownership right by owner of such trademark right to another organization or individual.

Trademark Assignment in Vietnam be established in the form of written agreement. Oral agreements, letters or telegrams shall not be accepted and have no legal effect. 

 

Recordal of Trademark Assignment in Vietnam

Required documents

You are required to provide us the following documents:

-One executed original of Deed of Assignment, which must be signed and sealed by both Assignor and Assignee. Since the Deed of Assignment has two pages, both Assignor and Assignee should sign on each page or use company stamp to inter-cross seal over all pages (NO      further notarization or legalization is required);

-A Power of Attorney (POA) that should only be signed by the Representative of Assignee; 

-The relevant original Certificate of Trademark Registration (if recording the assignment for a registered one).

Procedures and time

After the recordal of assignment is completed, the NOIP will issue the following documents:

-The Notice of Assignment Recordal in case of a pending Trademark Application.

-The Certificate for Registration of Deed of Assignment in case of Trademark Registration in Vietnam.

In addition, the name and address of new owner will be endorsed on the last page of this Certificate of Trademark Registration.

The whole duration for recordal of assignment in Vietnam will in straightforward case is 2 months counted from the filing date. However, in practice, this duration can be extended from 3-6 months.

Other matters

Under Vietnam Intellectual Property Law, the trademark assignment will not be approved in the following cases:

-The subject mark for assignment identical/confusingly similar to the trade name of assignor as it shall cause the confusion as to the origin of goods or services with those of assignor. 

-The subject mark for assignment similar or identical to other trademarks but not for assignment of Assignor in respect of similar goods or services as it shall cause the confusion as to the origin of goods or services with the rest of assignor.

If you are looking for an experienced IP services in Vietnam to help you with your IP application, you should visit ANTLawyers.vn. Our attorneys have experience with the IP process and will work closely with you as you apply for your IP.

 

 

 

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How do you get trademark registration?

What is Trademark?

The term ‘Trademark’ refers to the brand or logo which represents the business. It is a visual symbol of a signature, name, device, label, numerals or combination of colors used by the owner of the trademark for goods or services or any other articles of commerce. Moreover, it is meant to differentiate among the similar products or services originated from the different business. A trademark can be a word, wrapper, packaging labels or a tagline or a combination of these. For example Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

 

Who can apply for the Trademark?

Any Individual, Company, Proprietor or legal entity who can claim to be an owner of the Trademark can apply for it. The trademark Registration formalities can be done in 18 to 24 months after that you can start using the ‘TM’ symbol. Once your trademark registry is done and registration certificate is issued then you may use ® (registered symbol) next to your trademark. The validity of a registered trademark is for 10 years from the date of filing and that can be renewed from time to time.

What are the documents required for Trademark Registration?

Following are the documents which are required for the Trademark registration:

-Copy of Trademark or logo

-Applicant details like name, address, and nationality and for the company it requires the state of incorporation

-Goods or services to register

-Date of first use of the trademark in Vietnam

-Power of attorney which is to be signed by the applicant.

-What are the steps for registering Trademark in Vietnam?

Following are the steps through which you can register your Trademark:

-Select a trademark agent and authorize it.

-Select attorney to represent you.

-The trademark attorneys in Vietnam conducts a trademark search.

-It depends upon the results of the search whether the trademark attorney will be draft your trademark or not. Just in case, someone already has the same trademark then you can change yours.

-The trademark attorney will file your trademark application with the trademark office and send you the receipt.

-Within a few days, the trademark attorney will send you the Original Representation Sheet of your trademark as it has been filed with the trademark office.

-No matter what the place is, it takes anywhere around 18 months to 2 years for the Trademark Office to decide whether the trademark should be granted or not. In case, if there are any objections from anywhere then it may take longer.

If you are looking for an experienced IP services in Vietnam to help you with your IP application, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. Our attorneys have experience with the IP process and will work closely with you as you apply for your IP.

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What To Do When the Trademark Certificate is Misplaced?

Trademark is a type of asset of individual and organization. To be officially recognized as an owner of that trademark, the applicant needs to submit the trademark registration dossiers to National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP), pay the examination fee and certificate issuance fee to receive the trademark certificate.

Trademark protection in Vietnam

The trademark owner needs to have the consciousness of protecting the trademark certificate. However, if unfortunately, the trademark certificate is misplaced, lost or damaged, torn, stained or faded out that it can no longer be used, the trademark owner may submit the dossier to NOIP to request for regranting the trademark certificate.

The specific required documents for re-granting the trademark certificate are:

-The declaration for regranting the trademark certificate;

-01 mark specimen;

-Power of attorney (if submit the dossiers via IP agent).

NOIP will consider the dossier within 01 month from the date of submitting. In case the dossier satisfies the provisions of law, NOIP will issue the decision to regrant the trademark certificate and record into the National Register of Industrial Property. The information in the duplicate version of the trademark certificate will present sufficiently the information in the first-granted trademark certificate and attached with the phrase “regranting version”.

In case of request for regranting the trademark certificate does not meet the provisions of law, NOIP will issue the denied decision and clearly sates the reasons.

If the client needs any other information or requires for further advice, our IP attorney in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers, the IP agent in Vietnam will be available for service.

ANT Lawyers in a law firm in Vietnam, recognized by Legal500, IFLR1000. We are an exclusive Vietnam member of Prea Legal, the global law firm network covering more than 150 jurisdictions. The firm provides a range of legal services to multinational and domestic clients. For advice or services request, please contact us via email ant@antlawyers.vn, or call us +84 24 730 86 529.

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What is a Trademark?

A trademark is a type of intellectual property. A trademark also commonly known as a trademark, trade-mark or a mark. A trademark consists of a recognizable sign, design, or expression which identifies products or services of a particular company and helps in distinguishing the products from those of others. The symbols ® ‘the registered trademark symbol’ and ™ ‘the trademark symbol’ are generally used to indicate trademarks; the former is only for use by the owner of a trademark which is registered.

Register trademark in Vietnam

The trademark can be owned by:

-An individual,

-Business organization,

-Or any legal entity

When a trademark is registered, it confers an exclusive right to the owner to use the registered trademark. Thus it can be said that the trademark can be used by his owner exclusively, or it can be used by a person licensed for use in return of valid consideration.

Complete assignment

In this type of assignment, all the rights are completely transferred by the owner to the assignee.

The assignee has got all the rights including rights such right to further transfer and right to earn royalties.

Partial assignment

In this type, the assignment of the trademark is made to the assignee, but with respect to only some of the goods/ services, the transfer of ownership of the trademark is restricted to specific goods or services only. The rights are not transferred completely.

Assignment with goodwill

In this type of assignment, there is also a transfer of goodwill of the product with the trademark. In this, the valuation of goodwill is calculated differently in the agreement.

Assignment without goodwill

 In this type of assignment, goodwill of the product is not transferred along with the assignment of the trademark; in this, the owner of the brand restricts the rights of the assignee and does not allow him to use such trademark of the brand for the products being used by the assignor. Such an assignment is also referred to as a gross assignment.

When can a Trademark be assignerd?

A trademark can be assigned in the following situations

The Death of the Trademark Owner

Whenever the owner of the trademark i.e. the assignor dies, its ownership is passed on to the successors of the previous owners in a will or intestate. The condition is that the Trademark must be valid and should not have been abandoned by the previous owner.

Sale of Business

 Intellectual properties are assets for the company, just like all properties, even the trademark can be sold with the company. Provided it is registered under the company’s name. If a party acquires trademark rights of a company by acquiring a business with regard to the sale of assets of the company, the intellectual properties are also said to be transferred.

Change of the owner of businesses

When two companies decide on having a merger or an amalgamation of the company, a notification is sent to the registry. All the intellectual property of the acquired company are transferred to the new owner through the trademark assignment agreement between the parties.

Change in Form of Business

Whenever a business plan on changing its form of business or its business structure an assignment is a boon for those businesses.

If you are looking for an experienced trademark attorneys in Vietnam to help you with your trademark application, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. Our attorneys have experience with the trademark process and will work closely with you as you apply for your trademark.

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What happens if I have a trademark without registering?

Trademark registration provides protection and exclusive rights to the owner of a Trademark in relation to his goods and services used commercially.

Trademark registration services in Vietnam 

A Trademark differentiates the identity and brand name of a business and separates the goods and services of a business from that of other similar goods or services in the market.

If your Trademark is not registered, it can be easily infringed upon by someone. In such case, you cannot file an infringement suit, but only claim remedy for passing-off. Passing off in trademark is when infringement of an unregistered trademark happens. The mark is not only deceptively similar to the trademark of other company but also creating confusion for the customers, which ultimately results in damage to the business of company.

Legal Remedy In Case Of Passing Off

The trademark owner can file a suit in district court/ High Court within the local limits of the jurisdiction, where the person instituting actually and voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain.

Where the passing off does not involve the use of trademark or where there is no sale of goods, the suit may be filed in a subordinate judge’s court or a court of superior to it. The plaintiff in a suit for passing off must be the owner of an unregistered trademark which has acquired reputation in relation to some goods or the owner of the goodwill in a trade name, or get-up relating to some goods or business or profession.

The defendant in the suit must be a person who has passed off or whose activities are likely to pass off his goods or business as the goods or business of the plaintiffs. Passing off actions may be instituted by many plaintiffs in a representative capacity provided there is a common interest, common grievance and a remedy beneficial to all. The rules governing the preparation of the plaint and the subsequent proceedings are the same as in any other suit and are governed by the Code of Civil Procedure.

If you are looking for an experienced Trademark attorneys in Vietnam to help you with your trademark application, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. Our attorneys have experience with the trademark process and will work closely with you as you apply for your trademark. We routinely match inventors with experienced Trademark attorneys for a free consultation on our platform and offer a money back guarantee.

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What To Do When the Trademark Certificate is Misplaced?

Trademark is a type of asset of individual and organization. To be officially recognized as an owner of that trademark, the applicant needs to submit the trademark registration dossiers to National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP), pay the examination fee and certificate issuance fee to receive the trademark certificate.

Register trademark in Vietnam 

The trademark owner needs to have the consciousness of protecting the trademark certificate. However, if unfortunately, the trademark certificate is misplaced, lost or damaged, torn, stained or faded out that it can no longer be used, the trademark owner may submit the dossier to NOIP to request for regranting the trademark certificate.

The specific required documents for re-granting the trademark certificate are:

-The declaration for regranting the trademark certificate;

-01 mark specimen;

-Power of attorney (if submit the dossiers via IP agent).

NOIP will consider the dossier within 01 month from the date of submitting. In case the dossier satisfies the provisions of law, NOIP will issue the decision to regrant the trademark certificate and record into the National Register of Industrial Property. The information in the duplicate version of the trademark certificate will present sufficiently the information in the first-granted trademark certificate and attached with the phrase “regranting version”.

In case of request for regranting the trademark certificate does not meet the provisions of law, NOIP will issue the denied decision and clearly sates the reasons.

If the client needs any other information or requires for further advice, our IP attorney in Vietnam at ANT Lawyers, the IP agent in Vietnam will be available for service.

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What is the importance of trademark registration?

Trademark Registration is a legal protection for your Brand name which can’t be copied by any other party Legally. If in case they copy that brand then through the Rights under Intellectual Property Act. The owner of the Trademark can recover the whole profit earned with the name of Registered Trademark.

Register trademark in Vietnam

Many of my clients have said that their lenders or investors felt more comfortable once registration was achieved in important countries.

if you have registrations in major countries such as US , UK you can persuade amazon, eBay etc. to shut down infringing websites without the time and expense of court action.

Customers even search and see you are serious about your rights. It is so cheap to do you look very cheap if you don’t do it.

If you need to prevent infringing use by competitors the court will assume that your right is valid until the other side has proved that it is not. The percentage of registrations found invalid is minuscule. Once you have registration it can be renewed forever as of right. In the UK registration no 1 remains valid as the owners renewed it every ten years since 1876. You have to police the use of the mark, use and renew and then it’s yours forever.

If you have a registration potential licensees have an easy way of finding you. Lenders can give loans secured on registrations.

It is wise to consult the advice of a IP attorneys in Vietnam to help assist you with your trademark. We are a legal marketplace with quality lawyers who are knowledgeable in various areas of the law—including intellectual property rights.

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How can I check if a domain name has been registered as a trademark or not?

As many of the answers have pointed out here, there are several online searches you can use. However, I would urge you to utilize the skills of a professional trademark attorney.

Register trademark in Vietnam

I suggest this because there are many nuances to conducting a thorough trademark search. Conducting a search on your own is an option but you’d be surprised at how many people make mistakes throughout this process. In order to ensure that it’s a thorough search, you are better off relying on people who can ensure that the domain name has not already been registered. Keep in mind, not all protected trademarks may not appear in th TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System).

Ultimately, this could save you valuable time and money.

If you would like to be in touch with a trademark attorney in Vietnam, reach out to us at ANT Lawyers. We are the largest platform of freelance attorneys that offer quality legal help at an affordable rate.

Hope this helps!

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When do I need to trademark my company?

This is not your question, exactly, but the most vital step is to do a comprehensive US trademark search before spending any money on marketing and merchandising. You do not want to waste time and money on a mark that is strikingly similar to another product or service.

Trademark Law Firm in Vietnam  

If that is not an issue, I recommend that you trademark your startup shortly after you incorporate. I suggest this for two reasons:

-First, if you’ve done a comprehensive trademark search (which you’ll do during the trademark filing process), you can find out if you’re actually infringing on another company’s mark. This will help to avoid significant time and legal fees in the future.

-Second, although you can claim ownership of your trademark without formally registering with the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), your rights are limited to the geographic region where your trademark is used. So, by formally filing, you can have protection across the US.

I really do recommend working with an attorney familiar with the trademark process to help you through the process.

A trademark attorney can

-Complete a thorough trademark search

-Fill out the application

-Ensure that deadlines are met

-Guarantee that the process has been completed properly

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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What do you have to do to establish trademark rights in the United States?

The most secure thing to do is to apply for a trademark.

You have to remember, your trademark is what sets you apart from your competitors and ends up being a valuable part of your brand. You should absolutely protect it.

Trademark Law Firm in Vietnam 

Of course, in the US, you don’t necessarily have to file for a trademark if you can prove that you’ve used it in the marketplace. However, it’s not always so simple to prove this, so your best option moving forward is to file for the application. There will be a review period and then you will be registered for 10 years. You’ll need to renew it after that.

A few things to keep in mind

-There are strict guidelines and deadlines with the registration process.

--The USPTO doesn’t give refunds if you make mistakes on the application.

Your best bet is to hire a skilled trademark attorney to help you through the process.

A trademark attorney can

-Complete a thorough trademark search

-Fill out the application

-Ensure that deadlines are met

-Guarantee that the process has been completed properly

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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How long is a trademark good for?

In the US, a trademark can last indefinitely (which is different than the case of patents or copyrights). However, the catch is that the trademark must continue to be used to identify goods and services. Keep in mind, there is a federal term for trademarks which is ten years. You can continue to renew for ten year periods.

However, there’s a bit of a catch here. You must file an affidavit between the fifth and sixth year following trademark registration. This affidavit simply states that the trademark is still in use. Failure to file this document will lead to a cancellation. It’s up to the individual to remember to do this as there will be no reminders issued.

Related post: Can a trademark expire?

Your best bet is to have an attorney help you with this process. It can be timely and expensive to miss important deadlines.

Source: Raad Ahmed - Quora

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How do you make intellectual property tangible?

Picture your mind as a gold mine site, where you can explore for the precious metal. You dig deep through muds, water, rocks, and landfill.

 Protecting Intellectual Property Rights in Vietnam

Naturally, before going to dig for gold, you know what it looks like therefore you know what you are looking for (trying to manage and commercialise acquired IP or not understanding the nature of your business original Intellectual Property could be a waste of effort). In reality, people are not always aware of the unique identity of gold, diamond or any precious metal for that matter, with this fact, it is safe to assume most businesses are not aware of the raw form of their intellectual property asset and how to make it tangible.

One can easily step on a rough looking gold and mistake it for an ordinary rock likewise you may have a eureka moment that could lead you to ownership of a precious IP asset but easily disregarded or discouraged by reducing it to a regular thought.

The good thing about Intellectual Property is that the raw material (ideas) is abundant, unlike gold. Therefore, every individual has an unlimited gold mine.

Intellectual property essentially is the mining of the mind. A person will mine their mind or soul as the case may be - for a creative solution. Now at this point, the result of the "eureka moment" is not yet a full-blown Intellectual Property but already can be classed as an intellectual asset because once you expose an idea to the market, it becomes a commodity of some sort. However, there are so many variables in the market that are going to influence how tangible your Intellectual Property will be.

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