Vietnam Notice on uniform application of a number of provisions on amendments and supplements to applications and new details in procedures for establishing trademark rights

(Vietnam) To avoid the inconsistent and asynchronous manner in the modification and supplementation of applications and procedures related to trademark registration process in Vietnam, the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP) issued Notice No. 10869/TB-SHTT dated November 18, 2021, on the uniform application of a number of provisions on amendments and supplements to applications and new details in the procedure for establishing trademark rights.

From the date of signing and promulgating Notice No. 10869/TB-SHTT dated November 18, 2021, and for the procedures required before the date of signing this Notice without a final decision, any parties that file for the registration of establishment of a trademark right at the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam must ensure that it meets the following requirements:

Requirements on amendment and supplementation 

According to Notice No. 10869/TB-SHTT, any requested changes to the trademark model or the list of goods and services in the trademark registration application, including the removal/limitation of the list of goods, services, will be considered as an act to amend and supplement the application.

Accordingly, except for cases where the International treaties to which Vietnam is a member contain different provisions, the above procedures must be carried out strictly according to the contents specified in Clauses 1, 2 and 3, Article 115 of the Intellectual Property Law and point 17.1 of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN:

1. Amendments and supplements must be made before the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision on refusal to grant a protection title or a decision on grant of a protection title specified at Point 17.1.a of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN;
2. The party requesting amendments and supplements must pay the required fees and charges;
3. Amendments and supplements to a trademark application must be made in the spirit of ensuring the uniformity of the application and in the same time, do not expand the scope of objects stated in the application and do not change the nature of the subject of the registration application.

Requirements on new details

According to the notice, in case the applicant carries out the procedures for amending and supplementing the trademark application after the state management agency in charge of industrial property rights issues a decision to refuse to grant a protection title or decision to grant a protection title, such amendments and supplements shall not be considered as new details.

In addition, according to the provisions of law, amendments, supplements, and new details will not be within the scope of complaint settlement and will not be accepted in the complaint settlement process.

Notice No. 10869/TB-SHTT can be downloaded here.

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