Vietnam’s trademark regime is governed by the Intellectual Property Law (consolidated 2022 version, amended by Law No.131/2025 taking effect April 2026) and subordinate implementing decrees, administered by IP Vietnam (formerly NOIP) under the Ministry of Science and Technology. It follows the first‑to‑file principle and is a member of both the Madrid Agreement and Madrid Protocol, so brand owners may choose direct national filing or international registration designating VietnamCỔNG THÔNG.... This article delivers practical legal insights focusing on non‑resident brand risks, well‑known trademark protection, non‑use revocation, licensing‑assignment formalities, multi‑channel enforcement options and common pitfalls for foreign operators expanding into Vietnamese consumer and industrial markets.
Mandatory local representative requirement applies to all foreign applicants without Vietnamese business establishment. Overseas entities or individuals that have no registered office or production‑trading premises within Vietnam cannot conduct any trademark‑related procedures by themselves. All filings, responding to office actions, oppositions, invalidation petitions and renewal applications must be handled through a locally‑licensed IP representative. The power‑of‑attorney requires notarization and Vietnamese certified translation, which creates higher document preparation burden compared with many Southeast Asian jurisdictionsCỔNG THÔNG.... Many international brand teams underestimate this requirement and submit un‑notarized POA, leading to formal rejection of their entire application.
Five‑year non‑use revocation represents the most significant post‑registration risk for foreign trademark holders. After registration, trademark rights will be vulnerable to third‑party revocation if the mark has not obtained genuine commercial use in Vietnam for five consecutive years, without legitimate justifiable reasons such as government import bans or force majeure events. Revocation petitions can target partial or all goods and services within a registered class. The trademark owner bears the full burden of submitting valid use evidence including local sales invoices, product packaging, e‑commerce store screenshots, advertising materials and customs import records. Mere token use or overseas sales cannot satisfy the local‑use requirement. A large number of foreign enterprises hold Vietnamese trademark registrations for defensive purposes without launching local business, and consequently face high risk of partial or full revocation actions filed by local competitors.
Well‑known trademark protection in Vietnam complies with Paris Convention and CPTPP obligations. Well‑known marks enjoy cross‑class protection even without domestic trademark registration in VietnamCục Sở hữu.... IP Vietnam and Vietnamese courts can assess well‑known status upon party request or in administrative‑judicial proceedings. Assessment criteria include local consumer awareness, sales turnover, geographic circulation scope, advertising investment, continuous usage duration, international recognition and market value of the mark. It is noteworthy that Vietnam maintains no official pre‑approval system for well‑known trademark recognition. There exists no centralized well‑known trademark roster published by IP Vietnam; well‑known status is evaluated case‑by‑case within specific disputes. Brand owners must assemble comprehensive reputation‑related evidentiary packages in advance for potential future conflict scenarios.
Trademark licensing and assignment carry critical statutory filing formalities. Trademark assignment shall take legal effect only after official approval and publication by IP Vietnam. Contract signing alone cannot complete rights transfer against third‑party actors. Partial assignment covering selected goods or services within one trademark registration is permitted. For trademark licensing, recorded licensing contracts bind subsequent trademark transferees and bona‑fide third‑party users. Unrecorded licensing remains valid between contracting parties but cannot assert rights against external third‑parties. Collective marks and certification marks impose extra regulatory obligations: applicants must submit complete internal usage regulations as mandatory application attachments, and any subsequent amendment to such rules also needs official filing and approvalCỔNG THÔNG....
Vietnam provides three parallel enforcement pathways for trademark right holders: administrative sanction, civil litigation and criminal prosecution, plus customs border seizure measures. Administrative enforcement remains the most widely‑used practical tool for brand owners against counterfeiting. Competent market management authorities can impose heavy fines, seize and destroy counterfeit goods, confiscate production tools and order temporary business suspension. Civil litigation can grant permanent injunctions, public apologies, and monetary damages calculated via actual loss, infringer profit or statutory compensation ranges. Criminal liability applies to large‑scale repeated counterfeiting activities, carrying fines and potential imprisonment. For customs protection, trademark owners shall complete IP recordal with Vietnam General Department of Customs; the recordal is valid for two years and requires periodic renewal to sustain border interception capability.
Multiple procedural pitfalls frequently trouble cross‑border trademark operators. First, most procedural documents submitted to IP Vietnam need Vietnamese official certified translation. Foreign‑language supporting documents alone will not be accepted during examination or dispute proceedings. Second, relative‑ground invalidation actions against registered trademarks must generally be filed within five years from registration publication date; bad‑faith applications copying well‑known trademarks are exempted from this five‑year limitation period. Third, when identical filing dates occur for identical marks, IP Vietnam will not grant registration automatically; all conflicting applications will be rejected unless all applicants reach a mutual written agreement. Fourth, trademark registration duration is ten years calculated from filing date; renewal applications can be submitted six months prior to expiry, with a six‑month post‑expiry grace period subject to surcharge payment.
Foreign brand operators targeting Vietnam should build systematic trademark management workflows: conduct pre‑filing clearance searches, strictly comply with local representative and translation requirements, continuously preserve local market use evidence, monitor third‑party revocation and invalidation threats, and maintain customs recordal validity. Ignoring these local‑specific legal features will easily cause irreversible loss of trademark rights even after successful registration.
1.IPcrossark：https://www.ipcrossark.com/en/trademark.html?cid=48
2.IP‑Vietnam official trademark webpage: https://ipvietnam.gov.vn/web/english/trademarks
3.IP‑Vietnam guideline for well‑known trademarks: https://ipvietnam.gov.vn/web/english/well‑known‑trademarks
4.WIPO‑Lex Vietnam intellectual property law text: https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/19536
5.ICLG Trademark Laws and Regulations Vietnam 2026: https://iclg.com/practice‑areas/trade‑marks‑laws‑and‑regulations/vietnam
