In 2026, Vietnam’s trademark legal framework delivers standardized, rigorous
protection for domestic and foreign registered trademarks, continuously upgrading
enforcement against trademark squatting, lookalike brand imitation and offline-online
parallel counterfeiting amid booming ASEAN consumption market. Governed by the Vietnam
Intellectual Property Law (Revised 2022) and administered by IP Viet Nam (NOIP,
National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam) under the Ministry of Science and
Technology, the country implements a strict first-to-file trademark registration principle,
alongside coordinated law enforcement by market management authorities, customs and
civil courts to curb malicious brand hijacking and copycat production. The following real-case
illustrates how systematic trademark layout and multi-department joint enforcement
safeguard foreign FMCG enterprises’ exclusive brand rights in Vietnam.
An international daily necessities enterprise specializing in household cleaning supplies
completed full-class trademark registration for its core brand name and graphic logo at IP Viet
Nam, covering Class 3 cleaning detergent, Class 35 retail sales and related ancillary commodity
categories, and obtained official trademark registration certificates issued by Vietnam national
IP authority prior to launching formal sales in Vietnam’s northern and southern wholesale
markets. The brand formed fixed market recognition via supermarket distribution, social
commerce promotion and offline convenience store layout after two years of localized operation.
In Q2 2026, the trademark owner discovered multiple small-scale Vietnamese local manufacturers
and wholesale dealers rolled out highly similar cleaning products. The infringing parties
adopted nearly identical core word mark, analogous packaging color scheme and layout
design, only slightly modifying individual alphabet letters of the registered trademark to
evade preliminary examination; counterfeit commodities flowed into Ho Chi Minh City wholesale
markets, provincial roadside stores and local e-commerce social shopping platforms, grabbing
original brand’s customer groups and triggering continuous complaints about product quality
from end consumers, causing notable revenue shrinkage and irreversible brand reputation damage
to the legitimate trademark holder.
Relying on authentic NOIP trademark registration certifications and pre-collected notarized
infringement evidence including product samples, offline purchase records and online store
screenshot evidence, the brand adopted a three-dimensional enforcement mode customized
under Vietnam IP regulations. First, the enterprise submitted administrative complaint together
with trademark credential materials to local Vietnam Market Management Department, applying
for on-site inspection, seizure and confiscation of all stocked counterfeit goods in wholesale
warehouses and physical stores. Second, it filed customs recordal application at Vietnam General
Department of Customs to block cross-border inflow and outbound shipment of all infringing
commodities. Third, the enterprise retained local Vietnamese IP attorneys to initiate civil
litigation at Ho Chi Minh People’s Court, requesting permanent injunction of production and
sales, full destruction of remaining infringing finished goods and packaging molds, plus financial
compensation for economic losses and reasonable legal expenditure.
Within three and a half months after case filing, Vietnam local court rendered favorable judgment
confirming confusing similarity between infringing marks and the registered trademark, affirming
full trademark infringement by defendants. Per verdict, all accused manufacturers and distributors
must terminate all relevant production, wholesale and online listing activities unconditionally, destroy
existing counterfeit inventory and printing templates, and pay statutory damage compensation
complying with Vietnam IP Law Article 124 provisions. Meanwhile, market supervision authorities
completed whole-region inventory clearance of fake products, and customs set up exclusive
trademark risk screening label to intercept follow-up infringing cargo shipments. The case
successfully eliminated large-scale regional copycat chaos and stabilized the foreign brand’s market
share in Vietnam.
This FMCG trademark dispute delivers actionable IP strategies for global consumer goods brands
exploring Vietnam market:
● Full cross-class trademark filing covering core commodities and associated service categories at
NOIP in advance effectively prevents partial-word modification squatting and lookalike brand
registration under Vietnam’s first-to-file rule.
● Pre-operation trademark registration prior to market entry locks exclusive brand right, greatly
raising the winning rate of administrative disposal and judicial compensation when infringement occurs.
● Multi-party joint enforcement combining market bureau administrative crackdown, customs IP
recordal control and civil judicial litigation constitutes full-chain defense against online-offline
integrated infringement in Vietnam.
● Continuous periodic monitoring of offline wholesale channels, social commerce platforms and
regional small factories enables early detection of disguised letter-variant trademark counterfeiting
before large-scale counterfeit circulation.
Vietnam’s updated 2022 Intellectual Property Law plus upgraded NOIP examination and
nationwide joint enforcement mechanism provide reliable legal protection for foreign registered
trademarks in 2026. This typical FMCG trademark case verifies that pre-emptive full-category trademark
layout plus coordinated multi-department enforcement can efficiently block disguised lookalike
infringement and malicious brand squatting in Vietnam’s fast-growing consumer market. For
worldwide brands, mastering Vietnam’s trademark registration rules and localized enforcement
channels is a core prerequisite to securing long-term stable brand operation and sustainable
market expansion across Vietnam and surrounding ASEAN nations.
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