Register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam?

1. What is a trademark for hand tools and implements?

A trademark for hand tools and implements is a unique sign that used to distinguish hand tools and implements that manufactured or sold by your company from products of other companies in the market. This sign can be letters, words, symbols or a combination of these elements, expressed in one or more colors.

A trademark for hand tools and implements will be classified into Class 08 of Nice Classification. Class 08 mostly includes hand-operated tools and implements for performing tasks; in particular:

- Hand-operated agricultural, gardening and landscaping tools;

- Hand-operated tools for carpenters, artists and other craftspersons, for example, hammers, chisels and gravers;

- Handles for hand-operated hand tools, such as knives and scythes;

- Electric and non-electric hand implements for personal grooming and body art, for example, razors, implements for hair curling, tattooing, and for manicure and pedicure;

- Hand-operated pumps;

- Table cutlery, such as knives, forks and spoons, including those made of precious metals.

This Class excludes certain particular products as below:

- Machine tools and motor-operated tools;

- Surgical instruments;

- Hand-held gun with flank;

- Paper knives;

- Fencing weapons used in sports.

2. Why should you register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam?

In our modern life, there thousands of products of hand tools and implements are manufactured and sold in the market but very few companies register a trademark for their products. Especially, small companies often ignore this procedure because it is not compulsory according to the provisions of law and they think it is not necessary and a waste of time. However, this opinion is wrong and you may receive huge advantages from carrying out the procedure of trademark registration. We can point out some advantages as below:

- Make your products more recognizable than other products in the market. Especially if your company is new, customers will not choose your products if they do not have an eye-catching trademark and clear origin.

- Establish the legal basis for competent state agencies to handle any violations if other entities copy your trademark or use it without your consent. Without the trademark registration certificate, the competent state agencies will not have the ground to conduct administrative actions.

- Bring more profit for your company from licensing or selling of the trademark if it becomes a famous trademark after being use in the market in a certain period of time.

3. How to register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam?

In order to register a trademark for hand tools and implements, the applicant should prepare the following papers and documents in accordance with the intellectual property law in Vietnam:

- Declaration of trademark registration (02 copies with the prescribed form);

- Trademark samples (05 copies, each does not exceed 80mm x 80 mm);

- List of products (or services) that accompanied by the trademark;

- Letter of authorization (in case of applying through representative);

- Receipt of applying fees (in case of paying fees and charges via postal services or directly remit into accounts of the National Office of Intellectual Property);

4. Procedures to register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam

The process of trademark registration for hand tools and implements usually has the following procedures:

Step 1: Trademark search

There are two ways to search a trademark:

- Preliminary search: By this way, the trademark is searched on published database provided by the National Office of Intellectual Property and the World Intellectual Property Organization. The searching time is short (from 1 day to 3 days) but the result may have a low accuracy rate because the public data usually are updated later than the actual records of trademarks in real-time, so they are incomplete and inaccurate.

- In-depth search: By this way, your trademark will be reviewed by the intellectual property specialists at the competent state agencies. The searching time may be longer (from 3 days to 7 days) but the search results will be more accurate than the first way of search.

Step 2: Trademark application submission

The trademark registration dossier normally is filed directly to the official office of NOIP in Ha Noi or to one of its representative offices in Da Nang or Ho Chi Minh city. However, if the applicant cannot apply directly in the above cities, the applicant can submit the dossier indirectly via post office or couriers.

Step 3: Evaluate the form of trademark registration

After receiving the trademark registration application, the NOIP shall formally appraise the trademark registration applications to evaluate the validity of applications in terms of necessary documents; classifying, right to apply,... and issue a notice of acceptance of a valid application. Processing time for this appraisal takes from 01 to 02 months from the filing date.

Step 4: Announcement of trademark registration application

If your trademark registration application is accepted by the NOIP, it will be published in the Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date the application is accepted as a valid application.

Step 5: Evaluate the content of the application

The validated trademark registration application will be examined in respect of the content. The purpose of this stage is to evaluate the ability to be granted the protection title of the trademark under the conditions of protection and the scope of protection. The processing time for this examination is about 12 months from the date of publication.

Step 6: Issue of the certificate

In case your application satisfies all the prescribed conditions and you have paid all the fees fully and properly, the competent state agencies will grant a trademark registration certificate and record it in the National Register of Industrial Property.

5. Where to register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam?

According to Vietnamese intellectual property law, foreign companies and individuals cannot register trademarks by themselves in Vietnam but have to apply through an official industrial property representative organization in Vietnam.

Since 2017, Minh Khue Law Firm was licensed to operate as an industrial property representative organization in Vietnam with the representative code is 226. The Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm has registered successfully many trademarks for products and services of domestic as well as foreign clients.

Minh Khue Law Firm’s office address: Room 2007, C2 building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Trung Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, Ha Noi city.

The person in charge of the Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm:

Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung

Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn ;

Phone number: + 84986 386 648

The dossier will be submitted in: National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam, address at: 384-386 Nguyen Trai street, Thanh Xuan Trung ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi.

You can refer to some trademarks for hand tools and implements that were registered by Minh Khue Law Firm:

YANYANG Trademark

Class 08: Shovels [hand tools]; shovel table [hand tools]; hoes [hand tools]; digging tools [hand tools]; hole digging tools [hand tools]; digging tools [hand tools].

BAO LIN Trademark

Class 08: Shovels [hand tools]; shovel table [hand tools]; hoes [hand tools]; digging tools [hand tools]; hole digging tools [hand tools]; digging tools [hand tools].

6. Contact to register a trademark for hand tools and implements in Vietnam

Please contact: Minh Khue Law Company Limited

Address: Room 2007, C2 building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Trung Hoa ward, Cau Giay district, Ha Noi city.

Phone number: + 84986 386 648 - Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung

Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn

Best Regards,

Intellectual Property Department - Minh Khue Law Company Limited