Author: 1. What is an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services
An exclusive trademark is a sign that contains letters, words, illustrations, drawings or a combination of those elements accompanies with services of a company in order to distinguish these services from services of other companies, organizations or individuals in the market.
Building construction, repair and installation services are specified in Class 37 of the Nice Classification established by the Nice Agreement. This Class mainly cover services provided by contractors or subcontractors in the construction or making of permanent buildings, as well as services provided by persons or organizations operate in the field of restoration of objects to their original condition or in their preservation without altering their physical or chemical nature.
This group of services includes, in particular:
- Services related to the construction of houses, roads, bridges, dams or transmission lines, services of specialized works in the construction field such as the work of painters, plumbers, installers of heating or roofing;
- Auxiliary services for construction services such as construction project inspection;
- Shipbuilding services;
- Services include hiring tools or construction materials;
- Repair services such as services ensure to put any object into good condition after wear, damage, deterioration or partial destruction (restoring a building or another object that has become incomplete and must be restored to its original state);
- Various repair services such as electrical services, furniture, tools, instruments, etc.
- Maintenance services aimed at keeping the subject in its original form without altering its natures
This group does not specifically include services of storing goods such as clothing and vehicles; or services related to dyeing fabrics or clothing.
2. Why should a company register an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services
In the industry of building construction, repair and installation services, reputation is a very important factor that affects the business of the company. One of the most effective ways to build up the reputation is registering an exclusive trademark for the building construction, repair and installation services provided by the company. In addition to this advantage, registering an exclusive trademark will bring other benefits to the company, such as:
- The construction company will be protected by competent state agencies from trademark violations of other individuals, agencies and organizations. The company is entitled to use the registered trademark exclusively for the registered group of services accompanied by the trademark, any infringement such as duplicating or applying without the approval of the company shall be handled by competent state agencies according to the provisions of law;
- Strengthen your position in the market: The registration of an exclusive trademark will be a legal basis for determining the true owner of the trademark if there is a dispute relates to the use of the trademark. Besides, after using the trademark in a certain period of time, the trademark of the company will become a famous brand and it can bring profit from using, licensing or selling the trademark.
Therefore, registering an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services is very necessary for companies operating in this field. Companies providing construction, repair and installation services should carry out this procedure as soon as possible in order to secure the above benefits.
3. How to prepare the application for registration of an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services
3.1. Conditions to register an exclusive trademark
Firstly, an exclusive trademark must be a visible sign in the form of one or some characters, words or sentences, illustrations, images, or a combination of such elements. The trademark can be expressed in one or many colors;
Secondly, an exclusive trademark must have the ability to distinguish the services of this trademark owner from the services of other companies, organizations, individuals in the market.
3.2. Component documents of the trademark registration application
A dossier of exclusive trademark registration should include documents as below:
- Trademark registration declarations which are made in accordance with the prescribed form (02 copies);
- 05 Trademark Samples size 80mm x 80mm;
- List of the group of the services accompanied by the trademark;
- Authorization letter (if any);
- Certified copies of Business Registration Certificate or certified copies of Identity Card, Citizen Card, Passport;
- Receipts of payment of fees and charges (in case the owner pays the fees and charges via postal services or directly transfer into accounts of the competent state agency).
4. Process of registering an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services
4.1. Prepare the trademark
The company design and create an exclusive trademark to be registered base on the initial idea and demands. The duration of this stage is long or short depends on the complexity of the trademark as well as the needs and requirements of the trademark owner. If your company has already had a trademark to be registered, you can skip this stage.
4.2. Carry out the trademark search
The trademark search is not a mandatory procedure but it is a necessary stage to register an exclusive trademark. The purpose of this stage is to check whether your company's trademark is indistinguishable with other registered trademarks. There are two methods to carry out this procedure:
- Preliminary trademark search: This method of trademark search is normally fast (from few hours to 3 days, depending on the trademark and the group of products attaches to the trademark) but the accuracy rate of the result is only about 60%. There is a chance that a registered trademark is similar to your trademark, the registered trademark may be published on the electronic database of the industrial property but has not been issued a certificate, therefore it cannot be found out by the preliminary search. This is a disadvantage of this method of trademark search.
- In-depth trademark search: This method of trademark search may take a longer time to get a result (from 3 days to 7 days). In this method of search, experts in the field of intellectual property will review the trademark and provide consultancy on the chance of successful registration. The advantage of this method of search is that it brings a result with higher accuracy rate (up to 98%). Accordingly, with a higher chance of successful registration, the trademark owner can save time and money for the registration of an exclusive trademark.
4.3. File the trademark registration dossier
The applicant can submit the trademark registration dossier directly at the competent state agency or through the post office services.
The only competent state agency to issue a Trademark Registration Certificate is National Office of Intellectual Property and the address is in Ha Noi. The application can be submitted directly to the NOIP or through representative offices of the NOIP in Da Nang City and Ho Chi Minh City.
4.4. The formal appraisal
In this period of time, the NOIP will examine the formal requirements of the exclusive trademark application. After the examination, if the application satisfies all the requirements according to the provisions of law, the NOIP will issue a decision of acceptance of valid application to the applicant.
The formal appraisal stage normally takes about 01 month to 02 months from the filling date.
4.5. The publication of the trademark application
The information of trademark registration application will be published in official Industrial Property Gazette within 2 months from the date acceptance of the valid application. The application includes information about the trademark sample and the list of services accompanied to the trademark.
4.6. The content appraisal
The content appraisal stage is normally the longest stage and the processing time is about from 9 months to 12 months from the date of application published in the Industrial Property Gazette.
During this period of time, the competent state agency will appraise the content of exclusive trademark application and check whether the registering trademark is confusing or similar to protected trademarks or famous trademarks, does the trademark meet all the requirements to be registered as an exclusive trademark? This is a very important step to make sure there will be no dispute relating to the ownership of the company to the exclusive trademark.
4.7. Paying the fees and receive the protection title
After receiving the notification of NOIP about the issuance of a Trademark Registration Certificate and the issuance fee, the applicant shall pay all the fees properly in accordance with the notification and provision of law. The Trademark Registration Certificate will be issued and the applicant can receive the certificate within one month.
5. Where to apply for exclusive trademark registration of building construction, repair and installation services
A foreign construction company can only register an exclusive trademark for the company's services in Vietnam if apply through an industrial property representative in Vietnam. Minh Khue Law Firm proud to be one of the most reputable legal industrial property representative in Vietnam with high-quality services in the field of intellectual property. Minh Khue Law Firm was certified and licensed by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam in August 2017, with the representative code is 226, in order to carry all the procedure of registration of trademarks in Vietnam for domestic as well as foreign companies and individuals.
Foreign companies can contact directly to Minh Khue Law Firm for consultancy on the process and procedures of registration of trademarks for building construction, repair and installation services in Vietnam.
The procedure will be carried out by the Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm, address at Room 2007, 20th Floor, C2 Building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Tran Duy Hung Street, Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.
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 filed 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 of building construction, repair and installation services were registered by Minh Khue Law Firm:
BIMIC Trademark
Class 37: Construction; construction consulting; construction information; construction and paving services; demolition of construction works; construction sealing service.
Trademark of Vinh Cat Company Limited
Class 37: Construction; construction consulting; construction information; construction and paving services; demolition of construction works; construction sealing service.
VCC Tomorrow is now Trademark
Class 37: Construction; construction consulting; construction information; construction and paving services; demolition of construction works; construction sealing service.
VCC VINH CAT CORPORATIONS Trademark
Class 37: Construction; construction consulting; construction information; construction and paving services; demolition of construction works; construction sealing service.
6. Contact to register an exclusive trademark of building construction, repair and installation services
Please contact: Minh Khue Law Company Limited
Address: Room 2007, 20th Floor, C2 Building, Vincom Tran Duy Hung, Tran Duy Hung Street, Trung Hoa Ward, Cau Giay District, Hanoi.
Phone number:+ 84 986 386 648 - Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung
Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn
Best Regards,
Intellectual Property Department - Minh Khue Law Company Limited
