Author: 1. What is an exclusive trademark for products of non-metallic construction materials?
An exclusive trademark is a visible and unique sign in the form of words, letters, phrases, drawing or holograms that used to distinguish products of one company from products of other companies in the market. The trademark can be expressed in one color or many colors.
In order to register a trademark, the trademark owner needs to classify the products and services that attached by the trademark into appropriate classes according to the Nice Classification. According to the newest version of Nice Classification, non-metallic construction materials are classified into Class 19. This Class of products mainly includes non-metallic materials for building and construction, such as:
- Granite, marble, gravel;
Class 19 does not include the following products, in particular:
- Cement preservatives and waterproofing preparations for cement;
2. Why should your company register an exclusive trademark for products of non-metallic construction materials in Vietnam?
In the building and construction field of business, reputation and image of a company are very important. Customers always want to find high-quality products from reliable companies because the quality of construction materials may decide the quality of the whole building or the construction project. A with some simple procedure to register an exclusive trademark for constructions materials products of the company, a company can become more reliable in the customers' view, thus receiving many high-value orders form big customers. Minh Khue Law Firm always advises our clients to register an exclusive trademark for their products because of the outstanding benefits of this procedure, in addition to the above benefit, we can point out some other benefits as follows:
- Registration of an exclusive trademark is the legal basis to protect the trademark of your products from being copied, duplicated or used without your consent. It will also be a legal basis for your company to ask competent state agencies to handle any violation of other entities.
- An exclusive trademark will help customers identify your products easily among thousands of products in the market.
- A registered exclusive trademark can be considered as an asset of the company and it can bring extra profit for your company from licensing or transferring the trademark.
- If you can register your trademark as soon as possible, you can also prevent your competitors from registering similar trademarks that may cause confusion for your customer.
3. How to prepare the dossier of exclusive trademark registration for products of non-metallic construction materials?
A dossier of exclusive trademark registration for products of non-metallic construction materials shall include the following documents and papers:
+ 02 copies of Trademark application declaration according to the form issued by competent state agencies;
+ 05 copies of Trademark sample (size 80 x 80 mm);
+ List of products that accompanied by the trademark;
+ Authorization Letter (if any);
+ Payment receipts of the fees and charges in accordance with the provisions of law.
4. Process of exclusive trademark registration for products of non-metallic construction materials
The registration of an exclusive trademark for non-metallic construction materials shall follow the stages as below:
Stage 1: Search the trademark
This is not a mandatory procedure but it is necessary to check the possibility of trademark duplication before the official submission. There are two ways to check a trademark:
- Preliminary search: The Preliminary search normally takes a short time to receive a result but the result may be sometimes not 100% accurate because the trademark is only searched on the digital library of the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP).
- Advanced search: The Advanced search normally takes from 3 days to 7 days to be done. Although it takes a longer time than the Preliminary search, your exclusive trademark will be reviewed by intellectual property experts and, therefore, the result will have a higher accuracy rate (up to 98%). From the search result, the trademark owner can know whether the trademark needs to be modified, changed or it is ok to submit to the competent state agencies.
Stage 2: Submit the application to NOIP
The applicant can file the trademark registration application directly at the NOIP office in Hanoi or through one of the two representative offices of NOIP in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City. Besides, the applicant can also file the application via post by post office or couriers.
Stage 3: Formality appraisal of the application and publication of the trademark
The formality appraisal of the application normally takes from 1 month to 2 months from the submission date.
In this stage, the NOIP will appraise the form of the application in order to determine if all the formal requirements are met or not. If the application is decided as invalid, the NOIP will reject and return the application for modification. If the application is decided as valid, the NOIP will issue a decision of acceptance of valid application and publish the trademark information in the Industrial Property Gazette with 02 months from the date of acceptance.
Stage 4: Content appraisal of the application
The content appraisal of an exclusive trademark registration application takes from 9 months to 12 months from the date the trademark is published in the Industrial Property Gazette.
In this stage, the NOIP will appraise the content of the application in order to determine if the trademark is similar to famous trademarks or registered trademarks that have been protected before. The competent state agency also checks whether the trademark satisfies all the requirements in accordance with the provision of intellectual property law.
Stage 5: Issue the protection title
The NOIP will issue the Trademark Registration Certificate with 1 month from the date the applicant pay all the fee fully and properly according to the notification of the NOIP.
5. Where to register an exclusive trademark for products of non-metallic construction materials in Vietnam?
Currently, foreign companies who want to register an exclusive trademark for products of non-metallic materials in Vietnam have to apply through an industrial property representation organization like Minh Khue Law Firm. Minh Khue Law Firm was certified and licensed as an official industrial property representative in August 2017, with the representative code is 226.
Many foreign companies have come to the Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm to carry out this procedure. The office address of Minh Khue Law Firm is 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
Minh Khue Law Firm will on behalf of client to submit the application to the 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 products of non-metallic construction materials that were registered by Minh Khue Law Firm:
KINJAZ Trademark
Class 19: Non-metallic roof tiles, floor tiles; curved tiles, not of metal; tile, not of metal; roofing sheet, not of metal; roof edge; plank roof
6. Contact to register an exclusive trademark for products of non-metallic construction materials in Vietnam
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 386648 - Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung
Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn
Best Regards,
Intellectual Property Department - Minh Khue Law Company Limited
