Register exclusive trademarks for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam?

1. What is an exclusive trademark for household and kitchen tools?

An exclusive trademark is a distinctive sign that is indicated in the form of single-color or multi-color letters, words, slogans, or drawings, used to discriminate products or services of this company from products and services of other companies in the market or even to discriminate between different products of a same company.

Exclusive trademarks for household and kitchen tools are classified into Class 21 according to the current version of Nice Classification which is established by the Nice Agreement. This Class of product mainly includes small tools and equipment, manually operated for families and kitchens, as well as cosmetic and toilet tools, glassware and some goods made of porcelain, ceramic, earthenware, tera-cotta or glass; such as:

- Household utensils and containers and cookers, for example, fly swatter, bread cutting board, corkscrew, shake bottle, cocktail pot, savings pig, bucket, pot, pans;

- Small kitchen machines and equipment operated by hand for mincing, slicing, pressing or crushing, for example, garlic presses, nuts, pestles and mortars;

- Serving utensils, for example, sugar or ice cube pickers, ladles and spoons;

- Electrical or non-electrical combs;

- Electrical or non-electrical toothbrushes;

- Racks (base, tray) for pots and plates.

2. Why should you register exclusive trademarks for your products of household and kitchen tools in Vietnam?

Nowadays, there are varieties of household and kitchen tools products are manufactured and sold every day. The large number of products makes this market become one of the most competitive industry markets. Therefore, it is important to be recognizable and stand out in the market. One of the best ways to be recognizable is to register exclusive trademarks for your products of household and kitchen tools in Vietnam. We can point out some of the outstanding benefits of registering exclusive trademark as below:

- Make the products of your company more recognizable and attractive in the eyes of customers, thus, attracting more customer to buy your products and increasing the revenue of the company;

- Prevent other companies, organizations or individual from duplicating or using your registered trademark without your consent. Besides, competitors of your company will not be able to register a similar of a same trademark as your register trademark;

- Exclusive trademark registration will be the legal basis for you to ask the competent state agencies to handle violations of other entities in terms of intellectual property rights.

- Bring more profit for the company from licensing or selling the trademark as an asset of the company. The registered trademark can also become a famous trademark and can be traded as an asset of your company.

Therefore, you should carry out the process of trademark registration in Vietnam as soon as possible in order to enjoy its advantages and prevent potential risks.

3. How to register trademarks for household or kitchen tools in Vietnam?

An exclusive trademark registration dossier for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam normally includes the following documents and papers:

- 02 copies of Trademark application in accordance with the prescribed form;

- 05 samples of the trademark (80x80mm);

- List of household and kitchen tools products that attached by the trademark;

- Authorization Letter (if any);

- Payment receipts of the state fees and charges;

- Certified copies of Business Registration Certificate (for companies/organizations) or Identity cards or Passport (for individuals).

4. Procedures of trademark registration for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam

Stage 1: Trademark search

There are two ways to search a trademark in Vietnam: Preliminary search and In-depth search.

- Preliminary search: The preliminary search is easy to carry out, it normally takes only a few hours to be done. However, the result of this method of search often has accuracy rate (about 60%).

- In-depth search: With the in-depth search method, your trademark will be reviewed by experts in the field of intellectual property and the searching time is normally from 3 days to 7 days. The searching result of this method will have high accuracy rate (up to 98%).

Stage 2: Submit the Trademark application

The trademark application for household and kitchen tools can be submit directly or by post. The state agencies that have right to receive the application is the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) in Ha Noi city or its two representative offices in Da Nang city and Ho Chi Minh city. If you submit the application at the representative offices of NOIP, the application will be sent to the NOIP in Ho Noi to be processed and granted the protection title.

Stage 3: The appraisal of the form of the trademark application

This stage takes from 01 month to 02 months from the date the application is submitted.

During this period of time, the NOIP will appraise the trademark application for your products in terms of formal requirements such as the form, the trademark, applicant information, right to file the application, class of the products... If the application satisfies all the above conditions, the competent state agency shall notify the acceptance of a valid application.

Stage 4: The publication of trademark application

The trademark application will be published in the Industrial Property Gazette within 02 months from the date of the acceptance of the valid application. The publication information will include trademark samples, applicants’ information, lists of accompanied goods and services and classes of the products.

Stage 5: The appraisal of the content of the trademark application

This stage takes from 09 months to 12 months from the date the trademark is published.

During this period of time, the NOIP will appraise the trademark application in terms of duplication, discrimination,... and determine whether the trademark meets all the conditions to be granted the Trademark Registration Certificate.

Stage 6: The issuance of the Trademark Registration Certificate

The Trademark Registration Certificate will be issued within 01 month from the date of the applicant pay all the fees fully and properly.

5. Where to register an exclusive trademark for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam?

Foreign companies, organizations, individuals who want to register exclusive trademarks for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam can only register the trademarks through an industrial property representative.

Minh Khue Law Firm is a licensed industrial property representative organization. We were certified by the authorities since August 2017 with the representative code is 226. Clients can contact directly to the Intellectual Property Department of Minh Khue Law Firm to register exclusive trademarks for household and kitchen tools in Vietnam.

Our office address is 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 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 household and kitchen tools that were registered by Minh Khue Law Firm:

SAIKONAVI Trademark

Class 21: Tools for household purposes; kitchen tools; chopsticks; comb; cutting boards for kitchen use; brush.

LIPPANY Trademark

Class 21: Tools for household purposes; kitchen tools; chopsticks; comb; cutting boards for kitchen use; brush.

6. Contact to register a trademark for household and kitchen tools 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: + 84986 386 648 - Lawyer: To Thi Phuong Dzung

Email: dung@luatminhkhue.vn

Best Regards,

Intellectual Property Department - Minh Khue Law Company Limite