Register trademarks for beauty care and medical service in Vietnam?

1. What are trademarks for beauty care and medical services?

Trademarks are signs that are used to differentiate the services of your company from services provided by other entities in the market. These signs can be in the form of letters, phrases, sentences, or pictures, expressed in one color or many colors.

Trademarks for beauty care and medical services are classified into Class 44 according to the Nice Classification. Class 44 is a class of service which mainly includes medical care, hygienic and beauty care given by persons or establishments to human beings and animals; it also includes services relating to the fields of agriculture, horticulture and forestry, such as:

- Medical analysis services related to human treatment (X-ray tests and blood tests);

- Artificial insemination service;

- Advice on drug use;

- Breeding animals;

- Services related to planting trees such as gardening;

- Services related to bonsai art as well as bonsai styling, garden design.

This Class excludes the following particular services:

- Exterminating harmful animals (not for agriculture, aquaculture, horticulture and forestry);

- Services of installation and repair of irrigation systems;

- Transportation of ambulance;

- Service of slaughtering animals and animal cuttings;

- Cutting down timber and treating wood;

- Animal training services;

- Health club for exercise;

- Scientific research services for medical purposes;

- Accommodation for animals;

- Nursing home.

2. Why should companies register trademarks for beauty care and medical services in Vietnam?

In the recent years, there are more and more companies established and operating in the market of beauty care and medical services. However, the quality of the services is different between different service providers, in order to attract customers, companies need to build their own reputation and brand. When having a brand, companies often want to protect their own brand. In order to be absolutely protected by law, the companies need to carry out the procedure of trademark registration at the competent state authority for the trademark for beauty care and medical services. We can provide some of the great advantages of registering trademarks as below:

- Registration of trademark will be a legal basis for the competent state agencies to protect your trademark and handle the violations of other entities such as duplicating or using your registered trademark without your consent;

- Enhance the position of your brand in the market. After your trademark is registered, your competitors will not be able to register a same or a similar trademark as your trademark;

- Your beauty care and medical brand services will be more recognizable and attractive, customer will trust your company and there will be more customers using the services and the revenue will increase accordingly;

- A registered trademark can bring extra profit for your company from licensing or selling the trademark as an asset of the company.

Above are only some of the outstanding, you should register trademarks for the beauty care and medical services of your company in Vietnam as soon as possible in order to secure your benefits.

3. How to register trademarks for beauty care and medical services in Vietnam?

In order to register trademarks for beauty care and medical services in Vietnam, applicant needs to prepare documents and papers as below:

- 02 Trademark application forms according to the provisions of intellectual property law;

- 05 Trademark sample (80x80mm);

- List of services that accompanied by the registering trademark;

- Letter of Authorization (if any);

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

- Receipts of payment of the state fees and charges.

4. Procedures of trademark registration for beauty care and medical services in Vietnam

The process of registration for trademarks of beauty care and medical services normally includes the following steps:

Step 1: Trademark search

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

- Preliminary search: This method of search normally takes only a few hours or from 1 to 3 days to be done. Although it is easy to be carried out, the result of preliminary search often has a low accuracy rate (about 60%).

- Advanced search: This method of trademark search normally takes from 3 days to 7 days to receive the result. Your trademark will be reviewed by intellectual property experts and therefore the searching result of advanced method will have a higher accuracy rate (up to 98%).

Step 2: Submit the Trademark application

The trademark application for beauty care and medical service can be submit directly to 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. The application can also be submitted via post to the above address by post office or couriers.

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

The appraisal of the form of the application takes from 01 month to 02 months from the submission date.

In this procedure, the trademark application will be appraised by the NOIP in terms of formal requirements and in order to determine whether your trademark application meets all the conditions and considered as a valid application.

Step 4: The publication of trademark application

Within 02 months from the date of the acceptance of the valid application, the information of your trademark application will be publish in the Industrial Property Gazette. The trademark information includes trademark sample, applicants’ information, lists of accompanied goods and services and classes of the services.

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

The appraisal of the content of the application takes from 09 months to 12 months from the date of the trademark publication.

In this procedure, your trademark application will be appraised by the NOIP to check whether there is a duplication, discrimination,... and determine whether all the conditions are met in order to be granted the Trademark Registration Certificate.

Step 6: Issue the Trademark Registration Certificate

After receive the notice of the NOIP, the applicant shall pay the all the state fees fully and properly. Within 01 month from the date of full payment is made, the Trademark Registration Certificate will be issued.

5. Where to register an exclusive trademark for beauty care and medical services in Vietnam?

According to the provisions of Vietnamese intellectual property law, foreign companies, organizations, individuals cannot register trademarks for beauty care and medical services by themselves but have register the trademarks through a legal industrial property representative.

Minh Khue Law Firm is an industrial property representative organization which was licensed and certified by the NOIP from August 2017 with the representative code is 226. We have helped many clients in Vietnam as well as from other country to register their trademarks in Vietnam.

Your trademark will be handled and registered by our Intellectual Property Department. Our office address is at 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 beauty care and medical service that were registered by Minh Khue Law Firm:

Y DUC Trademark

Class 44: Healing by chiropractic method; medical services at hospitals; healthcare; therapeutic services; healthcare Center; medical assistance service.

6. Contact to register a trademark for beauty care and medical service 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 Limite