Logo is a characteristic image, an identifying sign for an enterprise’s products/ services. It is a vital image, extremely important for enterprises in business, trade. Enterprises always want to convey deep meaning through logo images to customers and partners. But they do not pay attention to protecting its logo in accordance with the law, which has led to many serious consequences affecting the development of the company.
Legal role of logo
Vietnam intellectual property law currently has no legal concept of "logo". According to law makers, the "logo" has the characteristics of the representative image that expresses and transmits information to the viewer. The above characteristics are part of the trademark's signature legal signature.
Pursuant to Clause 1 of Article 72: "A trademark is a sign seen in the form of letters, words, drawings, including holographics or combinations of such elements, expressed in one or more colors."
So how is the label defined?
Pursuant to Clause 16, Article 4 of the current Intellectual Property Law, "Trademarks are signs used to distinguish goods and services of different organizations and individuals."
Accordingly, the legal role of the trademark (or company logo) is the text, visual content and information of goods/services. Trademark helps customers and partners distinguish goods/services of enterprises from competitors in the same field in the market, be recognized by law, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of trademark owners.
Benefits for registering the company's exclusive logo
Many enterprises think that registering the company's proprietary logo is not necessary because the business owner wants to focus on business, profitability. This leads to the subjectivity in protecting its brand in accordance with the law. Accordingly, the company's logo/trademark is not protected by law after many years of operation has led to many regrets.
Why do you need to register the company logo exclusively?
Registering the company logo exclusively soon, the risk is minimized to the company image. The failure to carry out the registration procedure for logo protection, leading to anyone can use, infringe on the image of your company, with bad purposes, harming the reputation of the enterprises. Even third parties, competitors can register exclusive legal logos before owning logos and trademarks. Then they have the right to ask state agencies to ban you from using your own logo and trademark.
Because the company is involved in legal problems, argument. It is impossible to operate stably, all previous construction and development efforts are no longer. Therefore, the exclusive registration of logos is extremely important, essential, enterprises must implement as soon as possible, when the logo or trademark is formed.
Registration of logo protection for business activities of enterprises
Many enterprises ask the question: "Is it mandatory to have a legal logo to operate business?" when founding a company.
The legal role of the trademark (logo) is important but it is not a mandatory condition for business activities based on the Enterprise Law 2020.
Logos are the shortest way for customers to know the enterprises. Although the law does not require the registration of trademark protection, enterprises should conduct in the process of production and business.
Procedures for registration of logos in accordance with law
When enterprises want to register exclusive logos in accordance with the law, there are many questions enterprises want to be answered, common questions are as follows:
- What are the steps to register the logo?
- Where does the logo register?
- How long does it take to register and return logo results?
As analyzed above the logo is not defined by law, and the registration of exclusive logos is not specified. Enterprises can register exclusive logos in two ways: trademark protection registration and copyright registration.
4.1 Logo protection in accordance with the regulations on trademark registration:
Step 1: Identify the object and scope of protection consideration
Step 2: Look up the ability of the trademark to register protection
Step 3: Submit a trademark registration application at the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam
- Formal appraisal (1-2 months)
- Publication of application in the Notice (2 months)
- Content appraisal (9-12 months)
- Issue decisions granting/ refusing to grant protection certificates (1-2 months)
- Issuance and publication of trademark registration certificates (02 - 03 months).
In fact, the time for trademark registration may be slower or faster depending on the appraisal of the registration dossier of the Intellectual Property Office at the time of appraisal.
Step 4: Enterprises will receive trademark registration certificates issued by the Intellectual Property Office
4.2 Protection of logos in accordance with copyright registration regulations:
Step 1: Prepare copyright registration dossiers as prescribed
Step 2: Submit the copyright registration application at (Copyright Office or Representative office of the Copyright Office in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang City). Records can be sent by post.
Step 3: The State management agency receives the registration dossier. Within 15 (fifteen) working days from the date of receipt of a valid application, the state management agency on copyright shall issue the Certificate of Copyright Registration.
In case of refusal to issue a copyright registration certificate, it will have to notify the applicant in writing for the reason.
Step 4: Enterprises will receive copyright registration certificates issued by the Copyright Office – Ministry of Copyright and Trade
Conditions for logo registration
5.1 Conditions for registration of logos under the conditions of protection for trademarks:
- A visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings, images, including holographics or combinations of those elements, expressed in one or more colors.
- Capable of distinguishing goods and services of the trademark owner from goods and services of other entities
5. Conditions for registration of logos in accordance with copyright protection conditions:
- The protected work must be created by the author directly by his intellectual labor without copying from the work of others.
Fees and charges when registering a logo
The cost of registering for logo protection is based on what form the enterprise wants to register for logo protection:
6.1 Logo registration under trademark protection registration regulations at the Intellectual Property Office, including the following charges:
- Fees for filing an application for industrial property rights protection
- Application disclosure fee
- Trademark lookup fee for content appraisal
- Trademark content appraisal fee
- Fees for disclosure of industrial property information
- Registration fee for industrial property information
6.2 Registration of logo protection under the provisions on trademark protection registration at the Copyright Office – Ministry of Copyright and Tourism, including the following charges:
- The cost of copyright registration will depend on the type of work that the organization/individual situation wants to register.
- Other charges depending on the specific case
Experience in logo registration in Vietnam
From analysis on logo registration is a multi-step, multi-stage, multi-modal process. From checking the logo has been duplicated with the pre-registered logo, to designing, selecting the form of logo protection registration in accordance with the direction of the company, and completing the profile. Enterprise that do not know and have no experience will be easily returned to applications and refuse to issue diplomas. Therefore, NP Law would like to share the specific and practical experiences of logo registration as follows:
Firstly, customers need to clearly define the direction of the company's brand development to choose the most appropriate form of logo protection. To achieve a quick, reasonable, and cost-effective result before making a logo protection application.
Secondly, Enterprises must prepare the sufficient dossiers in accordance with the law, which is the most prerequisite, the most important for the dossier to be granted a protection certificate. The information in the record must be accurate, clear, and detailed. The elements that make up the logo, the text is transcribe in Vietnamese (if the logo has a foreign language).
Thirdly, if the dossier is returned, the enterprise must respond and comply with the requirements requested, amended and supplemented by the State Agency in accordance with regulations. The amendment or supplementation may not add other information other than the protective content in the previous list of goods/services, and must not change the nature of the object (logo).
Fourthly, in order to register for logo protection to achieve good results, enterprises should look to a unit with deep expertise, experience, understanding the regulations on logo registration such as NP Law. Customers will receive the results of registration and protection of their trademark quickly, in the right process, to save time and effort. NP Law through practical experience, directly processing specific records, will complete the registration of logo protection in accordance with the wishes of customers.
Exclusive logo registration.
Most people think that only enterprises and companies with legal status have the right to register for trademark protection under the law. Can you register a logo or not?
Pursuant to Clause 1, Article 87 of Intellectual Property Law, the right to trademark registration includes: individuals, and organizations entitled to register trademarks used for goods produced by themselves or services provided by themselves.
For registration of logo protection under copyright protection registration specified in Article 13 of Intellectual Property Law, organizations and individuals whose works are entitled to copyright include the creators of the works and the copyright owners.
Handling the violation of the company's logo by others
The business environment is extremely fierce, enterprises are violated by competitors, taking advantage of their image and brand to compete unfairly, threatening each other's development. What do you do when you find out that the company logo has been copied by others?
- Step 1: Collect evidence to clarify the violation of rights to the company's logo and trademark.
- Step 2: Conduct the examination of the above acts at the competent State agency. This is the basis, legal and accurate evidence to request the courts / state agencies competent to impose administrative or civil or criminal sanctions for violations.
- Step 3: Submit a request and provide proof that the owner of the protected logo (providing a Diploma/Certificate) to the competent state agency to handle the violation.
Logo registered in Vietnam for international law
After receiving the Trademark Registration Certificate or Copyright Registration Certificate, Enterprise believes that it has protected the company's logo in Vietnam and will be protected internationally. Is this true, is the logo registration in Vietnam protected abroad?
For intellectual products, creativities have a characteristic of protection by territory. Since each country has its own regulations and different conditions on the protection of the logo and trademark, the company's logo is only protected within the country in which the subject has registered. Thus, enterprises and individuals wish to expand the market and reach out to the international environment will carry out procedures for registration of trademark protection (logo) in accordance with the laws of the country or territory they want to be protected.
