Amendments in Trademark Opposition in Vietnam Intellectual Property Law 2022

The National Assembly has amended the Intellectual Property Law, which will go into effect on January 1, 2023. To bring the IP system closer to the world’s treaties and common practices, the legislation makes significant improvements addressing a wide range of important issues.

Trademark Opposition Procedure Amendments 

The new legislation maintains Vietnam’s long-standing pre-registration opposition procedure. Currently, any party may file an opposition to a pending application until it is granted or denied registration. However, after the new law takes effect, there will be a time limit for filing an opposition, opposition to a trademark application will only be allowed within 05 months of its publication date (Article 112a.1.c).

After considering various factors such as relevant procedural matters, public trademark databases, and trademark knowledge among right holders in Vietnam, lawmakers concluded that 05 months from the publication date is the most appropriate time frame for potentially opposing parties to acquire data on a specific application and take the necessary steps to obtain advice and file an opposition.

The legislation is silent on whether the above-mentioned time restriction can be extended. We should note that in certain other countries (e.g., the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, and so on), a first extension may be granted at the request of the opponent, and a subsequent extension may need the applicant’s assent and/or proof of good reason. We must now wait for further sub-law papers that may provide more information in this regard.

If an interested party fails to file an Opposition in a timely manner, he may nevertheless submit his written opinion to bring information to the Office through the Observation procedure in relation to the registrability of an Application. However, this is a long-standing system that is preserved in the current law. There is no time restriction for submitting Observations as long as the Application has not been registered or formally declined. Of course, the views will only be used as a reference source for the Office’s examination, and they will not impose any obligations on the Office. It also implies that the individual who provided the written comments is not in the position of an opposing party who may obtain any official responses/updates on the Office’s Application examination result.

In addition, Observation has been seen as a useful and effective tool for anyone who is unable to demonstrate the third party’s right but wants to act in the public interest. As a result, as of the new law’s implementation date, we anticipate that this approach will be used by conflicting parties who are unable to act within the Opposition time limit.

There will be no exceptions for the effective date of this new Opposition rule, which will take effect on the same day as the new legislation, i.e. for all trademark applications submitted on January 1, 2023.

*** Other Articles***

– You could visit here to see the Trademark Registration in Vietnam.

– You can also check the Vietnam Trademark Law: Detailed Guide And Legal Notes.

– You could check Questions of filing trademark in Vietnam: POA, Trademark requirement and trademark fee in Vietnam.

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