Proposal to include sound as a trademark in Vietnam
When joining the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), one of the big challenges for Vietnam is intellectual property standards. Up until now, there are still many opinions and debates surrounding the implementation of intellectual property provisions in the TPP. One of the most heated discussions surrounding IP in Vietnam is the proposal to include sound as a trademark in Vietnam.
Sound mark
Sound mark is a unique type of trademark in the world. This is due to the fact that sound marks indicate and differentiate a product or service through sound rather than through traditional visual channels.
Examples of sound marks include:
- A series of sounds or musical notes, with or without words;
- Words with accompanying music.
Like all protected non-traditional Marks, sound marks cannot be functional and must be intrinsically distinguishable or attainable of distinction.
Some examples of sound marks in the world include:
- 20th Century Fox Fanfare (composed by Alfred Newman)
- BMW sound logos
- CBS’ 5-note “This is CBS” tune (composed by Antfood)
- Disney Plus click
- Netflix “Da-Dum” logo
The issues about the sound mark in Vietnam
The expansion of the scope of trademark registration, meaning that from now on, the registered trademark will not only stop at the level of a visible mark in the form of letters, words, drawings, images, including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented by one or more colors anymore, but is also extended to permit the registration of sound and scent marks, also known as “Non-Traditional Trademarks”.
At the moment, although there are many proposals, there haven’t been any clear definitions about the term “sound mark” in Vietnam, as well as any standards or requirements for the graphical representation of a sound mark to be registered.
Nonetheless, the National Office of Intellectual Property in Vietnam (NOIP) is working tirelessly and studying the IP law of many developed countries in the world, as well as hearing the opinions from many renowned IP firms in Vietnam, etc. to come up with strict regulations for sound mark in Vietnam.
More and more jurisdictions are now recognizing sound as a new category of trademarks in the world. Accordingly, if Vietnam doesn’t want to fall back on the world stage, they will need to seriously take into account the issues about the sound mark.
Expert opinions
Yen Pham, senior IP attorney at Schmitt & Orlov in Ho Chi Minh City, discussed the issues about the sound mark in general: “Per our experience, the definition of the term ‘graphical representation’ of sound mark varies from each jurisdiction. For instance, according to the Guidelines for Examination of European Union Trade Marks by the European Union Intellectual Property Office, a graphic representation of a mark must enable the sign to be represented visually, particularly by means of images, lines, or characters. The valid means of representing a sound graphically include musical notations and MP3 files with another suitable graphic representation.”
This new change in the IP law in Vietnam regarding sound marks will be difficult for both trademark owners and the IP Office of Vietnam. Regarding this matter, she stated: “From the trademark owners’ side, it may be challenging to identify which audible signs can become their sound marks, to accurately represent their sound marks for the filing, and also to prove that their sound marks are sufficiently distinctive if required by the registrar.”
She added: “From the trademark office’s side, as Vietnam has never accepted non-traditional trademarks before, the trademark office may face challenges in reviewing and considering the distinctiveness of sound marks.”
*** 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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