Ministry of Trade to take over as trademark registry

The Vietnamese government has issued a decree (54/2003/ND-CP) and subsequent notice providing that the Ministry of Trade will take over the role of trademark registry from the National Office of Industrial Property (NOIP), which is supervised by the Ministry of Science and Technology. The Ministry of Trade will therefore be in charge of examining trademark applications, as well as dealing with opposition, cancellation and appeals procedures.

The NOIP will continue to:

• grant patents for inventions, utility solutions and industrial designs;
  
  
• register appellations of origin; and
  
  
• issue opinions in cases involving unfair competition, or the infringement of rights in trade secrets, geographical indications and trade names.

The government has not yet set a date for when the Ministry of Trade will start handling trademark matters. The NOIP will in the meantime carry on receiving and handling trademark applications.

Le Hoai Duong, LÊ & LÊ, Hanoi