What documents are included in the trademark registration application?

A trademark registration dossier is a collection of necessary documents to submit to the National Office of Intellectual Property when wanting to protect a trademark. Preparing complete and accurate trademark registration documents is the first step to ensure the trademark registration process goes smoothly, quickly and avoids unnecessary errors. So what documents are included in the trademark registration application? Let’s find out details with Long Phan in the article below.

What is a trademark? Types of trademarks

According to the provisions of Clause 16, Article 4 of the Law on Intellectual Property 2005, a trademark is a sign used to distinguish goods and services of different organizations and individuals. Trademarks help consumers identify and distinguish the products and services of a business from the products and services of other businesses in the market.

The Law on Intellectual Property also regulates a number of specific types of trademarks such as:

• Collective brand: A trademark used to distinguish the goods and services of members of an organization from the goods and services of organizations and individuals that are not members of that organization.
• Certification mark: A trademark that the trademark owner allows other organizations and individuals to use on the goods and services of that organization or individual to certify the characteristics of origin, raw materials, materials, and methods. production of goods, method of providing services, quality, accuracy, safety or other characteristics of goods or services bearing the mark.
• Famous brands: is a trademark widely known to the relevant public in the territory of Vietnam.

Trademark registration dossier

To register for trademark protection in Vietnam, it is necessary to prepare complete and valid documents according to the provisions of law. Trademark registration dossier includes the following documents:

Documentation must be available

• Trademark registration declaration according to form No. 08, Appendix I, Decree 65/2023/ND-CP;
• 05 brand samples measuring 80 x 80 mm;
• Proof of payment of fees and charges.

In case the trademark registration application is for a collective mark or certification mark, in addition to the minimum documents mentioned above, the application must also contain the following documents:

• Regulations on use of collective marks/certification marks;
• Explanation of the characteristic (or specific) nature and quality of the product bearing the mark (if used for products with specific characteristics or product quality certification, geographical origin certification);
• Map of geographical area (if it is a mark certifying geographical origin or containing place names or other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties);
• Document of the People’s Committee of the province or centrally run city permitting trademark registration (if containing place names or other signs indicating the geographical origin of local specialties).

Other documents (if any)

• Power of attorney (if applying for registration through industrial property representation service organizations);
• Document confirming permission to use special signs (if the trademark sought to be protected contains symbols, flags, badges of domestic and international agencies and organizations,…);
• Document proving the right to registration, if the applicant enjoys that right of another person;
• Documents proving priority rights (if the application claims priority rights).

General requirements for trademark registration applications

In order for a trademark application to be accepted by the National Office of Intellectual Property, the following general requirements must be complied with:

1. Each application may only request one protection title and the type of protection title requested must be consistent with the trademark stated in the application.
2. All application documents must be made in Vietnamese. For documents made in other languages, they must be translated into Vietnamese.
3. All documents must be presented vertically on one side of A4 size paper, with margins on all four sides, each margin 20mm wide, in Times New Roman font, letters no smaller than size 13, except one case number:

• Figures, diagrams and tables can be presented horizontally;
• The document is a map of the geographical area that can be presented on A3 paper (420mm x 297mm);
• Supporting documents whose origin is not intended to be included in the application do not need to be guaranteed the width of the scale and font.

4. For documents that need to be prepared according to templates, it is mandatory to use those templates and fill in all required information;
5. For each type of document, except for sets of photos and industrial design drawings, if it includes many pages, each page must have its page number written in Arabic numerals;
6. Documents must be typed or printed with indelible ink, clearly, cleanly, without erasure or correction. If the document has 02 pages or more, it needs to be stamped by the applicant/document-issuing agency (if any).
7. Terminology used in the application must be consistent and common.
8. The application may be accompanied by supporting documents that are electronic data carriers of part or all of the content of the application document.

How to submit a trademark registration application

You can choose to submit a paper application or submit an online application through the online public service portal of the National Office of Intellectual Property:

Paper application form:

Trademark registration applications can be submitted directly or via postal service to one of the application receiving points of the National Office of Intellectual Property:

• Head office of the Department of Intellectual Property, address: 386 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi city.
• Representative office of the National Office of Intellectual Property in Ho Chi Minh City, address: No. 31 Han Thuyen, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
• Representative office of the Department of Intellectual Property in Da Nang city, address: 3rd floor, 135 Minh Mang, Khue My ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city.

Online application form:

• Conditions for submitting an application online: Applicants must have a digital certificate and digital signature, register an account on the Online Application Receiving System and have their account approved by the Intellectual Property Office to carry out industrial property registration transactions.
• Online application procedure: The applicant needs to declare and submit the trademark application on the Intellectual Property Office’s Online Application Receiving System. After completing the declaration and submitting the application on the Online Application Receiving System, the System will send the applicant a Confirmation of Online Document Submission.

Consulting services and guidance on reputable trademark registration at Long Phan

To avoid errors that can lead to refusal of protection certificates, customers should use Long Phan’s trademark registration consulting and guidance services.

Our trademark registration services include:

• Consulting on choosing the right brand to suit your needs;
• Look up the possibility of trademark registration;
• Consulting on conditions for trademark registration;
• Consulting with competent agencies to register trademarks;
• Drafting trademark registration documents;
• Instructions on the order and procedures for trademark registration;
• Consulting on effective trademark registration methods;
• Representing customers to quickly register trademarks;
• Answer all questions during the trademark registration process;
• Consulting and guidance on explaining and supplementing documents (if any);
• Consulting on other issues related to trademark registration.

Trademark registration is necessary to protect your legal rights to your brand. For detailed advice on documents, trademark registration procedures and answers to other questions, please contact Long Phan via the hotline: 090.673.5386.