On December 10, 2025, the National Assembly of Vietnam adopted the Law Amending and Supplementing a number of Articles of the Law on Intellectual Property (IP), which is scheduled to take effect on April 01, 2026. This amendment marks a significant milestone in the development of a modern legal framework, transitioning intellectual property rights from a traditional legal protection role into a central economic resource for a knowledge-based and innovation-driven economy. Several notable changes concerning trademark under this amended Law are detailed below.
1. Promoting the commercialization of intellectual property rights
To promote the commercialization of IP assets, the amended IP Law 2025 introduces additional provisions on the management and exploitation of IP rights. Accordingly, the State encourages the use and commercialization of IP rights as capital contributions or as collateral for financing. IP right holders are entitled to utilize their intellectual property rights in civil, commercial, investment transactions, and other activities in accordance with applicable laws.
2. Tightening the protection mechanism for trademark containing indications of the national geographical origin of Vietnam
The amended IP Law has tightened the regulations governing trademarks containing indications of the national geographical origin of Vietnam. Specifically, Article 74.2 has been supplemented to provide that a mark shall be deemed non-distinctive if it falls under the following case: “Signs indicating the national geographical origin of Vietnam in respect of goods or services, except where such signs have been widely used and recognized as a trademark prior to the filing date, or where such signs constitute elements of a distinctive sign registered as a collective mark or a certification mark”. Accordingly, trademarks containing elements such as “Vietnam”, “Viet Nam”, “Viet”, etc., will be subject to more stringent examination.
3. Validity period of the Power of Attorney (POA)
Under previous regulations, a POA without a specified term was deemed valid indefinitely and would only terminate upon a declaration of revocation by the Authorizing party. The amended IP Law now provides that, where a power of attorney does not specify its term, its validity shall be determined in accordance with the Civil Code Specifically, in the absence of any agreement and where the law provides otherwise, the term of authorization shall be one (01) year from the date the representative authority arises.
As trademark prosecution in Vietnam typically exceeds twelve months, applicants should define a sufficient validity period in the POA. Failing to do so may lead to the POA expiring mid-examination, necessitating supplemental submissions and causing delays in the registration process.
4. Shortening the publication timelines
Under the amended IP Law, a trademark application shall be published within one (01) month from the date it is accepted as to formality, instead of two (02) months as previously prescribed. Similarly, the new provisions also shorten the publication period for decisions relating to Trademark Registration Certificates—such as decisions on grant, termination, invalidation, and amendment—from sixty (60) days to thirty (30) days from the date of issuance.
5. Improvements to trademark examination process
5.1. Abolition of the Decision on Formality Acceptance
The amended IP Law removes the requirement for issuing a Decision on Formality Acceptance of a trademark application. Accordingly, if a trademark application meets the formal requirements, it shall be published and then proceed to substantive examination. The date on which the application is forwarded for publication shall be the date it is accepted as valid. This indicates that the procedure for issuing a Decision on Formality Acceptance has been removed from the trademark application process, thereby reducing administrative procedures and expediting examination.
5.2. Shortening the substantive examination period
Under the amended IP Law, the period for substantive examination of a trademark application has been shortened to five (05) months from the date of publication instead of nine (09) months as before. This is a notable change that contributes to speeding up the processing of trademark applications.
5.3. Introducing the accelerated substantive examination
Notably, the IP Law introduces provisions on accelerated substantive examination, with a shortened timeframe of three (03) months for trademark applications that fall within cases to be specified by the Government.
At present, the Government has only issued a draft decree guiding the implementation of this provision. According to the draft, the following trademark applications may be eligible for accelerated examination:
- Trademarks for pharmaceuticals that are inventions within the list of strategic technologies, or trademarks for products that are inventions serving public interests such as national security, defense, natural disasters, or epidemics;
- Cases where the applicant is required to obtain a trademark registration certificate to complete other procedures in accordance with State regulations.
In addition, accelerated examination applies only to standard trademark applications filed directly with the IP Office of Vietnam.
6. Shortening the opposition period
Previously, any third party could file an opposition against the grant of protection within five (05) months from the publication date of the trademark application. Under the amended IP Law, this period has been reduced to three (03) months.
The shortened opposition period under the 2025 IP Law means the opportunity to block conflicting marks is now much tighter. Brand owners should maintain constant surveillance of the Official Gazette. Engaging an IP firm’s Trademark Watch Service is the best way to detect and oppose infringing filings promptly before it is too late.
In conclusion, the amended IP Law introduces significant changes to the trademark application process in Vietnam, moving towards greater simplification, efficiency, and faster processing timelines.
Should you have any further questions or to support your trademark in Vietnam are handled smoothly, please do not hesitate to reach out to our experienced team via email trademark@ageless.com.vn
