Vietnam

Yes. More than one applicant may apply jointly for cancellation a trademark in Vietnam, regardless of the grounds for trademark cancellation.

In a court action for trademark infringement in Vietnam, cancellation of the plaintiff's trademark registration may be sought by a defendant (but only under independent proceedings)

For cancellations of trademark in Vietnam, the legal standing criteria for domestic applicants and foreign applicants are the same, regardless of the grounds for trademark cancellation.

For purpose trademark cancellation in Vietnam, an “interested person” is defined as:

- Someone who believes he is being damaged by the registration of trademark in Vietnam;
- Someone who has filed an earlier pending application to register a conflicting trademark in Vietnam;
- Someone who owns an earlier conflicting trademark registration in Vietnam;
- Someone who owns earlier rights in a copyright or design that conflicts with the mark that is the subject of the application of trademark in Vietnam;
- Someone who owns rights in a conflicting trademark in Vietnam that were acquired through use;
- Someone who is a licensee of any conflicting trademark in Vietnam or other intellectual property right;
- Someone who owns a company name that conflicts with the mark that is the subject of the trademark application in Vietnam;
- Someone who is of the opinion that the trademark in Vietnam was not registrable.

1. The forum for cancellation proceedings of trademark in Vietnam is the same regardless of the grounds on which the proceedings are brought.

- Vietnam trademark cancellation proceedings on all grounds may be brought before the following court or other judicial tribunal: Administrative Court

- Cancellation proceedings of trademark in Vietnam on all grounds may be brought before the following administrative body:

. National Office of Intellectual Property

. Ministry of Science and Technology

2. The administrative body/bodies listed above is/are not independent of the Vietnam trademark registry.

The National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) is our Trademark Registry and directly under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST). The cancellation proceedings of trademark in Vietnam will be brought before NOIP and the first appeal, if any, is also handled by NOIP. The second appeal, if any, will be handled by MOST.

3. The following parties have legal standing to apply for cancellation a trademark in Vietnam, regardless of the grounds for cancellation:

- Any person. Legal interest is not required.

(This person must have the capacity for civil acts of individuals)

- A legal representative acting “in the public interest”

4. For the cancellations of trademark in Vietnam based on absolute grounds, the following parties have standing:

- Any person. Legal interest is not required.
(This person must have the capacity for civil acts of individuals)
- A legal representative acting “in the public interest”

5. For cancellations of trademark in Vietnam based on relative grounds, the following parties have standing:

- Any person. Legal interest is not required.
(This person must have the capacity for civil acts of individuals)
- A legal representative acting “in the public interest”

6. For cancellations of trademark in Vietnam based on non-use grounds, the following parties have standing:

- Any person. Legal interest is not required.
(This person must have the capacity for civil acts of individuals)
- A legal representative acting “in the public interest”

7. For cancellations of trademark in Vietnam based on grounds other than absolute, relative or non-use grounds, the following parties have standing:

- Any person. Legal interest is not required.
(This person must have the capacity for civil acts of individuals)
- A legal representative acting “in the public interest”

Grounds for cancellation are the same in respect of international mark as they are for national trademark in Vietnam, including: 

- Absolute ground

- Relative ground

- Non-Use ground

- Multiple grounds (i.e., on a combination of absolute, relative and non-use grounds).

Additional grounds for cancellation of International Registration and European Union trademark in Vietnam may be introduced at a later stage in the proceedings. The deadline for introducing additional grounds is: There is no specific deadline. However, it must be submitted before the issuance of a decision on the cancellation.

1. Cancellation of a trademark in Vietnam is available for:

- National marks;

- International marks;

- This jurisdiction is not a member of the European Union; we have no European Union Trade Marks

2. “Cancellation” of a trademark in Vietnam is defined by legislation as follows:

Article 95 of Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law 2005:

The validity of a Protection Title shall be terminated in the following cases:

a. Its owner has not paid the due fees for the maintenance or renewal as prescribed;

b. Its owner has declared to relinquish the rights conferred by the Protection Title;

c. Its owner has no longer existed or the owner of a Mark registration Certificate has no longer engaged in business without a lawful successor;

d. The mark has not been used by its owner or his licensee without justifiable reasons for a term of 5 consecutive years prior to a request for termination of validity, except the use is commenced or resumed at least 3month before the request for termination;

e. The owner of a Mark registration Certificate in respect of a collective mark fails to             supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of the rules on using the collective mark;

f. The owner of a Mark registration Certificate in respect of a certification mark violates the rules on using certification mark or fails to supervise or ineffectively supervises the implementation of such rules.

Article 96 of Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law 2005:

A Protection Title shall be entirely invalidated in the following cases:

a. The applicant for registration neither has the right to registration nor has been assigned such right;

b. The subject matter of industrial property failed to satisfy the protection conditions at the grant date of the Protection Title

3. Cancellation actions of a trademark in Vietnam can be filed online at the following URL: https://dvctt.noip.gov.vn. However, it is still in a pilot study and has not been complete yet.