Vietnam has a population of nearly 100 million, and in 2021, the country consumed 4,159 thousand kiloliters of alcoholic beverage, making it the ninth largest alcohol consumer in the world. This high level of consumption has resulted in substantial profits for beverage businesses (the largest brewer gained revenue exceeding VND35.325 trillion (US$1.506 billion) in 2022).
However, the intense competition among brands has led to a cut-throat marketing battle. As a result, protecting trademarks has become a crucial priority, including the trademark which has been granted a protection title.
This article aims at showing a solution to prevent trademark alcoholic beverages from a possible non-use termination of trademark in Vietnam.
Risk of trademark registration for alcoholic beverages: Can not keep losing not find
According to the IP legal provisions of Vietnam, the validity of trademark registration shall be terminated, upon request of a third party, if the mark has not been used by its owner or a licensee without justifiable reason for 5 consecutive years before a request for termination of validity, except where the use is commenced or resumed at least 3 months before the request for termination.
In fact, many alcoholic beverage companies do not conduct business in Vietnam right after registering their trademarks due to two following main challenges:
– Firstly, the Vietnamese government has issued the strict regulations on alcohol advertising and sales. Currently, alcoholic beverages trading is a conditional business and is under restriction from the government. Importing alcohol to the Vietnamese market is a time-consuming process that can take several years due to the rigorous and complex procedures involved;
– Secondly, trademark owners have their own difficulties and do not have the suitable conditions to launch products in the Vietnamese market.
In this case, the owner faces a high possibility of their trademark in Vietnam being terminated upon the request of a third party.
Consequences
Vietnam’s alcoholic beverages market is highly competitive, with both domestic and imported alcohol brands vying for a share of the market. Additionally, consumers in recent years have shown a preference for branded goods. However, this has also led to an increase in trademark theft and unfair use of a competitor’s trademark to gain an advantage.Therefore, being subjective and ignoring the risks mentioned above may be cause many consequences for trademark owners, such as:
o Loss of trademark to someone else
o Squandering a lot of time pursuing complaints and disputes
o Influencing the business plan
Solution: Good watch prevents misfortune
In case it is impossible to provide sufficient evidence of the used trademark in Vietnam and without justifiable reason, sooner or later than 4th years (since the date of registration or the last use of that trademark in Vietnam), the trademark owner is recommended to re-file another trademark application.
Should you need more information or require advice on trademark in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar as well as other IP matters, please do not hesitate to contact us via email: info@ageless.vn
