How can i protect trademark around the world?

If you want to protect your trademark around the world you should keep in mind one thing - trademarks are territorial. The registration of your trademark in one country doesn’t mean protection in the whole world. If you want your mark protected worldwide you have to register it in each country of the world but this is such an expensive and long process.

Trademark in Vietnam

The most cost-effective decision will be the registration of your mark in the countries where you already have or plan to have your business.

Also, there are some opportunities for those who want to register their brand in the European Union countries - a EU trademark which includes the registration of your mark in all 28 European Union countries. One more advantage is that applying for a EU trademark is much cheaper than for each EU country separately. But you should remember that your registered trademark must be used in commerce, otherwise, it can be canceled.

Source: Quora 

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How do I get my hospital name and logo trademarked?

For getting the logo and the name of your hospital trademarked you need to file an application for registration of trademark in the designated Registry for your area. But before filing any application for trademark registration, you need to check that the brand you are planning to register is already registered by someone else or is pending for registration.

Also you also need to mention the class in which the trademark has to be registered, the correct description of goods/services you are offering and the date from which you have been using the trademark. In case you plan to use the trademark in future, you need to file it on *proposed to be used* basis.

The above mentioned details are extremely crucial while filing an application for registration of a trademark and any oversight on these details may prove to be fatal in case there is any litigation in future.

Filing of a trademark application form is easy but the follow up is an extremely complicated task and it is always better to get your Trademark application through an IP attorneys specialising in trademark registration and brand protection.

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.

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How can I register a trademark internationally?

Trademark is the asset of individuals, and organizations which is protected independently in each nation therefore a trademark being registered in a country would still be a subject of violation in another country because it is not yet registered.

Trademark in Vietnam

Currently based on a trademark patent or a national trademark application, by filing an international application, the trademark owner shall acquire the right of trademark registration in some or all members of the Madrid system.

Trademarks are intangible assets, and can be bought, sold or licensed, making your company more valuable. However, you have to analyze your company to determine the value in seeking trademark protection in foreign countries. An experienced intellectual property attorney is the best person to speak to regarding this decision. There is a mechanism for obtaining a trademark in other countries: the Madrid Protocol.

Conditions of international registration under Madrid System

-People who have been granted the Certificate of Trademark Registration have the right to register their respective international trademarks under the Madrid Agreement;

-People who have already filed an application for registration of a trademark and who have been granted a certificate of registration of a trademark shall have the right to make an international registration of the mark corresponding to the Madrid Protocol.

To sum it up, you should first file for a trademark in your home country. From there, your country will forward it to WIPO. After WIPO examines it, and hopefully approve it, it will send you a certificate of your international registration and notify the IP Offices in all the territories where you seek trademark protection in. The last step is for those territories to make a decision within the time limit (12 or 18 months) in accordance with their own rules. WIPO will record the decisions of the IP Offices in the International Register and notify you when they are made. If a particular Office refuses to grant protection, you can contest a refusal decision directly before it. Conversely, if an IP Office accepts to protect your mark, it will issue a statement of grant of protection.

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How many trademarks can a single company have?

Trademark is a sign for consumers to identify the goods or services of each company from those of others. You can have as many trademarks as you wish!

Trademark in Vietnam 

However, there are some point to have in mind:

The registration of highly similar trademarks is a waste of time and money. The trademark is protected not only against the use of Identical marks, but also against the use of similar Marks. So if you use the trademark in three different colours, you should register only black-and-white trademark, as the protection will be given to all the colourful uses of the mark.

Review your trademark portfolio from time to time. Some trademark might not be relevant anymore. So you should not renew the marks and pay all the renewal or registration fees for such marks that no longer exists in the market.

The more different trademarks you own, the stronger competitive power you have. You can limit the possibility of your competitors to use in all the brand names and similar names that you have the registration. So the broader TM portfolio is, the less choices are left to the competitors. Also, if you lose one trademark later on, it will not be a tragic situations, because you will have other protected marks. However, if you have a single mark registered and someone cancels it, you will be in very unfavourable situation.

The trademark is registered only in a country where you filed the registration. Which means, if you have a US trademark, you still do not have any protection in the EU market. If you want to have protection in EU, you must file a new European application.

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International Trademark Registration Under Madrid Protocol/ Agreement

Trademark is the asset of individuals, and organizations which is protected independently in each nation therefore a trademark being registered in a country would still be a subject of violation in another country because it is not yet registered.

Currently based on a trademark patent or a national trademark application, by filing an international application, the trademark owner shall acquire the right of trademark registration in some or all members of the Madrid system.

With highly professional staff and great experience in intellectual property practice in Vietnam, ANT Lawyers would support the in registering your trademark under Madrid Protocol/ Agreement (Madrid System)

Conditions of international registration under Madrid System

People who have been granted the Certificate of Trademark Registration in Vietnam have the right to register their respective international trademarks under the Madrid Agreement;

People who have already filed an application for registration of a trademark in Vietnam and who have been granted a certificate of registration of a trademark in Vietnam shall have the right to make an international registration of the mark corresponding to the Madrid Protocol.

International registration application originating from Vietnam

An application for international registration of a mark designating a contracting party to the Madrid Agreement as a country to be registered and not designating any country member of the Madrid Protocol must be made in French.

An application for international registration of marks designating at least one member country of the Madrid Protocol, including the designation of a country party to the Madrid Agreement, must be made in English or French.

The declaration shall be as form provided by Vietnamese competent Authorities. The declaration shall designate the countries being parties of the Madrid Agreement (may simultaneously be a Member of the Madrid Protocol) and the country member of the Madrid Protocol to which the applicant wishes to apply for trademark protection.

The applicant shall ensure all information is accurate and in accordance with information in attached document.

International registration office for application from Vietnam

International application shall be filled at International Bureau through National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam

The date the National Office of Intellectual Property receives the application for international trademark registration shall be the date of the filing if the International Bureau receives the application within two months from the date of receipt. If the application is not completed for submission to the International Bureau within the above time limit, the date of receipt shall be the date of filing the application to the International Bureau.

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