VietNamNet Bridge – Viet Nam News reporter To Nhu asked three intellectual property experts about the best ways to stop copyright violations following a number of recent infringements by foreign firms.

* Tran Huu Nam, deputy director of the Viet Nam Intellectual Property Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology

There are some similarities between the Law on Intellectual Property Rights among different countries, particularly the principle of "the first to file and first to use". However, the law also says that in case the person or organisation that owns the trademark is not the applicant to file for that disputed trade mark, then the former may still secure legal ownership of the trademark. China has a similar article to protect the ‘natural owner' of the trademark. So in the case of the Buon Ma Thuot coffee trademark which has been used by Chinese claimants, we may still be able to take the trademark back successfully.

A case in point was our success in using negotiations to win back the Ben Tre coconut sweets trademark which had been used by companies in China.

According to statistics from our office, at present Viet Nam has nearly 800 agricultural products and village craft products with well established reputations. Many of these products have been registered for geographical indications (GIs) or trademarks for protection.

However, among these products only Phu Quoc fish sauce has filed for international protection with the European Commission.

In my opinion, to protect intellectual property rights, the first thing that producers or manufacturers should think about is to file for their IP rights protection abroad.

There are several ways to file for this type of protection. For an organisation, you can register the trademark using the Madrid System, of which Viet Nam is a member. The procedures are very simple, the applicant sends a request to the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO). If your application is accepted, the product will be protected in the markets of all WIPO members.

* Le Quang Vinh, director of Intellectual Property Department at Bross anh Partners

Le Quang Vinh.

In the case of Viet Nam's Buon Ma Thuot coffee, it was registered for geographical indication protection in the country only, not internationally. Meanwhile, China has registered the trademark Buon Ma Thuot coffee internationally. What China has done is totally in accordance with Article 10 of Chinese IP rights: "The geographical names at the administrative divisions at or above the country level and foreign geographical names well known to the public shall not be used as trademarks, but such geographical terms as have otherwise meanings or are a part of collective trademarks or have certification shall be exclusive. Where a trade mark using any of the above mentioned geographical names has been approved and registered it shall continue to be valid."

But in this case, in my opinion, Buon Ma Thuot is a well-known name of a locality in the Central Highlands of Viet Nam. Yet, possibly, the trademark or the name of Buon Ma Thuot is not well-known in China.

The issue here is totally related to trade. So in my opinion, it should be settled through trade negotiations, not diplomatic negotiations. Giving up a trademark is a normal practice. Even in the US, they have to cancel hundreds of trademarks a year. China is no exception.

What I want to emphasise here is that there are many similarities between our IP law and that of China.

Under the IP law of either Viet Nam or China, such a dispute should be settled through the administrative channel.

According to the administrative procedures, the relevant person will ask the Chinese Trademark Office to cancel such a trademark by submitting all required legal evidence and judicial background.

In this case, it is my advice that we should not take the case to court. Though the court fee is not high – it would not be over $10,000, it would take from 2 to 3 years to settle.

* Le The Bao, President of the Viet Nam Association for Anti-Counterfeiting and Trademark Protection

The issue here is not simply the registration of the trademark. Following
the registration, the owner must continue to take action to protect it and keep its value. So it is imperative that the Government invest in trademark protection.

It should be recalled that the issue of trademarks has been a matter of concern for Viet Nam over the past 10 years. In the field of agriculture, trademark protection remains very weak, when compared to sectors such as industry and services.

We have to concede that agriculture – our primary industry is not yet fully fledged. Production is scattered here and there while craft associations are weak. As a result, trademark registration for agricultural products have not been properly taken care of.

I don't think an individual farmer can register for a trademark for their own products. It is time for us to raise their awareness on the importance of trademark registration for protection. Of course, relevant agencies should join hands to work on this and to help make IP rights become a component in the national strategy for economic restructure. Looking further than that, we should come up with strategic principles in the establishment of future criteria for the nation's agriculture products.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News