VietNamNet Bridge – “Vinacafe” is the name the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation used in the transactions with the partners. Meanwhile, Vinacafé Bien Hoa Company affirms that Vinacafe is a brand of its products.

Doan Dinh Thiem, Chair of the Board of Directors of Vinacafe, is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Vinacafé Bien Hoa.

The dispute relating to the ownership of the well-known brand “Vinacafe” has been raised when two coffee companies affirm that “Vinacafe” is a brand of their own.

The Vietnam National Coffee Corporation (Vinacafe) is now a big shareholder of Vinacafé Bien Hoa. Meanwhile, Doan Dinh Thiem, Chair of the Board of Directors of Vinacafe, is also the Chair of the Board of Directors of Vinacafé Bien Hoa.

The Vietnam National Coffee Corporation was established in 1995, while it turned into the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation single-member limited company in 2010, or Vinacafe for short.

Thiem said the corporation now comprises of 58 subsidiaries, the name of each of which has the word “Vinacafe.” A subsidiary of Vinacafe in Phu Yen province, for example, bears the name “Vinacafe Son Thanh,” while the subsidiary in Da Nang bears the name “Vinacafe Da Nang.”

As such, “Vinacafe” is the name of enterprises, which is the legal name for the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation and its subsidiaries.

However, Nguyen Thanh Tung, Deputy General Director of Vinacafé Bien Hoa, affirmed that “Vinacafé” is a trademark of products recognized in 1993 by the intellectual property office, and that “Vinacafé” is the asset belonging to the Bien Hoa Coffee Company, or Vinacafé Bien Hoa.

“Vinacafe has become a well-known trademark. In consumers’ thoughts, Vinacafe reminds consumers of our products,” Tung said, adding that the misuse of “Vinacafe” would lead to misunderstanding, thus affecting the “Vinacafe” brand and Vinacafé Bien Hoa as well.

Meanwhile, according to Thiem, the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation registered its name “Vinacafe” in vertical letters, while Vinacafé Bien Hoa registered the trademark “Vinacafé” in italic letter with acute accent on the last letter “é.”

Therefore, Thiem believes that when the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation uses the name “Vinacafe”, this would in no way affect Vinacafé Bien Hoa’s trademark.

Also according to Thiem, Vinacafé Bien Hoa is a subsidiary of Vinacafe which was set up after the equitization of the coffee plant in Bien Hoa City in 2004. At that time, Vinacafe held 51 percent of Vinacafé Bien Hoa’s stakes, while the proportion has reduced to 37 percent.

Pham Dinh Chuong, former Head of the National Office for Intellectual Property NOIP, said in case of the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation, Vinacafe is understood as a trade name, while in case of Vinacafé Bien Hoa, this is a trade mark of products.

Chuong said if Vinacafé Bien Hoa, which registered the trademark “Vinacafé” in 1993 and wants the Vietnam National Coffee Corporation to stop using the name “Vinacafe”, it has to prove that the corporation’s name appeared prior to 1993 or after the year.

“If Vinacafé Bien Hoa can prove that its “Vinacafé” trademarks came out before the appearance of “Vinacafe”, it has the right to ask the national coffee corporation to use another name instead of “Vinacafe,”” Chuong said, adding that the Intellectual Property Law does not consider the style of letters, but the spelling of the names.

Meanwhile, Doan Trieu Nhan, former General Director of Vinacafe, affirmed that the name “Vinacafe” was registered at the NOIP in 1982 already. The name was used in many transactions between the national coffee corporation and the import-export companies from the then Soviet Union.

GDVN