Geographical Indications

  • Definition

    Geographical indication means a sign which identifies a product as originating from a specific region, locality, territory or country. 
    Reputation of products bearing a geographical indication shall be determined on the basis of consumers’ trust in such products through the extent of their being widely known to and selected by consumers.
    Geographical conditions relevant to a geographical indication mean natural and human factors decisive to reputation, quality and characteristics of products bearing such geographical indication include: Natural factors (climatic, hydrological, geological, topographical and ecological factors and other natural conditions); Human factors (skills and expertise of producers, and traditional production processes of localities).
    Quality and characteristics of products bearing a geographical indication shall be defined by one or several qualitative, quantitative or physically, chemically, microbiologically perceptible criteria which can be tested by technical means or experts with appropriate testing methods.
    Geographical areas bearing geographical indications shall have their boundaries accurately determined in words and maps.

    Right to register geographical indications

    The right to register Vietnamese geographical indications belongs to the State.
    The State allows organizations and individuals producing products bearing geographical indications, collective organizations representing such organizations or individuals or administrative management agencies of localities to which such geographical indications pertain to exercise the right to register such geographical indications. 
    Persons who exercise the right to register geographical indications shall not become owners of such geographical indications.

    Ownership and management of geographical indications

    The owner of Vietnam’s geographical indications is the State.
    The State shall directly exercise the right to manage geographical indications or grant that right to organizations representing the interests of all organizations or individuals granted with the right to use geographical indications.

    The right to use geographical indications

    The State shall grant the right to use geographical indications to organizations or individuals that turn out products bearing such geographical indications in relevant localities and put such products on the market. 

    Use of a geographical indication means the performance of the following acts:

    Affixing the protected geographical indication on goods or goods packages, means of business and transaction documents in business activities;
    Circulating, offering, advertising for sale or stocking for sale goods bearing the protected geographical indication;
    Importing goods bearing the protected geographical indication.

    General conditions for geographical indications eligible for protection

    1. A geographical indication shall be protected when it satisfies the following conditions:
    a) The product bearing the geographical indication originates from the area, locality, territory or country corresponding to such geographical indication;
    b) The product bearing the geographical indication has a reputation, quality or characteristics mainly attributable to geographical conditions of the area, locality, territory or country corresponding to such geographical indication.
    2. Subject matters not protected as geographical indications:
    a) Names or indications which have become generic names of goods in Vietnam;
    b) Geographical indications of foreign countries where they are not or no longer protected or no longer used;
    c) Geographical indications identical with or similar to a protected mark, where the use of such geographical indications is likely to cause a confusion as to the origin of products;
    d) Geographical indications which mislead consumers as to the true geographical origin of products bearing such geographical indications.

  • 1. Minimum documents

    - 02 Declaration for registration which are typed according to form No. 05-CDĐL Appendix A of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN;
    - The description of peculiar characteristics and quality, or reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication;
    - The map of the geographical area bearing the geographical indication;
    - Fee and charge receipts.

    2. Other documents (if any)

    - Power of attorney (in case the request is filed through a representative);
    - Documents certifying the permission to use special signs (if the geographical indication contains emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names or full names of Vietnamese state agencies/ organizations or international organizations, etc.);
    - Paper of the right to file an application;
    - Documents certifying the lawful right of registration (in case the applicant enjoys the right to file from another person);
    - Documents evidencing the right of priority (if the patent application has a claim for priority right).

    3. General requirements for industrial property (IP) registration applications

    - Each application can request grant of one protection title which is of a type suitable to the geographical indication stated in the application;
    - All documents of the application must be in Vietnamese. For documents that are allowed to made in another language according to the provisions of Points 7.3 and 7.4 of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN must be translated into Vietnamese;
    - All documents of the application must be presented in the portrait format (particularly, drawings, figures, charts and tables may be presented landscape) on A4 paper sheets (210 mm x 297 mm), of which the top, bottom, left and right margins are all 20 mm, in Times New Roman font, text is not smaller than size 13, except for accompanied documents originally not intended to be included in the application;
    - For documents that must be made according to pre-designed forms, those forms shall be used with all necessary information filled in appropriate sections;
    - A document consisting of many pages must have page numbers in Arabic;
    - All documents must be typewritten or printed with a non-fading ink, clear and clean, and free from erasures and modifications; if detecting any negligible spelling error in a document submitted to the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IPVN), the applicant may correct such error but shall append his/her signature of certification (and a seal, if any) at the corrected words;
    - Terms used in the application must be common ones (other than dialects, rare words, coined words). Symbols, units of measurement, electronic fonts and spelling rules used in the application must conform to Vietnam standards;
    - The application may be accompanied with carriers of electronic data of part or the entire content of its documents.

    4. Fees and charges for geographical indication registration

    - Official charges for filing application: VND 150,000/ 01 application;
    - Fee for publication of application: VND 120,000/ 01 application;
    - Fee for the geographical indication search for the substantive examination process: VND 180,000/ 01 group of goods or services;
    - Fee for formality examination: VND 1,200,000/ 01 group of goods or services;

    5. Time limit for processing geographical indication registration applications

    From the date on which the registration application is received by the IPVN, the registration application of a geographical indication shall be examined in the following order:
    - A geographical indication registration application shall have its formality examination within 01 month from the filing date;
    - Publication of geographical indication registration applications: A geographical indication registration application shall be published within 02 months after it is accepted as a valid application;
    - An industrial property registration application shall be substantively examined within 06 months from the date of application publication.

    6. Methods of filing application 

    The applicant may choose paper filing or online filing through the IPVN's online public service portal, specifically as follows:

    a) Paper filing

    The applicant may submit an application for a geographical indication directly or via postal service to one of the IPVN's application receiving places, specifically as follows:
    - Head Office of IPVN, address: 386 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi city.
    - Representative Office of IPVN in Ho Chi Minh city, address: 7th Floor, Ha Phan Building, 17/19 Ton That Tung, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city.
    - Representative Office of IPVN in Da Nang city, address: 3rd floor, 135 Minh Mang, Khue My ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city.
    In case of filing an application for a geographical indication by post, the application charges/ fees must be transferred by postal service, and then a copy of the Money Transfer Receipt must be attached to application and send to one of the above-mentioned IPVN’s office to prove the amount paid.
    (Note: If the fee or charge is transferred to one of the above-mentioned IPVN's application-receiving places, the applicant must send the dossier to the corresponding application-receiving point).

    b) Online filing

    - Conditions for online filing: Applicants need to have a digital certificate, a digital signature and a registed account which is approved by the IPVNon the Online Application Receiving System.
    - Online filing: 
    + The applicant needs to complete the steps of filing a geographical indication application form on the IPVN's Online Application Receiving System. After that, a confirmation of online submission will be sent to the applicant.
    + The confirmation of online submission must be presented to one of the IPVN's office and the applicant needs to attached documents (if any) and pay fees/ charges as prescribed within 01 month from the date of online submission. 
    + If all documents and fees/ charges mentioned above are fully submitted as prescribed, an IPVN’s officer will issue the application number in the Online Application Receipt System.
    If one of the documents and fees/ charges is not fully submitted, the application will be denied. 
    In the event that the applicant fails to complete the prescribed application procedure, the online application procedure will be canceled and the Online Application Cancellation Notice will be sent to the applicant via the Online Application Receiving System.

    Application form:

    Declaration for registration of a geographical indication 
    Form No. 05-CDĐL Appendix A of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2016.

     

  • Procedure for amendment of geographical indication applications

    - Before the IPVN issues decisions on rejection of an application, decisions on refusal to grant a protection title or decisions on the grant of a protection title, the applicant may amend of the application on his/her own initiative or upon the request of the IPVN.
    - A request for application amendments includes:
    (i) 02 declarations requesting application amendments which are typed according to form No. 01-SĐĐ Appendix B of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN;
    (ii) Documents certifying the change of the application [In response to a request for amendment or supplementation of the geographical indication registration applications, the applicant shall submit amended or supplemented copies of documents enclosed with a detailed written explanation of the amended contents as compared with the initially submitted documents, specifically: a description of the nature/ quality/ reputation of the product and a map of geographical area subject to the geographical indication. The amendment of an application must not expand the protection coverage (or increase the protection volume) beyond the contents disclosed in the application];
    (iii) Power of attorney (in case the request is filed through a representative);
    (iv) Fee for application amendments request (VND 160,000/ 01 content of the request) and the fee for publication (VND 120,000/ 01 request for application amendments in case the application has been accepted as a valid application).
    - An application amendments request is filed after the IPVN issues Notification of intended grant of certificates and pay fees, charges in case the amendment of information related to the nature of the object stated in the application (specifically, a description of the nature/ quality/ reputation of the product and a map of geographical area subject to the geographical indication), the application must be re-examinationand the fee for substantive re-examination is calculated (VND 1,200,000).
    - The time limit for processing a dossier for registration of a geographical indication application amendments request is 02 months.
    - Methods of filing application
    The applicant may choose paper filing or online filing through the IPVN's online public service portal, specifically as follows:

    (i) Paper filing

    The applicant may submit a request for application amendments directly or via postal service to one of the IPVN's application receiving places, specifically as follows:
    - Head Office of IPVN, address: 386 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi city.
    - Representative Office of IPVN in Ho Chi Minh city, address: 7th Floor, Ha Phan Building, 17/19 Ton That Tung, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh city.
    - Representative Office of IPVN in Da Nang city, address: 3rd floor, 135 Minh Mang, Khue My ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang city.
    In case of filing arequest for application amendments by post, the application charges/ fees must be transferred by postal service, then a copy of the Money Transfer Receipt must be attached to application and send to one of the above-mentioned IPVN’s office to prove the amount paid.
    (Note: If the fee or charge is transferred to one of the above-mentioned IPVN's application-receiving places, the applicant must send the dossier to the corresponding application-receiving point).

     

    (ii) Online filing
    - Conditions for online filing: Applicants need to have a digital certificate, a digital signature and a registed account which is approved by the IPVN on the Online Application Receiving System.
    - Online filing: 
    + The applicant need to complete the steps of filing arequest for application amendments on the IPVN's Online Application Receiving System. After that, a confirmation of online submission will be sent to the applicant. 
    + The confirmation of online submission must be presented to one of the IPVN's office and the applicant needs to attached documents (if any) and pay fees/ charges as prescribed within 01 month from the date of online submission. 
    + If all documents and fees/ charges mentioned above are fully submitted as prescribed, an IPVN’s officer will issue the application number in the Online Application Receipt System.
    If one of the documents and fees/ charges is not fully submitted, the application will be denied. 
    In the event that the applicant fails to complete the prescribed application procedure, the online application procedure will be canceled and the Online Application Cancellation Notice will be sent to the applicant via the Online Application Receiving System.

    Application form:

    Declaration for amendment of geographical indication applications 

    Form No. 01-SĐĐ Appendix B of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2016.

  • General provisions on amendment or change of holders of protection titles
    Modification of the description of the nature/ quality/ reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication, the map of the geographical area subject to the geographical indication, and regulations on the use of collective or certification marks.
    - A written request for amendment of protection titles comprises the following documents:
    + Written declaration requesting amendment of the protection title made according to a set form 01-SĐVB Appendix C of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN;
    + Original protection title;
    + Documents certifying the change of the name or address (the originals or notarized copies of the decision on rename or change of address; the business registration certificate that records the name or address change; other documents of legal validity evidencing the name or address change) in case the content requested to be modified is such name or address;
    + Documents evidencing the inheritance, succession, merger, separation, joint venture, association, establishment of a new legal entity under the same owner, transformation of business operation, or under a decision of a competent state agency;
    + Documents explaining in detail the modified contents;
    + 02 descriptions of peculiar characteristics and quality, or reputation of the product bearing the geographical indication;
    + Power of attorney (if the request is filed through a representative);
    + A copy of the receipt of fees and charges as prescribed;
    + Other documents (if necessary).
    - The time limit: IPVN shall examine the requests for amendment of protection titles within 02 months from the date of receipt of the request.
    In case of narrowing of the protection coverage, a re-examination must be conducted. Re-examination time limit: for geographical indications not exceeding 04 months.
    In complicated cases, the time limit for re-examination must be extended. However, it must not exceed the time limit for examination of applications for establishment of rights.
    - Result: If the request is considered valid, the IPVN shall issue a decision on amendment of the protection title, register and publish it in the Industrial Property Official Gazette. If the request is considered invalid, the IPVN shall issue a decision on its rejection of the request for protection title amendment.
    Return (if any) the certificate that have been recorded for amendment to the owner.
    - Fees and charges:
    + Fee for examination request for amendment or change of holders of protection titles: VND 160,000/ 01 protection title;
    + Fee for publication of decision of amendment or change of holders of protection titles: VND 120,000/ 01 request;
    + Fee for recording decision of amendment or change of holders of protection titles into the National Register of Industrial Property: VND 120,000/ protection title.

    Application form:

    Declaration For Amendment/ Renewal/ Maintenance Of Validity/ Duplicates/ Reissue/ Termination/ Invalidation Of Validity Of Protection Titles 

    Form 01-SĐVB Appendix C of Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN of June 30, 2016.