A brand that has sold under its name for years elsewhere can arrive in Vietnam to find the mark, or something close enough to confuse a buyer, already registered to a local party. Vietnam runs on first-to-file, and reputation built in another market carries no weight here on its own. The filing has to happen before the launch, not alongside it.
Why first-to-file changes the order of operations
Whoever files the application first at Vietnam’s trademark office generally gets the registration, regardless of who used or built reputation in the mark first anywhere else in the world.
This is the single fact that should reorder a foreign brand’s checklist: trademark filing moves ahead of distributor selection, ahead of product registration, ahead of the first shipment. A distributor or a local party that files your mark’s name before you do can end up holding the registration, and un-picking that afterwards is a dispute, not a formality — it usually needs evidence of bad faith or of your own prior reputation in Vietnam specifically, neither of which is quick to assemble after the fact.
💬 Planning a Vietnam launch and have not filed the mark yet? Tell us the mark and the goods or services before you finalise a distributor — contact Sunsho Trade.
What changed on 1 April 2026
The Law on Intellectual Property amendment (Law No. 131/2025/QH15), passed by the National Assembly on 10 December 2025 and effective from 1 April 2026, shortened every stage of the trademark timeline the applicant does not control.
| Stage | Before | From 1 April 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Publication of the application | 2 months from acceptance | 1 month from acceptance |
| Opposition window | 5 months from publication | 3 months from publication |
| Substantive examination | Up to 9 months from publication | Up to 5 months from publication |
| Accelerated substantive examination | Not available as a standard track | Available on request and an additional fee, for marks already in use, marks facing an infringement threat, or other government-specified criteria |
Two other changes from the same amendment affect what a foreign brand can and cannot register. A mark containing a geographical indication or a national-origin element now risks refusal of the entire mark rather than a disclaimer limited to that element (Article 74.2.dd1) — relevant to any brand whose name references a place. And the National Office of Intellectual Property may now withdraw an issued registration where the application information turns out to be inaccurate or dishonest (Article 100.7), which raises the cost of a sloppy or padded specification of goods filed to save time.
Checked against the published summaries on 25 September 2026; implementing detail for the accelerated track sits in Decree 100/2026/ND-CP and its guiding circular, and had not fully settled by the date checked.
Who examines the application, and under what name
Trademark applications are examined by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam, the body renamed from Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam under Decision 156/QD-BKHCN of 3 March 2025, sitting within the Ministry of Science and Technology after that ministry absorbed the former Ministry of Information and Communications.
The name change followed the 2025 restructuring of Vietnam’s ministries rather than any change in the office’s function — filings, searches and examinations continue under the same office, the same application forms and the same fee schedule, just under the new name. Correspondence and certificates issued before the rename remain valid; nothing needs re-filing because of the name alone.
💬 We file and track trademark applications for foreign brands entering Vietnam as part of our Selling into Vietnam service — one point of contact for the mark, the product registration and the distributor file. Start with a search.
Filing direct, or designating Vietnam through Madrid
A brand can file a national application directly with the National Office of Intellectual Property, or designate Vietnam in an international application under the Madrid Protocol — the choice affects who prosecutes the case and how a refusal is handled, not the substantive rules the mark is judged against.
A direct national filing is handled by a Vietnamese IP agent, in Vietnamese, against the Vietnamese register from the start. A Madrid designation goes through the applicant’s home trademark office and WIPO, and Vietnam’s National Office examines the designation on the same substantive grounds as a national filing — first-to-file, distinctiveness, no conflict with an earlier mark — within the timeline above. Where the Vietnamese office issues a provisional refusal on a Madrid designation, responding to it still requires a Vietnamese IP agent, so the practical advantage of the Madrid route is administrative — one international filing covering Vietnam alongside other designated countries — not a lighter substantive review.
Whichever route is used, settle in writing who is doing the filing and in whose name, particularly where a local distributor is involved in the launch — our distributor agreement checklist covers why that has to be pinned down before, not after, the mark is filed.
Either route needs the same upfront decision: which Nice classes the goods or services actually fall into. A specification copied from another jurisdiction’s registration without checking Vietnam’s own class practice is a common cause of office actions, because class boundaries and accepted item descriptions are not identical across trademark offices.
Before you file — the search, and what it cannot promise
A clearance search against the Vietnamese register reduces the risk of filing into an existing right, but it is a risk-reduction step, not a guarantee, because a search cannot see an application filed the same week and not yet published.
| Check | What it tells you | What it does not tell you |
|---|---|---|
| Identical and near-identical mark search, same or related classes | Whether a conflicting registration or published application already exists | Whether an application was filed very recently and has not yet appeared in the searchable record |
| Class coverage of any conflicting result | Whether the existing right covers your goods or a related category | Whether the existing holder actually uses the mark, which matters only in a later non-use cancellation, not at filing |
| Word and device elements separately | Whether a logo or a word mark alone would clear even if the combination would not | Whether the combined mark, once filed, will be treated as confusingly similar to either element alone |
A clean search result is the point to file, not the point to relax — the gap between search and filing is exactly the window a first-to-file system exposes you to. The exposure is not limited to physical retail either: a storefront trading under an unregistered mark on a marketplace platform carries the same risk, a point our note on selling into Vietnam through e-commerce comes back to.
💬 A search that misses a same-week filing is a known limit of the system, not a mistake in the search. File as soon as the search is clean — we can turn a Vietnam filing around quickly once the mark and classes are settled. Tell us what you are registering.
Customs recordation — separate from the registration, and worth doing anyway
Holding a Vietnamese trademark registration does not by itself stop counterfeit goods at the border — that requires a separate customs recordation, currently filed under Circular 06/2026/TT-BTC, effective from 1 March 2026.
Circular 06/2026 simplified the recordal dossier and recognised electronic verification of the underlying IP right, which shortened the paperwork a rights holder assembles to record a mark with Customs. Recordation gives Customs a reference file to check imports and exports against, and it is what makes an ex officio suspension of a suspected counterfeit shipment practical rather than dependent on the rights holder spotting the shipment itself.
A further round of change is coming from the customs side rather than the trademark side. The National Assembly passed amendments to the Customs Law on 23 August 2026, effective from 1 March 2027, which move recordal filing to a regional customs authority convenient to the applicant, cut the review period to 10 working days, and bring goods in transit within customs IP controls for the first time — previously transit goods sat outside the recordal system entirely. Whether a single regional recordal will have nationwide effect, and how a rights holder requests suspension of a transit shipment, is left to implementing regulations not yet published as of the date checked.
Frequently asked questions
1. We have sold under this brand name for ten years elsewhere. Does that protect us in Vietnam?
Not on its own. Vietnam’s first-to-file principle gives the registration to whoever files first, regardless of prior use elsewhere. Overturning a bad-faith filing by a third party is possible but requires evidence and time neither of which substitutes for filing before launch.
2. Should we file directly in Vietnam or designate Vietnam through Madrid?
Both reach the same substantive examination at the National Office of Intellectual Property, on the same timeline. A Madrid designation is administratively lighter if you are already filing an international application for other countries; a direct filing is more straightforward if Vietnam is a standalone filing.
3. How long does trademark registration take in Vietnam now?
From 1 April 2026, publication runs 1 month from acceptance, the opposition window is 3 months from publication, and substantive examination runs up to 5 months from publication, with an accelerated track available for qualifying applications on request and an additional fee. These are statutory maximums, not guaranteed durations.
4. Does our brand name being a place name cause a problem?
It can. Article 74.2.dd1, from the amendment effective 1 April 2026, allows refusal of the entire mark where it contains a geographical or national-origin element, rather than limiting the refusal to that element through a disclaimer as before.
5. Is trademark registration the same thing as customs protection against counterfeits?
No. Registration establishes the right. Stopping counterfeit imports or exports at the border requires a separate customs recordation, currently under Circular 06/2026/TT-BTC, which gives Customs a reference file to check shipments against.
Sources: National Assembly of Vietnam (Law No. 131/2025/QH15, passed 10 December 2025), Ministry of Science and Technology (Decision 156/QD-BKHCN, 3 March 2025), and published summaries of Decree 100/2026/ND-CP, Circular 06/2026/TT-BTC and the Customs Law amendments passed 23 August 2026. Requirements and timelines change as implementing regulations are published; confirm the current text before you rely on it. Not legal advice. Checked on 25 September 2026.