Legal regulations on associated trademarks

1. Regulations on associated trademarks:

According to Clause 19, Article 4 of the Intellectual Property Law, a subject registers a group of identical or similar trademarks for products or services of the same or similar type or related to each other, called trademarks. link signal.

Normally, identical or similar products and services of the same type will be a condition to refuse trademark protection, however, there is an exception to the condition of trademark protection which is associated trademarks.

2. Distinctiveness of the associated mark:

An associated mark is considered distinctive if it is made up of one or several easily recognizable and recognizable elements or from many elements combined into a whole that is easy to remember and recognizable and does not belong to Inability to differentiate.

According to Clause 2, Article 74 of the Intellectual Property Law, signs for trademarks that are considered indistinguishable are specified as follows:

- Many people know, have been widely and regularly used as common names in any language of goods, services or drawings, conventional symbols, signs.

- Letters, numbers, words in uncommon languages, shapes and simple geometries, except in cases where the name of a mark with words or shapes has been widely used and recognized.

- Descriptive of goods and services when using signs indicating location, time, quality, quantity, use, composition, nature, type, production method, value or other characteristics. distinctiveness, except in cases where before the time of filing the trademark registration application, through the process of using the sign, distinctiveness has been achieved.

- Signs indicating the geographical origin of services or goods, except in the case of a trademark with signs of geographical origin that is widely recognized and used or a certification mark according to law or registered. signed as a collective trademark.

- Signs describing the business field and legal form of the business entity.

- Signs identical or similar to another person's trademark have been used to the point of confusion and identical or similar goods or services are widely recognized before the priority date in case the application enjoys priority rights. first or date of application.

- Signs that are not affiliated trademarks are identical or confusingly similar to trademarks that have been registered for identical or similar goods or services on the basis of applications with filing dates or priority dates. earlier in case the registration application enjoys priority rights, including trademark registration applications filed under international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member.

- The use of a sign may cause consumers to misunderstand the geographical origin of the goods when the sign is identical or similar to a protected geographical indication.

- Signs that are identical or similar to another person's trademark registered for goods or services that are identical or confusingly similar but whose trademark registration has been invalidated for no more than five years, except in cases where Because the trademark is not used, its validity is terminated according to the provisions of the Intellectual Property Law.

- Based on the industrial design registration application having a filing date or priority date earlier than the application filing date, the priority date of the trademark registration application shows signs of being identical or not significantly different from the industrial design. another person's business is protected.

- The use of a sign can cause confusion for consumers about the origin of goods or services when the sign is identical or similar to the trade name being used by someone else.

- Trademark registration is intended to take advantage of the reputation of a famous mark or the use of signs may affect the distinctiveness of a famous mark when the sign is identical or similar to the registered mark. considered famous by another person, registering for goods or services that are not similar or registering for goods or services that are identical or similar to goods or services bearing a famous mark to the point of causing confusion.

- Registration of signs for use on wines and spirits that do not originate from the geographical area bearing the geographical indication when the sign is translated or transliterated from the protected geographical indication. for wines, spirits or containing geographical indications or identical to geographical indications.

So, nAffiliated trademarks are identical or similar trademarks used for the same or similar or related products or services. Joint trademarks are registered by the same entity.

Examples of associated brands include:

• Vingroup has registered associated trademarks for brands owned by the group such as Vinmec, Vinhomes, Vincom Retail, Vinpearl Golf, VinDs...;
• Japanese automobile manufacturing group Toyota with affiliated brands such as Toyota Corolla, Toyota Celica, Toyota Celica, Toyota Avalon...

Characteristics of associated marks

• Trademarks registered by the same entity (ie the same owner);
• Trademarks must satisfy the condition of having identical or similar signs, then two cases will occur:
• 1. The trademark has signs identical or similar to a previously registered trademark;
  2. Trademarks are not identical or similar, but they are used for goods and services that are related and similar in features and uses...