Short answer. Trademark registration in Vietnam runs through the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP), takes approximately 24 to 28 months from filing to registration including a 5-month opposition window, and costs from roughly USD 189 per class in official and professional fees for a straightforward single-class filing. Once registered, protection runs for ten years from the filing date and is renewable indefinitely in further ten-year terms, subject to genuine use — a mark unused for five consecutive years becomes vulnerable to cancellation. The registration timeline is long enough that filing early, ideally before or immediately upon entering the Vietnamese market rather than after establishing a visible commercial presence, is a genuinely important piece of practical advice rather than a formality, since Vietnam operates on a first-to-file basis and a competitor filing first can create a real problem even for a brand with prior use elsewhere. For manufacturing or distribution arrangements, a properly documented licensing or IP-assignment structure between the foreign rights-holder and the Vietnamese operating entity is standard practice and worth setting up deliberately rather than leaving informal.
Registering a trademark: timeline and cost
Trademark applications in Vietnam are filed with and examined by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam (NOIP), and the full process — substantive examination, publication, a five-month third-party opposition window, and grant — typically takes approximately 24 to 28 months from filing to registration. Official and professional fees for a straightforward single-class filing typically start from around USD 189, with the grant fee due within three months of a favourable examination decision. Once registered, protection runs for ten years from the original filing date, renewable indefinitely in further ten-year terms provided the mark remains in genuine use — a mark left unused for five consecutive years becomes vulnerable to a third-party cancellation action.
Why filing early matters more than it seems to
Vietnam operates on a first-to-file trademark system, meaning the legal right to a mark generally belongs to whoever files first in Vietnam, not necessarily whoever used or registered it first elsewhere in the world. Combined with a registration timeline running close to two and a half years, this makes early filing — ideally before, or immediately upon, entering the Vietnamese market, rather than after building a visible commercial presence — a genuinely consequential piece of practical protection rather than a routine formality. A foreign brand that delays filing until after establishing local operations risks a domestic third party filing first, which can create a real and sometimes expensive dispute even where the foreign brand has clear prior use in other markets.
Licensing structures for manufacturing and distribution
Where a foreign investor manufactures or distributes branded goods through a Vietnamese operating entity — including a wholly foreign-owned subsidiary — a properly documented trademark licence or IP-assignment arrangement between the foreign rights-holder and the Vietnamese entity is standard, expected practice. This is not merely a formality: it establishes the legal basis on which the Vietnamese entity is permitted to use the mark, supports the transfer-pricing position on any associated royalty or licence fee, and provides a clearer enforcement position if the mark is infringed by a third party. Leaving this relationship undocumented is a common early-stage oversight that becomes materially harder, and sometimes more expensive, to correct retroactively once the business is already operating.
How long does trademark registration take in Vietnam?
Approximately 24 to 28 months from filing to registration, including a 5-month third-party opposition window — a materially longer timeline than in many other jurisdictions, which is why early filing is genuinely important.
Is Vietnam a first-to-file or first-to-use trademark jurisdiction?
First-to-file. The legal right to a mark generally belongs to whoever files first in Vietnam, regardless of prior use or registration elsewhere, making early local filing a priority rather than an afterthought.
How much does it cost to register a trademark in Vietnam?
Official and professional fees for a straightforward single-class filing typically start from around USD 189, with an additional grant fee due within three months of a favourable examination decision — costs scale with the number of classes filed.
How long does trademark protection last once registered?
Ten years from the original filing date, renewable indefinitely in further ten-year terms, provided the mark remains in genuine use — five consecutive years of non-use exposes the mark to a cancellation action.
Do we need a separate licensing agreement if our Vietnamese entity is wholly owned by the same parent that owns the trademark?
Generally yes — common ownership does not remove the need for a properly documented licence or assignment between the legal entities, and doing so supports both the IP protection position and the transfer-pricing position on any associated fee.
How does JMT Private & Partners assist with IP protection?
JMT coordinates trademark filing strategy and timing with IP specialist partners, and advises on structuring licensing arrangements between foreign rights-holders and Vietnamese operating entities, as part of its Business Related Advisory service line.
