Request for Termination of Effectiveness of the "Fix On" Trademark Registration Denied

On September 12, 2023, XXX Co., Ltd. filed application No. DNI-2023-00204 with the Intellectual Property Office of Viet Nam (IP Viet Nam), requesting the termination of effectiveness of Trademark Registration Certificate No. 208863 for the trademark “Fix On” (issued on July 16, 2013) in respect of goods in Class 03 and Class 05. The grounds for the request were that the trademark had not been used by the owner or any person authorized by the owner for a continuous period of five years prior to the date of the request for termination, pursuant to Article 95(1)(d) of the Intellectual Property Law. To support its claim, the requester (the petitioner) submitted Market Research Report No. 50-OI/VKTTC-TTGC-CVNH dated September 07, 2023, conducted by the Institute of Financial Economics under the Academy of Finance, Ministry of Finance.

Acting as the authorized legal representative of the trademark owner (the respondent), Pham & Associates Law Firm rebutted the aforementioned allegations by submitting evidence of actual trademark use in Viet Nam to IP Viet Nam, including:

• Commercial Presence: The trademark owner, a Thai legal entity, distributed products bearing the “Fix On” trademark in several national markets, including Viet Nam, through its affiliate, Siampoolsup Inter-Chemical Co., Ltd.

• Import and Export Documentation: Commercial Invoice No. SP005/2023 dated January 26, 2023, the customs clearance import declaration dated March 17, 2023, and the export declaration dated March 29, 2023, demonstrated that 12 cartons of products bearing the “Fix On” trademark had been imported into Viet Nam.

• Actual Commercial Activities: Products bearing the “Fix On” trademark had been distributed, advertised, and commercialized in Viet Nam by King's Stella Group (Vietnam) Co., Ltd. since early 2023, most notably at the Thailand Trade Fair held in Can Tho City on March 31, 2023.

Following a comprehensive review and assessment of the evidence submitted by the respondent, IP Viet Nam concluded that the petitioner's request for termination was groundless. Consequently, IP Viet Nam issued Official Notice No. 133046/TB-SHTT.Ip dated September 03, 2025, denying the request for termination. The petitioner reserves the right to appeal the aforementioned notice within the statutory 90-day time limit./.