When you find counterfeits of your product in Vietnam, do not confront the seller first: secure evidence through a documented test purchase, confirm the goods are fake, check that your trademark registration covers them, then take the file to the appropriate enforcement authority or a licensed IP lawyer. Speed matters, but so does sequence. A hasty phone call to the shop can make the stock and the supplier vanish.
This plan is written for foreign brand owners, regional managers and distributors who have just seen fakes on a market stall, in a shopping mall or on a marketplace listing. It explains what to do in the first days, how to trace the goods upstream, and how to keep the problem from returning. It is general information, not legal advice. Authority names and procedures were reorganised during 2025, so check current arrangements with a licensed Vietnamese lawyer before filing anything.
The first week: a step-by-step response
The aim of the first week is to turn a sighting into usable evidence without alerting the people behind the goods. Most of these steps can be organised remotely through a local representative.
- Record the sighting. Note the exact address, stall or shop name as it appears to customers, date and time, and take photographs of the shelf or display from a public place. For online listings, save the page and the seller profile with dates.
- Make a test purchase. Buy a small quantity as an ordinary customer, keep the receipt or invoice, and record the purchase. Larger purchases or questions about bulk supply are better left to a professional investigator, since they can raise suspicion.
- Confirm the goods are fake. Have your product team examine the sample against genuine stock and write a short comparison: materials, batch codes, packaging, security features. Keep the sample sealed and labelled internally with the purchase details.
- Check your rights. Confirm that your Vietnamese trademark registration is in force and covers the product category. If the fake copies a design or packaging, check whether you also hold industrial design rights or copyright you can rely on.
- Assess scale. Is this one shop or many? Search marketplaces and social media for the same product, and ask your distributor whether sales have dropped in particular provinces.
- Decide the route and the authority. With your lawyer, choose between a warning letter, an administrative complaint, a criminal report or a civil claim, and identify which authority covers the location.
- Lodge the request. File a written request with evidence, a power of attorney and genuine samples, and be ready to send someone to help identify goods if the authority conducts an inspection.
Do not skip the comparison step. Enforcement officers need a quick, reliable way to tell genuine from fake on the spot, and a one-page guide with photographs, prepared in Vietnamese, often decides whether a raid seizes the right goods.
Counterfeit or merely infringing? Why the label matters
Vietnamese law draws a distinction that affects which authority acts and how seriously it treats the case. Goods carrying a mark that is identical to your registered trademark, or so close it cannot be told apart, on the same type of product, are treated as counterfeit trademark goods. Goods that use a confusingly similar but distinguishable mark, or a similar name on related products, are generally treated as infringing goods rather than counterfeits.
The difference matters in three ways. Counterfeits attract heavier administrative penalties and are the main target of criminal provisions, while lookalike branding is more often resolved administratively or through a civil claim. Counterfeits are also easier for front-line officers to recognise, since the question is simply whether the product is genuine. And for lookalikes, an expert assessment on similarity and likelihood of confusion is often needed before any authority will act.
Vietnamese law also uses the broader concept of counterfeit goods for products that are fake in substance, such as goods with no or far lower useful value than declared, or fake medicines and foods, regardless of trademarks. If your fake product is also unsafe, for example a counterfeit cosmetic, spare part or supplement, mention this clearly in your request. Health and safety risks move a file up the queue and can bring additional authorities into the case.
Mapping the supply chain behind the shelf
Retailers are rarely the source. Market stalls and small shops usually buy from a wholesaler, and raiding them alone removes a few items while the supply continues. Ask your investigator to identify where the retailer restocks, how often, and whether the goods arrive by courier, by truck or from a nearby warehouse.
Wholesale clusters are predictable. In large cities, counterfeit goods tend to concentrate in certain wholesale areas and storage districts near transport hubs. Brand owners who have enforced in Vietnam for years build up knowledge of these patterns, and a local investigator can usually say quickly whether a product is likely made locally or imported.
Imports versus local production change the plan. If the goods come across a land border or through a port, customs measures and a recordal of your rights become important. If they are produced or assembled locally, the target is the workshop, and the economic police or market surveillance may need to coordinate an inspection of the production site.
Online sellers often have physical stock. Many social media and marketplace sellers ship from a home warehouse or a rented room. Order details, return addresses and courier information can help locate them, though investigators must stay within the law and avoid deceptive collection of personal data.
Write down what you learn. Keep a simple file per target: names, addresses, dates, purchases and photographs. When you approach an authority, a clear map of the chain is far more persuasive than a single receipt from one shop.
Matching the problem to the authority
Which body you approach depends on where the goods are and what kind of infringement you face. The structure of several enforcement bodies changed in the 2025 restructuring, so treat the right-hand column as a guide and confirm the current contact with your lawyer.
| Situation | Usual first stop | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Fakes in shops and markets | Market surveillance officers under the Ministry of Industry and Trade | Inspection, seizure and fines; works best with a clear identification guide |
| Workshop or warehouse producing fakes | Economic police, often together with market surveillance | Coordinated raid; possible criminal case if thresholds are met |
| Goods entering or leaving through a border gate or port | Customs, based on a recordal and a request for supervision | Suspension of clearance while you confirm infringement |
| Online listings and social media shops | The platform first, then market surveillance or police | Takedowns are quick; physical stock needs an offline action |
| Lookalike brand used openly by a competitor | Lawyer's letter, then administrative request or civil claim | Expert assessment on similarity is often needed |
Whichever authority you approach, stay involved. Officers may ask for a representative to attend an inspection, confirm identification on the spot, or provide more samples. A brand owner who answers quickly gets better results.
Mistakes that weaken a counterfeit case
Foreign brand owners tend to make the same handful of errors in the first weeks. Each of them is easy to avoid once you know it, and each can cost months of work if it slips through.
- Buying without proof. A fake bought with no receipt, no record of the address and no photographs is a souvenir, not evidence. Every purchase should be traceable to a seller, a place and a date.
- Relying on an expired or narrow registration. Officers check the certificate first. If protection lapsed or the mark is registered only for unrelated goods, the request will stall while you fix it.
- Sending documents in English only. Requests, comparison guides and powers of attorney need Vietnamese versions. Translations made in a hurry after the authority asks for them delay the whole file.
- Over-claiming in public. Posting that a named shop sells fakes before any finding invites a defamation complaint and gives the seller a story to tell.
- Treating one raid as a solution. Without monitoring afterwards, the same goods often return within weeks, and the earlier effort is wasted.
- Ignoring your own distributors. Counterfeits sometimes enter through authorised channels, mixed in with genuine stock. Check your own supply chain before assuming the problem is entirely outside it.
After the raid: follow-up that prevents a quick return
Seizure is not the end of the file. Ask for a copy of the inspection record and later the decision on penalties, which you can use as evidence of bad faith if the same person infringes again. Check that seized goods are destroyed or have the infringing marks removed under supervision, rather than quietly returned to the market. If the decision is delayed, a polite written follow-up through your lawyer is normal and appropriate.
Revisit the location a few weeks later with another documented purchase. Counterfeit sellers often resume with new stock or move to a nearby stall under a relative's name. Repeat infringement, backed by an earlier decision, supports heavier penalties, a criminal referral or a civil claim for damages.
Use the episode to strengthen your own position. Update the identification guide for officers, consider new security features on packaging, record your rights with customs if fakes are imported, and tell your distributors how to report suspicious products. Train your sales team to recognise fakes and to report rather than confront. Counterfeiting is a market problem, and one action rarely solves it. A steady programme of monitoring and enforcement, scaled to the value of your brand in Vietnam, works far better than an occasional burst of raids.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
A licensed Vietnamese lawyer or registered IP representative is worth involving as soon as you move beyond a single test purchase. They can draft the request in the form the authority expects, assemble evidence, coordinate with investigators within legal limits, and follow the file after a raid. If the counterfeit is a safety risk, involves a factory, or crosses provinces, professional coordination is close to essential.
You also need a lawyer when the target pushes back: claims its goods are parallel imports of genuine products, asserts its own registration, or threatens you with a defamation claim. Parallel imports in particular raise questions that turn on how and where the genuine goods were first put on the market, and the answer is not always what brand owners expect. Before you post warnings about a named seller on social media, talk to a lawyer; a public accusation that turns out to be wrong can expose you to liability.
Choose advisers on clarity, not promises. A good lawyer will tell you which route fits the evidence, what results are realistic, and how to keep costs proportionate to the value of the brand in Vietnam. Anyone who suggests unofficial payments to officers or guaranteed raid results should be avoided.
Frequently asked questions
Should I tell the shop that its goods are fake?
Usually not at first. Confronting the seller can lead to stock and records disappearing before the authorities arrive. Make a documented test purchase, confirm the goods are fake and decide your route with a lawyer before any contact.
Can I seize fake goods myself?
No. Only competent authorities can inspect premises and seize goods. Right holders can collect evidence lawfully, send warnings and file requests, but taking goods or blocking a shop yourself can expose you to legal claims.
How can I prove a product is fake?
Prepare a written comparison of genuine and fake samples covering packaging, materials, codes and security features, with photographs. In disputed cases, an expert assessment from a licensed IP assessment organisation adds weight, and the authority may also consult the IP Office.
What if the goods are genuine products imported without my permission?
Parallel imports of genuine goods are treated differently from counterfeits, and the answer depends on how the goods were first put on the market. Do not describe such goods as fake in public. Ask a Vietnamese IP lawyer to review the facts first.
Do I need a test purchase for online listings?
A test purchase is still useful because it proves the seller actually supplies the goods and gives you a physical sample. For takedowns alone, a well-documented report to the platform with your registration details may be enough.
Will the authorities tell me who supplied the counterfeiter?
They may share some information in the inspection record or decision, but much of an investigation stays with the authority. Your own lawful investigation and the evidence gathered in the case are usually the best sources for mapping the supply chain.