To enforce a trademark in Vietnam you first need rights that Vietnamese authorities recognise, which in practice means a registration with the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam or a Madrid designation covering Vietnam; then you choose between a warning letter, an administrative complaint, a civil lawsuit or, for serious counterfeiting, a criminal report. Customs measures at the border sit alongside these routes. Most brand owners combine several of them rather than relying on a single one.
This guide gives foreign companies and their in-house teams the map: what each route can and cannot deliver, what evidence it needs, and how to decide where to start. It deliberately stays on enforcement. How to file a trademark application is a separate subject, and the detailed filing rules belong with a trademark attorney. Nothing here is legal advice, and the names of some enforcement bodies changed during the 2025 government restructuring, so confirm current details with a licensed professional before you act.
Registration comes before enforcement
Vietnam is a first-to-file country for trademarks. With limited exceptions, protection arises from registration, not from use, and the person who files first for a mark in a given class of goods or services usually gets it. A brand that has sold in Vietnam for years without a registration can find that a local distributor, a former partner or a speculator has registered the same name. When that happens, the unregistered owner is not the one sending warning letters; it may be the one receiving them.
A registration certificate is the document every enforcement body asks for first. Market surveillance officers, the police, customs and the courts all start by checking that the mark is protected, for which goods or services, and that the protection is still in force. A registration in Vietnam lasts ten years from the filing date and can be renewed, so a lapsed renewal is a surprisingly common reason why enforcement stalls.
There is a narrow exception for well-known marks, which can be protected without registration. In practice, proving that a mark is well known in Vietnam takes substantial evidence of reputation among Vietnamese consumers, and it is rarely a quick path. If your brand matters in this market, the registration question should be settled before any enforcement plan is drafted. Copyright works differently: it arises automatically when a work is created, and registration is optional, though a copyright registration certificate makes proof much easier.
The four main enforcement routes at a glance
Vietnamese law offers trademark owners several distinct routes. They are not mutually exclusive, and the choice usually depends on the scale of the infringement, whether you want compensation, and how quickly you need the goods off the market.
| Route | Who acts | What it can achieve | Main limits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warning letter | You or your lawyer | Fast, cheap, often enough for small sellers who did not realise the risk | No legal force on its own; can tip off a determined counterfeiter |
| Administrative action | Market surveillance, inspection bodies, economic police, customs, local People's Committees | Raids, seizure and destruction of goods, fines payable to the state | No compensation for you; outcomes depend heavily on the officers involved |
| Civil lawsuit | The court with jurisdiction | Injunction, damages, recovery of reasonable lawyer costs, public correction | Slower; you bear the burden of proving infringement and loss |
| Criminal report | Police investigation agency and procuracy | Prosecution of serious counterfeiting at commercial scale | Thresholds apply; you do not control the process |
Border measures with customs are a fifth tool that works alongside all four. They are covered in a separate guide on customs recordal, because the procedure has its own logic and timing.
Warning letters and negotiated undertakings
A well-drafted warning letter is often the most cost-effective first move, especially against small shops, online sellers and businesses that adopted a confusing name without thinking about trademarks. The letter identifies your registration, describes the infringing use, sets a deadline and asks for specific steps: stop selling, remove signs or listings, hand over or destroy remaining stock, and sign a written undertaking not to repeat the conduct.
Write in Vietnamese, or send a bilingual letter with the Vietnamese version clearly marked as the working text. Send it to the registered address of a company or to the actual business premises of a household business, and keep proof of delivery. A signed undertaking becomes useful evidence later: if the same seller infringes again, it shows the infringement was deliberate, which matters both for administrative penalties and for any damages claim.
Warning letters have a downside. Against an organised counterfeiting operation, a letter may simply cause the stock to disappear before the authorities arrive. If your investigation suggests a warehouse, a factory or a network of distributors, many advisers prefer to collect evidence quietly and go directly to the enforcement authorities. The tone of the letter also matters. Threatening criminal prosecution over a minor, arguable similarity can backfire, and a business that believes it has its own rights may respond by attacking the validity of your registration.
Administrative, civil and criminal enforcement compared in more depth
Administrative action is the workhorse. Most trademark enforcement in Vietnam happens through administrative authorities, because they can act quickly against goods on the market. You file a request with evidence of your rights and of the infringement, and the authority may inspect premises, seize goods, impose fines and order destruction or removal of the infringing mark. The fine goes to the state. You receive no money, but the market is cleaned, at least for a while.
Civil litigation is where compensation lives. If you want damages, a court order binding on the infringer, or recovery of your legal costs, you need a civil lawsuit. Vietnamese courts can award actual losses that you prove, and the IP Law also provides a fallback form of damages set by the court within a statutory ceiling when loss cannot be calculated precisely. Litigation is slower and evidence-heavy, so it is usually reserved for repeat infringers, large-scale copying, or cases where a court judgment has value as a precedent for your enforcement programme.
Criminal enforcement targets serious counterfeiting. The Penal Code covers trading in counterfeit goods and infringing industrial property rights, focused on counterfeit trademarks and geographical indications at a commercial scale or above value or profit thresholds. Commercial legal entities, not just individuals, can face criminal liability for some of these offences. A criminal case can uncover supply chains that a raid would miss, but you are a reporting party, not the prosecutor.
Self-help remedies have limits. Right holders may take reasonable measures to protect their rights, such as notices on product packaging, technical anti-copying features and demands to stop. What you may not do is seize goods yourself, publish accusations naming a person before any finding, or pressure suppliers with threats. Those steps can create liability for defamation or unfair competition.
Evidence you need for any route
Every enforcement body in Vietnam decides on documents. Prepare a file that can be handed over in Vietnamese without further work, and keep originals safe in case a court asks for them later.
- The registration certificate or Madrid registration details for each mark and each class you rely on, together with proof that protection is current.
- If you act through a Vietnamese representative, a power of attorney signed by the right holder and, where signed abroad, legalised for use in Vietnam unless an exemption applies.
- Samples of the infringing goods, bought in a way you can prove: an invoice or receipt, photographs or video of the purchase, and the address and time.
- Genuine samples with an explanation of the differences between genuine and fake, prepared by someone who knows your product.
- An expert assessment from a licensed IP assessment organisation where similarity or confusion is disputed. Authorities often rely on these opinions in difficult cases.
- Information on the infringer: business registration details, the location of stores, warehouses and online accounts, and an estimate of the scale of sales.
- Records of earlier warnings, undertakings or administrative decisions against the same party, which show repetition.
Where key evidence exists only online, ask a bailiff office (thua phat lai) to record the web pages or chat messages in an official record, since screenshots alone are easy to challenge. Translations of foreign-language material should be certified so the authority can rely on them.
How to choose where to start
Start with scale and goal. A single shop selling a handful of fakes is a warning-letter or local administrative matter. A network supplying markets across several provinces needs coordinated administrative raids and possibly a criminal report. A competitor using a confusingly similar brand on its own products, openly and at scale, is usually a civil dispute, because the real question is who has the better right and how much damage the confusion caused.
Consider what you will do with the result. Administrative action is effective at removing goods today, but it does not stop the same people from reopening under another name next month. A court judgment with damages changes the economics of infringement more durably and is useful when you face a pattern of copying. Some brand owners use administrative actions to gather evidence and establish bad faith, and then sue the main players.
Think about relationships and reputation too. Many infringers in Vietnam are former distributors, agents or employees. A negotiated exit with a signed settlement may protect your brand better than a public raid that becomes a talking point in a small industry. Finally, check your own house: an expired registration, a mark registered only in the wrong class, or a licence agreement that was never recorded can all give the other side a defence.
When you need a Vietnamese lawyer
You can send a basic warning letter yourself, but almost every step beyond that benefits from a licensed Vietnamese lawyer or an IP representative registered to practise before the IP Office. Administrative authorities expect requests in a particular form, in Vietnamese, with supporting evidence assembled the way they are used to seeing it. A professional who handles such requests regularly knows which authority is active in which province and how to follow a file once it is lodged.
Bring in a lawyer early if the infringer claims its own rights, if your registration may be vulnerable to cancellation, if you are considering a lawsuit or a criminal report, or if the infringer is a former partner bound by a contract with its own dispute clause. In those situations a misstep at the start, such as a careless public accusation, can cost more than the infringement. If you are unsure whether your situation needs a lawyer at all, you can ask a lawyer on AI Co Van (aicovan.com) to look at the basics first.
Ask any adviser to explain their plan in writing: which route, which authority, what evidence, what you will receive at the end and what could go wrong. Avoid anyone who promises a guaranteed outcome or suggests unofficial payments to speed up enforcement. Apart from being illegal, such arrangements leave you exposed and undermine every later step.
Frequently asked questions
Can I enforce a trademark in Vietnam if it is registered only in my home country?
Generally no. Trademark protection is territorial, and Vietnam follows a first-to-file system, so you need a Vietnamese registration or a Madrid designation covering Vietnam. The narrow exception for well-known marks requires strong proof of reputation among Vietnamese consumers.
Will I receive compensation if the authorities raid a counterfeiter?
Not through the administrative process. Administrative fines go to the state, and the main benefit for you is the seizure and destruction of goods. To claim damages and legal costs from the infringer, you need a civil lawsuit, either separately or after the administrative action.
Is a warning letter always the right first step?
It works well against small sellers and good-faith infringers, but it can alert an organised counterfeiter, who may move or hide stock. Where you suspect a warehouse or factory, many advisers collect evidence first and approach the enforcement authorities without warning the target.
Who decides whether two marks are confusingly similar?
The enforcement authority or the court makes the decision, but it often relies on an expert assessment from a licensed IP assessment organisation and may consult the IP Office. Preparing a clear comparison of the marks and the goods helps the decision-maker.
Can a foreign company act without coming to Vietnam?
Yes. Most enforcement is handled through a licensed lawyer or IP representative under a power of attorney. Documents signed abroad usually need legalisation for use in Vietnam unless an exemption applies, so allow time for that step.
What if the infringer has registered my brand first?
Then the question becomes whether that registration can be challenged, for example on grounds of bad faith or because your mark was already well known. This is a specialist matter with time limits, so speak to a Vietnamese IP lawyer before sending any letters.