Cooperation between Vietnam and Japan After the Covid Epidemic

On May 15, 2020, the Minister of Planning and Investment met Ambassador Mr. Yamada Takio (Japan) on the occasion of starting his working term in Vietnam. The parties spent time welcoming and sharing a number of problems that need to be resolved to promote investment activities between the two countries in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, including promoting public investment, promoting investment in the private sector, attracting investors to set up company, factory and implement investment into export processing zones in Vietnam.

Law firm in Vietnam

The Ambassador said there are currently more than a thousand Japanese experts who wish to have work permit, investment visa, temporary residence card to go to Vietnam to restore business production. In addition, Japanese small and medium enterprises are very interested in the Vietnam market.  Japan Government has provided 23.5 billion yen (USD 220 million) to encourage domestic enterprises to transfer production activities to Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, which is an opportunity for Vietnam to attract FDI to register investment project in setting up factory in Vietnam.

Following the the investment shift after the US-China Trade war (2019) and the Covid-19 epidemic, many Japanese investors intend to withdraw from China to invest in Vietnam to set up factory, and company and form a new supply chain. Accordingly, Vietnam will have a plan to create a working group to attract Japanese enterprises to invest in the fields and provinces that Vietnam wishes to contribute more to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. In 2019, Japan is the fourth-largest FDI country in Vietnam, the second largest investment partner in Vietnam implementing the project, with a total investment of USD 59.3 billion.

With its advantages and experience, Japanese investors are investing in Vietnam in the fields of professional science, technology, information technology, wholesale, retail, engineering and real estate. These industries are the advantages of Japanese investors when investing in Vietnam, which it not only brings benefits to investors but also helps Vietnam to learn management experience and operation from Japan, helping Vietnam to apply to develop the domestic economy.

The Vietnamese representative emphasized the importance to attract Japanese enterprises to invest smoothly and successfully in Vietnam, including large and small and medium-sized enterprises to contribute more to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. At the same time, the Ministry of Planning and Investment continued to work closely with the Embassy as well as with the Ambassador’s individual to bring closer cooperation between the two countries.

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How do I find out whether a product is copyrighted or not?

All artistic, literary, and musical works have copyright protection the instant they are fixed in a physical form.

Copyright in Vietnam 

-If you sketch an illustration on a cocktail napkin, it’s copyrighted.

-If you take a photograph with a camera, it’s copyrighted.

-If you write a blog post that has at least a minimal degree of creative authorship, it’s copyrighted.

-If you make up a new tune and record yourself whistling it, it’s copyrighted.

However, that copyright doesn’t last forever. The duration of copyright protection varies from country to country, and may depend on such factors as whether it was created by an individual or a corporation, and if and when it was published. For most countries, copyright protection lasts for 50–70 years after the creator’s death.

So, find out what the laws of your country are on copyright duration, and research the relevant factors for the creative work whose copyright you are trying to determine.

Source:David Mullich

If you are interested in finding a Copyright Law Firm in Vietnam, let ANT Lawyers help. We can connect you with a skilled lawyer that is much more affordable than a traditional law firm attorney. Check us out and please get in touch if you’d like more assistance. Please contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at +84 28 730 86 529. Best of luck!

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How do you patent your startup idea?

You can’t patent an idea, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a patent on some part of your startup. A patent is for an invention but it doesn't necessarily have to be a product, it can be a process or a method of doing something or it can be an improvement on an existing product, process, or method. The first thing is that you need to determine whether you have an “invention” that can be patented.

Register patent in Vietnam

Along with the proper subject matter above, the invention also needs to be new and non-obvious. An invention that is already in the public domain or has already been patented will not be granted a patent. It also needs to be more than an obvious improvement. The standard is determined by looking at the prior art of the subject area and determining whether the claimed invention is simply an obvious improvement on what was already in the public domain. If the claimed invention is only an obvious improvement, it will not be granted a patent. You will also need to prove that your claimed invention is useful.

Whether you meet the requirements will be determined by the USPTO through the filing process. You will submit all required application and filing materials to the office and they will make a determination on the patentability of your claimed invention. I would suggest that you hire a patent attorney to help you with the filing process.

To answer your more specific question, it seems like what you really need is a non-disclosure agreement. An NDA is an agreement between parties to not disclose certain information allowing you to choose who gets to hear your secrets and prohibit those chosen people from further disclosure of your secret to other people. So, if you want a patent because you are worried about disclosing your secrets without protection, then an NDA will offer you that protection. Again, though, you would want to hire an attorney to help you draw up you NDAs.

Source: Quora

If you are looking for an experienced patent attorney in Vietnam to help you with your patent or an attorney with experience drawing up NDAs, you should visit ANT Lawyers.vn. We are supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.   Please contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at +84 28 730 86 529.

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Is it possible to trademark a brand name if it's similar to one that exists?

In the United States, the key is determining whether there is a likelihood of confusion. In other words, are consumers likely to believe that the goods are made by the same person. Similarity of the marks is just one factor. Another important factor is the relatedness of the goods. If the goods are wine, for example, and you want to use a similar mark on a wine, then there would be a greater likelihood of confusion. If, however, the goods are orthopedic shoe inserts, then the likelihood of confusion is greatly reduced because few people would think that a winery made orthotics.

Registered trademark protection in Vietnam

There is an exception for famous marks because they are so strong. For example, if you saw a bar of APPLE soap, you might not think that APPLE has gone into the soap business, but you might think of Apple computers or products. That is called “trademark dilution” because it is likely to diminish the value of the APPLE trademark. In that case, likelihood of confusion has nothing to do with the analysis.

Source: Quora 

ANT Lawyers - A Law firm in Vietnam is supported by a team of experienced patent, trademark, design attorneys with qualification and skills handling full range of legal services relating to intellectual property rights in Vietnam.  We have specialized in the preparation and registration of patents, trademarks and designs for our clients.   Please contact our lawyers in Vietnam for advice via email ant@antlawyers.vn or call our office at +84 28 730 86 529

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Vietnam Set to Develop E-commerce and Target 55% of the Population to Shop Online

On May 15, 2020, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 645/QD-TTg approving the National Master Plan on e-commerce development in the 2021-2025 period aiming to develop e-commerce business area through changing in policy, creating favourable environment, increasing government spending, and attracting investors participating and setting up business in developing e-commerce in Vietnam to transform the economy toward industry 4.0.

Specifically, the Vietnam Prime Ministers set the following goals to be achieved by 2025: 55% of the population participate in online shopping, the average purchase value is 600 USD/person/year; e-commerce revenue increases by 25%/year, reaching 35 billion USD, accounting for 10% of the total retail sales of goods and revenue of consumer services nationwide; non-cash payment in e-commerce reached 50%, of which payments made through intermediary payment service providers accounted for 80%; the average cost for delivery and final order completion accounts for 10% of the product cost in e-commerce; 70% of purchases on e-commerce applications have e-invoices.

Regarding e-commerce applications in enterprises: 80% of e-commerce websites have integrated online ordering function; 50% of small and medium enterprises conduct business activities on e-commerce trading floor, including social network with function of e-commerce trading floor; 40% of businesses participate in e-commerce activities on mobile applications; 70% of electricity, water, telecommunications and communication service providers deploy electronic contracts with consumers.

To accomplish the above objectives, the Prime Minister proposed specific groups of solutions, including: perfecting mechanisms and policies to meet the needs of e-commerce development in the context of technology revolution 4.0; improving the management and organization of e-commerce activities, online dispute resolution (ODR), fighting against commercial frauds, intellectual property violations.

The Prime Minister’s policy shows the role of e-commerce in the present era. E-commerce is one of the pioneering areas of the digital economy, where the advanced technologies of the Industrial Revolution 4.0 are widely applied to increase the efficiency of the business cycle, contribute to modernizing the distribution system, improve the competitiveness of enterprises, promote the development of the domestic market and export. Besides, identifying the overall goal when developing e-commerce in Vietnam is support and promote the widespread use of e-commerce in businesses and the community; to bridge the gap between major cities and localities on the level of e-commerce development; to build a healthy, competitive and sustainable e-commerce market; to expand consumption markets for Vietnamese goods at home and abroad through e-commerce applications; to promote cross-border e-commerce and transactions; to become a country with a developed e-commerce market among the top 3 countries in Southeast Asia.

This is an opportunity for domestic and foreign investors in the field of e-commerce as well as an auxiliary service for e-commerce to promote business and investment activities in Vietnam through establishment of companies providing services.

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