Brand protection is needed for startup products.

A brand is the intellectual property of every business. Photo: PHAN VINH

Enhancing brand competitiveness

Around the end of February 2024, many customers and acquaintances of Ms. Tran Thi Yen - Deputy Director of Ma Chau Silk Co., Ltd. (Duy Xuyen) contacted her to complain about someone using the Ma Chau brand logo to advertise products elsewhere.

Specifically, a social media account named TN used the logo of Ma Chau Silk, then added a personal name to it and used it to insert into advertisements for this person's silk products, subsequently posting them in numerous clothing buying and selling communities nationwide.

The logo of Ma Chau Silk has been copied by a business selling similar products. Photo: PHAN VINH

Upon receiving this information, Ms. Yen contacted the person using the account named TN, informing them that the Ma Chau silk brand and its brand identity, including the logo, had been granted protection since 2018. She explained that using the Ma Chau silk logo without permission for commercial purposes violated legal regulations. Ms. Yen requested that this person remove the advertisements for products using the Ma Chau silk logo and write a correction to customers.

"Right from the company's inception, we've been very concerned about trademark protection, because Ma Chau silk has a long history, is relatively famous, and is deeply ingrained in the memories of many people. This is our only competitive advantage to counter potential infringements or imitations of our brand aimed at deceiving customers and damaging the company's reputation, as well as that of other silk producers in Ma Chau," said Ms. Yen.

In reality, many organizations still don't pay much attention to intellectual property rights. Photo: PHAN VINH

However, not all companies are as concerned about trademark protection as Ma Chau Silk Co., Ltd., which has experienced numerous cases of product packaging and brand name imitation.

A company producing coconut cakes in the province recently discovered that two product packaging designs, used since 2020, had been copied by another company to a 95% degree of similarity, with only the name changed.

Similarly, in the case of Ms. NTBT, who specializes in producing and selling products made from cordyceps, another individual with the same name BT has completely stolen her brand identity and is also selling similar products.

Multiple support mechanisms

According to Mr. Pham Ngoc Sinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology and Head of the Steering Committee for Supporting Innovative Startups in the province, among many policies supporting the development of production and trade of local products, Quang Nam pays great attention to creating all conditions for individuals, units, and businesses to protect their trademarks in particular and intellectual property in general.

Since 2019, at its 10th session, the 9th Provincial People's Council issued Resolution 02/2019/NQ-HĐND stipulating a number of mechanisms and policies to support the development of science and technology activities in Quang Nam province for the period 2019-2025. Article 4 of the Resolution clearly states the support for establishing and developing industrial property rights for products and services in the province.

Trademark protection is essential in today's open market with multiple sales channels, from offline to online. Photo: PHAN VINH

Specifically, for trademark registration, the province will provide support of up to 5 million VND per trademark and no more than 5 trademarks per establishment; for collective trademark registration, the support will be up to 10 million VND per trademark; for certification trademark registration, the support will be up to 20 million VND per trademark; for patent registration, the support will be up to 20 million VND per invention; for industrial design registration, the support will be 10 million VND per design and no more than 5 industrial designs per year per establishment...

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Currently, many startups or OCOP (One Commune One Product) entities underestimate the importance of registering trademarks or intellectual property rights because they think their business model is still small. This is a very serious problem, because a brand is the easiest asset to "steal," and it will grow and expand along with the business model without you even knowing until it is actually infringed upon.

Mr. Pham Ngoc Sinh

More specifically, in 2021, at the 4th session of the 10th Provincial People's Council, Resolution 42/2021/NQ-HĐND was issued, stipulating the level of financial support for registration of protection for inventions, industrial designs and trademarks; registration of protection and recognition of new plant varieties until 2030.

Specifically, for industrial design registration, a grant of 8 million VND per certificate will be provided for the protection of one design/product set; a grant of 10 million VND per certificate will be provided for industrial designs with two or more designs/product sets; and a grant of 4 million VND or more will be provided for trademark registration...

[ VIDEO ] - Mr. Pham Ngoc Sinh shares the reasons why it is necessary to focus on protecting trademarks and intellectual property rights:

According to Mr. Sinh, based on the province's support mechanisms, individuals, units, and businesses can contact the Economic Department or the Economic and Infrastructure Department at the district level, the Industrial Management Department - Department of Science and Technology, or the Provincial Startup Support Steering Committee for guidance on procedures and methods for handling issues related to trademark, brand, and industrial design protection.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/can-bao-ho-thuong-hieu-cho-san-pham-khoi-nghiep-ocop-3144178.html