The company name and logo of Vo Thi Ngoc Han ( Ngan 98 ) - who was prosecuted and temporarily detained to investigate the act of producing and trading fake food products is causing a lot of controversy.
Accordingly, ZUBU Trading and Service Company Limited and ZuBu Shop business household are operated and managed by Ngan 98 but are legally represented by another person.
Notably, the company logo is two stylized U letters, which reminds viewers of the typical image, creating the brand of Ngan 98 with a "huge" bust. Why is Ngan 98's naming method ZUBU still legal?
Speaking to VietNamNet reporter, lawyer Tran Tuan Anh, Director of Minh Bach Law Firm, said that it is necessary to separate the naming of the company and the logo for consideration because they are regulated by two different laws. Regarding the company name, according to the current Enterprise Law, the company name must include two elements: the type of business and the proper name, and must not be the same or cause confusion with the name of another registered business.
In particular, Clause 3, Article 38 of the 2020 Enterprise Law clearly stipulates that enterprise names must not use words or symbols that violate the historical, cultural, ethical traditions and customs of the nation.
“In fact, ZUBU is a word without meaning, the name does not violate any prohibitions of the law and the licensing authority only requires a change if the name is similar to another registered business. In other words, ‘legal’ does not mean ‘supported by society’, but rather does not violate any specific prohibitions of the law. Only when the name contains clearly violating elements (for example: obscene, insulting famous people, religions, ethnic groups...) will it be rejected,” said Mr. Tuan Anh.
Regarding the brand logo, according to search data from the Department of Intellectual Property ( Ministry of Science and Technology ), ZUBU NGAN 98 (stylized) and ZUBU (stylized) were applied for protection by a company and an individual in 2021 and 2022, but were rejected by the Department of Intellectual Property without giving any reason.
Lawyer Tran Tuan Anh said that the refusal to protect could also stem from the fact that the logo violates public morals or other reasons such as lack of distinctiveness, describing the goods too clearly, or other technical issues regarding intellectual property.
However, from a legal perspective, when a logo is denied protection, the business can still use that logo, unless a third party sues for trademark infringement.
Mr. Tuan Anh noted that it is necessary to distinguish between business name, brand logo and internet domain name.
Referring to the previous case where someone applied to register the domain name “bxxx.com.vn” but was rejected due to a separate regulation in Circular No. 24/2015 of the Ministry of Information and Communications (old), Mr. Tuan Anh said that the management of internet domain names has stricter criteria for evaluating good customs and traditions. The word “bxxx” in Vietnamese, in addition to its original meaning (grapefruit), can also be understood in a vulgar sense. Allowing the registration of a domain name that is “multi-meaningful” and easily offensive will go against the goal of maintaining a clean online environment.
On the contrary, the word “ZUBU” does not have a vulgar meaning in Vietnamese, so it does not pose a clear risk of violating public morals as in the above case.
“The company name and logo ZUBU are considered legal based on the current provisions of the Law on Enterprises on naming, because it does not use words that violate public morals. The legal difference between “ZUBU” and buoi.com.vn lies in the nature of the words (one is meaningless, the other is polysemous and potentially vulgar) and the applicable legal basis,” the lawyer analyzed.
Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/ten-cong-ty-va-logo-zubu-goi-hinh-cua-ngan-98-co-hop-phap-khong-2453106.html
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