Answer ... To be eligible for registration as a trademark, a mark must be a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings or images, including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colours

Answer ... To be eligible for registration as a trademark, a mark must satisfy the following conditions:

• It is a visible sign in the form of letters, words, drawings or images, including holograms, or a combination thereof, represented in one or more colours;
• It is capable of distinguishing the goods or services of the mark owner from those of others; and
• It is neither confusingly similar to earlier marks nor misleading or deceptive to consumers as to the origin or other characteristics of the goods or services to which it relates.

Answer ... A mark will be refused protection if it constitutes a sign that is prohibited from protection under Section 73 of the IP Law or if it is not deemed distinctive (absolute grounds for refusal). Such signs include the following, among others:

• signs which are identical or confusingly similar to national flags or national emblems;
• signs which are identical or confusingly similar to emblems, flags, armorial bearings, abbreviated names or full names of Vietnamese state bodies, political organisations, socio-political organisations, socio-political-professional organisations, social organisations, socio-professional organisations or international organisations, unless permitted by such bodies or organisations;
• signs which are identical or confusingly similar to real names, aliases, pseudonyms or images of leaders, national heroes or famous personalities of Vietnam or foreign countries;
• signs which are identical or confusingly similar to certification seals, check seals or warranty seals of international organisations which require that their signs not be used, unless such seals are registered as certification marks by such organisations; and
• signs which cause misunderstanding or confusion, or which deceive consumers as to the origin, properties, use, quality, value or other characteristics of the goods or services.