By LE Hoai Duong, B.Sc., LL.B, MIP    
Last updated: July 9, 2026

The concept of a well-known mark was first introduced in Article 6bis of the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property and was further clarified and expanded in Articles 16(2) and 16(3) of the TRIPS Agreement. Article 6bis of the Paris Convention does not define well-known marks or provide criteria for determining which trademarks qualify as well-known marks.  The TRIPS Agreement therefore provides an important basis to be taken into consideration in determining whether a trademark is well known, namely “the knowledge of the trademark in the relevant sector of the public, including knowledge…as a result of the promotion of the trademark”. Protection for well-known marks under the TRIPS Agreement extends not only to goods, but also to services.  In addition, the TRIPS Agreement expands the scope of Article 6bis, making a legal basis for the protection of well-known marks on “not similar” goods and services.

Article 6bis of the Paris Convention and Articles 16(2) and 16(3) of the TRIPS Agreement, to which Vietnam is a party, are not directly applicable but must be incorporated into Vietnamese law. Unlike in some countries, Article 6bis is not expressly referred to in Vietnamese trademark law. The term “well-known mark”—among various terms used under the Law on Intellectual Property (LIP) and its implementing regulations to refer to well-known marks, known marks, or different categories of such marks, including “widely used and recognized,” “widely used in Vietnam,” and “well known in other countries”—should be interpreted within the meaning of Article 6bis.

Vietnamese trademark law is generally in conformity with Article 6bis and Articles 16(2) and 16(3). In particular:

• A well-known mark is defined in Article 4.20 of the LIP as a mark that is “widely known by the relevant sector of the public” in the territory of Vietnam.
• Although exclusive rights in trademarks in Vietnam are generally conferred by registration, exclusive rights in well-known marks are established under Article 6.3(a) of the LIP “on the basis of use, independently of registration”.
• Article 74.2(i) of the LIP goes beyond Article 16(3) by granting protection to well-known marks in respect of dissimilar goods and services even where such marks are not registered.
• Article 75 of the LIP provides a limited list of factors that may help demonstrate the recognition of a trademark, which lies at the core of determining whether the trademark is well known.
• Under Article 96.1(a) of the LIP, in line with Article 6bis(3), there is no time limit on invalidating a trademark that has been registered in bad faith.

IP Vietnam’s practice in determining whether a trademark is well known remains unclear and, in some respects, unreasonable and inconsistent, often resulting in unpredictable outcomes for trademark owners and practitioners. For example, the question of whether a well-known mark need actually have been used in Vietnam remains unsettled. As another example, evidence of foreign registrations should generally carry little or no weight in determining well-known status, but the opposite appears to be true under IP Vietnam’s practice. Further, although in today’s era of the Internet, advanced broadcasting, media, and modern advertising, a trademark may become well known almost overnight, examiners seem to prefer the more traditional view that fame requires age, as though a trademark must first mature before it can be recognized as well known.

Anheuser-Busch, adidas AG, and DC Comics, represented by LÊ & LÊ, successfully resolved their disputes in Vietnam, in which, among other things, their respective marks BUDWEISER, adidas, the Three-Stripes mark, and SUPERMAN were recognized by IP Vietnam as well known in Vietnam.