'Chaos' over Quy Chau incense brand

(Baonghean.vn) - Quy Chau incense has been recognized as a collective trademark by the Intellectual Property Office since October 2016. However, with more than 200 production facilities located in the area, only 30 facilities use the collective trademark.

Ms. Tran Thi Loan, owner of a production facility, said: Last year, the facility produced more than 3 million incense sticks. This year is the second year the facility has used the collective incense brand and the number of orders it will receive is likely to be higher than last year.

Many establishments are starting to get busy during the 2018 Tet incense season. Photo: Be Vinh

But there are places like Thiet Hoi incense production facility in Block 1, Tan Lac Town, although Quy Chau incense has been recognized as a collective trademark for more than a year, the production facility still decided to keep the traditional label because according to the owner, the cost of printing a collective trademark is 5-6 times higher than a simple traditional label.

The collective incense brand is copyrighted by the Intellectual Property Office. Photo: Be Vinh

Ms. Hoi - the owner of the establishment said: "Since we first started making incense, we have had our own family label. Therefore, the change of the common label will not be recognized by the family's regular customers."

Agarwood is a traditional craft of many households in Quy Chau, so people have not yet adapted to the change of collective labels. Therefore, in the area, there are many labels associated with production households. The situation of "everyone doing their own thing" has created opportunities for many subjects to counterfeit Quy Chau incense branded products.

Many establishments still use their own family-brand labels; these labels are simple and easy to copy. Photo: Be Vinh

Mr. Vo Thai Tinh - Vice Chairman of Tan Lac Town People's Committee, Quy Chau District said: The lack of consensus on using the Quy Chau incense brand will cause many problems and make it difficult to manage products on the market. Therefore, in the coming time, the Commune People's Committee will encourage families and owners of incense making establishments to use the Quy Chau incense collective brand, avoiding the current phenomenon of label chaos and counterfeit goods being mixed in.

Every year, the entire Quy Chau district consumes 50 million incense sticks with a revenue of 20 billion VND. From the traditional incense profession, many families have escaped poverty and become rich. The use of collective trademarks by incense production facilities contributes to maintaining the brand, reputation and quality of Quy Chau incense products.

Baby Vinh