Lesson 2: Business concerns

(Baonghean) - Coming to Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company to clarify the information provided by the people of Nam Dan Traditional Soy Sauce Village, the representative of this enterprise confirmed that the Intellectual Property Department had granted ownership of the trademark "Nam Dan Soy Sauce", and, they also have their own concerns...

Representative of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company - Deputy Director Nguyen Dinh Thong said that their ownership of Nam Dan Soy Sauce brand originated from the policy of Nghe An Provincial People's Committee (around 2003 - 2004) to encourage localities and enterprises to develop and build brands for products in the province.

Deputy Director of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company Nguyen Dinh Thong discussed the registration of Nam Dan Soybean Soybean brand with Nghe An Newspaper reporter.

Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company, formerly Nghe An Seafood Company, at that time had a tradition of nearly 50 years of processing seafood products such as fish sauce, shrimp paste, dried shrimp and squid, etc. After equitization, the company invested in building a supermarket at 48 Nguyen Sy Sach Street (Vinh City) to introduce and promote products; and at the same time established a chain of retail agents.

Regarding soy sauce products, the company has an employee named Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong - residing in the Nam Dan soy sauce production area and whose family is in the soy sauce making business, specializing in supplying products to the company's chain of agents and supermarkets. Therefore, when receiving the province's policy on building product brands, Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company registered to own 4 brands, including: Company logo and 3 brands associated with the location (Nam Dan soy sauce, Cua Hoi fish sauce, Cua Lo fish sauce).

“At that time, most localities and businesses were not aware of or concerned about the issue of trademarks or intellectual property,” Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong affirmed. Therefore, when Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company was the second unit in the province to register for trademark ownership, the Department of Industry and Trade and the Provincial People's Committee enthusiastically supported it.

Thanks to the agreement of the province and relevant agencies, when receiving the dossier of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company, the Vietnam Intellectual Property Office assessed and granted certificates for all 4 registered brands of the company.

Workers of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company label Cua Hoi Fish Sauce products.

“Nam Dan Soy Sauce was chosen as one of the three products to register for trademark protection because this is a traditional product of the province that is known to many people. Moreover, this is also a product that Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company is producing and trading. We want to build the Nam Dan Soy Sauce brand to grow and be affirmed in the market. Therefore, at that time, the company invited the Institute of Food Technology to coordinate with Ms. Hong's facility to carry out soy sauce production processes to ensure quality and food hygiene and safety before releasing to the market. Although production and business have had ups and downs, there have been extremely difficult periods, and business has not been effective, we still maintain the production and trading of this product…” - Mr. Thong added.

Nam Dan Soy Sauce product of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company.

Telling Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong about what the representative of Nam Dan Traditional Soybean Village discussed, according to Deputy Director of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company Nguyen Dinh Thong, to build the Nam Dan Soybean brand as well as some other brands such as Cua Hoi Fish Sauce, Cua Lo Fish Sauce and to be granted intellectual property rights for these brands, the company has invested a lot of effort, time and money.

These trademarks, according to the Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law, are the company's private property; any organization or individual using the Nam Dan Soybean Sauce, Cua Hoi Fish Sauce, or Cua Lo Fish Sauce brands without the company's consent is violating the law. However, in reality, for decades, these trademarks have been illegally used by organizations and individuals without any competent authority noticing, let alone handling. And this is the pain of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company. This illegal use not only causes direct losses to the company but also creates unfair competition, confuses consumers, and affects the product brand.

Has Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company ever thought about asking for legal intervention; or finding a solution to solve this problem? According to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, the company understands and sympathizes with the households that are producing and trading soy sauce in Nam Dan district; at the same time, it does not want to do anything that will damage the Nam Dan Soy Sauce brand.

Therefore, although the Nam Dan Soybean brand has been illegally used for many years, the company has not requested relevant agencies to handle it. “The Nam Dan Soybean brand is the common property of the entire Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company. Proposing a specific solution to resolve the issue is the responsibility of the entire group. Personally, I think that the province should get involved. There needs to be a meeting between relevant parties chaired by the province in the spirit of raising the level of the Nam Dan Soybean brand…”.

Accessing all the documents related to the Nam Dan Soybean Sauce brand, it can be seen that the trademark registration file of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company is in accordance with the process and procedures. In 2005, the company was granted a certificate of exclusive trademark protection for Nam Dan Soybean Sauce products and in 2015, when the certificate expired after 10 years according to the Intellectual Property Law, the company applied for an extension and was granted an extension certificate. Thus, legally, the "Nam Dan Soybean Sauce" trademark is the subject of exclusive ownership and use by Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company.

Certificate of registration of trademark "Nam Dan Soy Sauce" issued by the Department of Intellectual Property to Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company.

According to the Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Intellectual Property: “A trademark is a sign used to distinguish goods and services of different organizations and individuals”. The most important function of a trademark is the ability to distinguish goods and services of the same type from different production and business establishments. A trademark established in practice will give rise to the law protecting the exclusive use of the right holder and the obligation to respect the exclusive rights of other related entities.

Trademarks are the private property of their owners, bringing them economic and commercial benefits. The State ensures that owners can safely exploit those economic benefits and helps them fight against infringements that limit the owners' ability to exploit them.

Therefore, the thoughts of the representative of Nghe An Seafood Joint Stock Company are understandable. Obviously, not only the people working in soy sauce production in Nam Dan district are carrying pain, but this enterprise is also harboring worries...

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Khanh Ly - Nhat Lan