LV Thạc sĩ_Vietnam trademark and developmental solutions in the international economic integration

INTRODUCTION

In 1990, having made a survey of 50 leading advertising firms in the
US on the problems of fake image of products spreading over the country,
Marketing Science Institute of the United States of America received the
answers on what it cared for best : “Trademark is the first. Trademark is the
best property of business. Being a market leader is better than owning a
factory and the only way to do this is owning the trademarks which can take
over the markets”.
The fact lies in that public opinion in Vietnam, recently, has been
interested in building trademark and in finding a way in developing and
protecting the trademark that has been constantly cultivated to gain
reputation in the fierce competitiveness between “small and big fish” in
streamline of business racing. Truly, Vietnamese trademark is stolen, and
disputed in the markets. It is because that knowledge of many people, even
businessmen on trademark building, trademark development and trademark
protection as well remain restricted, sometimes very poor. It’s clear that the
Vietnamese businesses haven’t had a comprehensive look on trademark.
In the trend of the international economic integration and in the
context of spreading overwhelming competitiveness seen nationally and
globally between corporation and corporation, between company and
company etc. on launching products of all kinds in the markets, it’s high
time the Vietnamese businessmen have paid due attention to firmly and
steadily building the name of ourselves with prestige and trustworthy, and to
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developing and protecting the trademarks, especially exporting products
satisfactorily.
By a “seeing and believing” attitude, I wish to go in-depth study of
the theme: “Vietnam Trademark and Developmental Solutions in the

International

Economic

Integration”,

which was

suggested

and

supervisored by Mr TrÇn Anh Th¬, vice Dean of the Faculty of English,
Hanoi School of Business & Technology.
Originating from the interest in viewing the importance and
indispensability of trademark and matter of building, developing and
protecting Vietnam trademark in the global markets, the Graduation
Assignment particularly focuses on registering and protecting trademark in
Vietnam as the troubles clearly seen, that the Vietnamese businesses are now
encountering.
The GA includes 3 chapters with contents as follows:
● Chapter I

: Trademark and Requirements for Building and

Developing
● Chapter II

: Vietnam’s Regulations issued on Trademark and

its Development
● Chapter III

: Some Proposals to Building and Protecting Vietnam

Trademark

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While every endeavour has been made, it has not been possible to avoid
shortcomings, errors and deficiencies. The author and supervisor as well would
welcome any contribution to the perfect of the GA.

Chapter I
Trademark and Requirements
for Building and Developing

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I. Trademark and Process of Building and Developing
1. Trademark
1.1. Brand - Trademark - Strong Trademark
Many people often confuse between brand and trademark. It can be
said that SONY, MERCEDES, FORD, COCA-COLA are trademarks … but
“Vietnam rice” is not. So what is the difference?
First is concept of trademark.
“Trademark comprises a name, word, phrase, logo, image, term, sign,
symbol, design, or the elements combined, used by manufacturers of

merchants to identify their own goods and distinguish them from goods or
sold by competitors”. A trademark is a type of industrial property which is
distinct from other forms of intellectual property.
In Marketing’s view, there is a large distance between brands,
trademarks and strong trademark.
-

A brand only creates a fixed awareness of products,

discriminates them from their names, and increases the business’s turnover.
-

Speaking of trademark, it is an ensuring of quality, delivery and

delivery process. Trademark brings loyalty of customer from products and
services of business.

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-

A strong trademark is a discrimination of quality and services,

this creates characteristics for a product. When they speak of that trademark,
they may be image and have image of the product in. Trademark also creates
the strength for business in different activities.
Therefore, the difference between brand and trademark lies in
subconsciousness of customer. A name becomes a trademark when
consumers think about products, attributions, and visible or invisible

advantages that they received from those products. HONDA really is a
strong trademark because its products are endurable, economic fuel and
customers have peace of mind when using its products.
Up to now, we could conclude that Trademark is brand that customers
accept and believe etc. In other way, trademark is brand that creates prestige.
1.2. Meaning Levels of a Trademark
If brand, basically, orients customer to attribution and use of product,
so with trademark, it has many meaning levels.


Present attributions. A trademark represents for attributions of
product. These may be enduring, good, nice, expensive, cheap…
Customer may connect to attributions of goods from the trademark
that it represents. Attributions of goods are basic for business to
decide the next meaning levels.



Present product’s advantages. When customers buy product of
trademark, they buy its advantages, not attributions. The advantages
that they direct to, start from attributions. Vietnamese do not buy
endurance, they buy the advantages of using long-range, no losing for
repaired expenses, less money in buying fuel.

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

Present producer’s value. Trademark presents value of goods, buyers

could estimate the value of goods that the producers owned, and
through that, consumers come to decision of buying actions. SONY
presents as a great corporation, they have a strong ability in
penetrating different markets, a talent group of staff, they always
direct toward new products and new facilities.



Present a fixed culture. Trademark represents a nation and a culture.
When they read trademark, they immediately know the nation that the
products belong to and what the culture’s specifications are. FORD
Motor makes everyone contact with active, creative and modern
culture of American.



Speaking of company’s personality. Trademark represents owner-self.
It reflects their characters, life styles, thinking and work. In Vietnam,
FPT is known to have youthful and genial staff. MICROSOFT is
being spoken with billionaire BillGates.



Trademark also represents the position and status of consumers. A
trademark let we know what social stratum, hobby and aesthetic level
customers belong to. When we see a man who steps out from a
Mercedes car, we are sure he is a gentleman.
For real strong trademark, it would present all above meaning levels.

For any business which has not fully had those meaning levels, they need to

determine their trademark strategies corresponding with each meaning level
so that they can have reasonable trademark strategy.
1.3. Trademark’s Value

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When we speak of French, we think about champagne, with American
we think about IBM, MICROSOFT, P&G. And they are TOYOTA, SONY if
it is Japan.
Most people hearing the name "UNILEVER" in Vietnam automatically
remember it is a global company producing consumer goods of many
notable brand names such as SUNSILK shampoo and OMO detergent,
among others. They would also realise that the company owns a valuable
trademark. COCA-COLA soft drink, one of the top ten brands in the world
valued at $67 billion in 2004, which is more than the Coca Cola’s company
total asset value, also makes customers remember it owns other famous
brands such as FANTA, SPRITE, and JOY. Notable brands and their images
obviously have a strong influence on customers. A company’s positive image
creates company prestige; brings value to its trademark and contributes to
developing it.
So we could said that trademark is a company’s property. We still
know trademark’s prestige in conduct is an invisible property is difficult to
quantify. But nowadays there are many business’s trademark that their value
rise up billions USD.
According to the valuation of Integrand company, trademark’s value
of COCA-COLA is 69.6 billion USD, MICROSOFT is 64.09 billion USD in
2002… And in Vietnam, recently, P/S toothpaste trademark has just been
transferred to abroad business by 5 million USD. So what satisfying
trademark’s value?



Firstly, due attention to be paid to quality and satisfying goods that
trademark owns. If trademark is not connected closely with quality
and satisfaction, trademark advertising will be deceptive.

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

Next, it is difference. The difference creates image, owned character
to trademark. When we decide to choose SONY television, not
SAMSUNG, what make us do that? Reliably, we must see to goods
point. The differences of SONY are high endurance and real colors
etc.



The most important is trademark’s prestige. A company wants to buy
trademark of others, actually, they want to buy trademark’s prestige.
The prestige creates endurable life to products.
The value of trademark presents in many aspects:



Knowledge levels of trademark. A trademark only has value when it is
known generously not only in domestic but also in international
market.



Acceptance of trademark. Knowledge level is the condition for
trademark accepting.



Loyalty of trademark. Loyalty element decides the value of trademark.
Why customers are believable, faithful to trademark? It must be a
trademark which satisfies customer’s requirement. Or, at least, there is
not a trademark that is more satisfactory. A strong trademark which
creates loyalty will have strength in competitions. Company will sell
more products, operate more steadily and easily than when deciding to
create a new product.

2. The Process of Building and Developing Trademark
2.1. The Elements Affecting the Building Process of Trademark

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All the elements which affect marketing process of a business, also
affect the building process of trademark. However, in the thesis, I only deal
with the important and direct elements.
-

Modern consumption tendency of customers. There are still

many tendencies affecting the trademark decision of business. However, we
may generalize those consumption behaviors as follows: Nowadays

customers buy products not only purely need basic advantages but also more
important, there are wants that are hidden inside. And companies have to
look for and satisfy those wants best.
-

Tendency of the economy directs to the knowledgeable

economy that gets technology for foundation. Consumers live in a modern
economy with stormy development of information technology. This urges us
to have demands for super modern products. When building trademark,
businesses need to catch this to create products whose trademarks make
customers emotive. Motor, motorbike firms were the fastest businesses.
They have a series of trademark such as Super Dream, Wave Alpha,
especially is @ motor, this is a small trademark of Honda which represents
new products generation, bold information technology.
-

Tendency of globalization and regionalization. The international

economic integration ushers an era when “the world does not have
frontiers”. Markets for businesses become large but encounter many
challenges. A few internal trademarks may make troubles for abroad
markets. This requires the businesses when building trademark, they must
pay attention to globalization trademark strategies and reasonable decisions.
-

Culture element of particular tradition of gold markets. In each

nation, each area, even each region exists long traditional cultured values. It

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is difficult to change these values. Thus, when businesses decide to build
trademark, they need to examine between global trademark building and
particular elements.
-

Competitors: Trademark building process was affected by

competitors. If the company is still weak, it can strive for different trademark
strategies, for example, search for the market that has been not exploited yet,
avoid confrontational competition. If the company is strong enough to carry
out with the methods which challenge competitors, it will set off the power
as trademark of the company.
-

Political elements: Political elements involve in laws and under

law document system, political instruments of The State, organization
apparatus and management mechanism of The Government and socialpolitical organizations.
Trademark decisions, though wanted or not, always obey legal
regulations. They affect double-faced to trademark building process. In one
hand, the company is bound by political limits such as brands do not
correspond with policy, law, or The Government establishes the office that
protects consumers. On the other hand, political elements are necessary.
They ensure that trademark of business are avoided by violation behavior of
competitors as stolen trademark as well as false trademark etc.
So political elements, essentially affect trademark constructively and
they are obstacle for businesses, that their activities are not for customers.

2.2. Trademark Decisions
Trademark decision is an important work, it has a meaning which
decides success or failure of trademark building process. It includes:

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2.2.1. Labeling Decision
Many companies did not label their products before, but nowadays
when trademark becomes company’s property, labeling one’s products is
very important.The advantages of labeling are as follows:


Make sellers easier to settle orders, and solve disputes about delivery.
Instead of ordering an “exclusive beer”, customers only call according
to name: HEINEKEN, TIGER, and so on.



Trademark ensures a legal protection with unique nature of products.
The products are avoided to be imitated publicly.



Assist seller attract a loyal buyer quantity, may yield.



Assist seller in dividing the market. Instead of a kind of product for all
markets, when labeling, company could bring different labels into

different markets.



When trademark is successful, it contributes to building the image of a
company.
2.2.2. Trademark Sponsor Decision
Manufactures have two choices about trademark sponsor rights.
-

Products will be labelled by the producer’s trademark.

-

Products will be labelled by the distributor’s trademark.

Inevitably, any producer also wants their products to bring their own
trademark. However, they have to depend on the distributor. The company
will get more troubles if it is weaker than the distributor. If the distributors
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want the products to bring their trademark, this conflict creates “owned
trademark war”.
To have products bring their own trademark, intermediary distributors
face many disadvantages. Regardless of risks, they search for manufactures
that have abundant ability, ready to produce their own trademark with low
price. They select communication, advertisement mediums with low price,
from that they still have lower-price product and have much more benefit
than the producers.

To avoid losing trademark, producers increase expenses on promotion,
advertisement activities, communication strength; have intermediary
distribution contracts and plan themselves reasonable trademark strategies.
2.2.3. Decision Name of Trademark
Many people are confused between product trademark and commercial
name of a company. They vaguely consider that a company’s name is
trademark or a product’s name is trademark. The disastrous confusion will
be settled when we have knowledge of brand name decision. Trademark
builders could select one in four methods to determine name of trademark as
follows:


One, Separate brand-mark for different products. The different
products though less or more will be labelled by different brands.
With this labeling strategy, the company has to cope with the

following advantages:
-

Connect closely the company’s fame with any product because

if there is a failure of any brand, it will not much affect the company’s
prestige.

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-

Allow the company to find a better name of a series of products

that it does not have if following other strategies.


Create diversity of different brands for customers to choose.

Two, Trademark-name is identical for all kinds of products of a
company.
Also advantages can be offered:
-

Research and development expenses are low. The company

does not lose much time to research name for many kinds of products and
advertisement programs may be identical for all.
-

Will create high consumption level if business has prestige ?

This way only applies for all kinds of products that identify in quality.
Lesson from products of Phillips showed that if a company produces goods
whose qualities are different, customers will normalize the quality of all
kinds of other products. Phillips produces from high-grade to commoner but
use common brand Phillips for all. As a result, when customers think of
Phillips, they think of normal quality.


Three, Separate name for different product lines. This is ideal way for
the corporations which take part in many fields.



Four, Have the commercial name of the company combine with
trademark. This way has many advantages, having been applied
successfully in famous firms such as Honda, Ford and so on.
Company’s prestige will make products dominate easily in markets
and when brand is successful. It increases company’s prestige.
However, this way still does not avoid the weak points of the first
strategy.

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Whether labeling way, a name of trademark has to meet the following
requirements: • Speaking of product’s quality.
• Speaking of something from product’s advantages.
• Easy to read, recognize and remember.
• Create a special sensation.
• Avoid bad-meaning when translating into foreign language.
• Correspond with regulations of native country.
2.2.4. Decide about Trademark Strategy
There are four strategies to choose:


Expanding products.
The strategy add more goods to the same product under a brand. The

additional goods are improved products as new flavor, new color, new
design and so on. For example: “Energy water Number One is now canned”.
Most of expanding strategies of products are about sorts .There are many

reasons for the fact that the company decides to choose this strategy, when:
-

Production capacity of the company is high.

-

The company wants to meet the demand for product

diversification of customers.
-

The company discovers potential wants of customers.

-

The company wants to catch up with the new product strategy

of competitors.
-

Appropriate additional display place of intermediate.

However, this strategy could get risks.
-

Built- trademark name may lose special meaning.

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-

Expanding sorts may be not enough for development, research

expenses.
-

Create internal competition, meaning to reduce share of

products before.


Expanding strategy of brand. Using the present brand-mark to launch
new products. HONDA, for example, this firm specialized in using
owned name to subsidize kinds of products such as cars, motorbikes,
grass-cutters, etc.
Advantages of this strategy numbered:
- A new product is easily successful with the fame of old trademark.
- Company easily takes part in new product strategy.
- Save much expense in advertisement and relation with customers.
Besides that, there occur many risks:
-If new products are a failure, customers will be hopeless. It effects on

other products.
-Old trademark name can’t suit with new products.
If expanding is not right, it will damage special position that
trademark was built.


Multi brands strategy. Strategy use multi brands for available
products. A company will use this strategy when:
-

It creates different new sensations to customers.

-

A company launches new bands to oppose competitors to

protect main-force brand.
-

A company buys other companies with their own.

This strategy will not be used when:
-

Each brand only spends on a small market share.

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

-

It is difficult to concentrate on resource on a brand.

-

The special meaning of main-force brand may be lost.

Strategy for using new brand.
When a company produces a new product without suitable old brand

or in case, a company wants to build a new trademark to start a new kind of
product, especially, the company should apply this strategy when
confronting challenges with competitors.
2.3. Create Trademark from Products and Internal Company
Marketing’s view shows that the trademark building process is a long
process, and must pursue general marketing program. It means that a brand
wants to become a trademark or higher, a strong trademark, so trademark
always connect to quality service and satisfaction. Moreover, it needs to
have an effective communication, advertisement and promotion program.
2.3.1. Trademark Connects Closely to Quality, Valuation and Service
We know famous trademark such as IBM, Mercedes, Sony,
Toyota and so on. Perhaps their successes depend on ebullient
advertisement, promotion and communication program? Inevitably, we can’t
deny big role of advertisement, but more important, their products always
connect to quality, service and satisfaction of customers. The motto of most
of business is “Customer is God”, to win competitors even to exist, there is
no way rather than to supply exclusive value for customers. So it can be said
that a company not only creates products but also customers except the
technology to make products. The company must expert in business

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technology. When customers choose a product of A, B or C firm, they base

on the value they can receive from products.
The value supplied for customers is different between product’s value and
cost. Among that, total value of goods is expressed through advantages of
utilization and additional services. The cost is expressed in price and other
excess expenses. Thus, in order for the trademark to be chosen by customers
in business’s decisions, there are two ways, utilizing cost is lower than
competitive trademark. While its advantage is equal or higher, even cost or
price may be higher but the company must satisfy with higher quality, better
services, and the group of staff serve more enthusiastically. Nowadays,
customers no longer want cheap goods. Instead, they need products with
high quality, perfect services. For this reason, quality and services are
dominant factors for choice of customers.
2.3.2. Building the Distribution System
We should understand the distribution system in wide meaning as
follows:
The distribution system of a trademark is a close distribution system
of products in which businesses have the right to decide or affect mainly on
controlling goods source, price as well as promotion program after sale.
Those are two characters of the distribution system.
Based on these characters, we can see that any company wants to have
its owned distribution system for trademark. There are many ways to divide
distribution system of different businesses, but the best way to research
trademark include:

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-

Distribution system for one or a group of goods. For example, in

Vietnam, there are LIOA, retail firms of fuel.
-

Distribution system that the intermediary sells goods for different

trademarks of many companies at the same time. In this case, there are super
markets and general department stores.
2.3.3. Relation with Customers
As we can see that to have a successful trademark, we need to create
spirit relation to customers as high as possible. In order to do so the
company needs to establish a direct relationship with customer as follows:

Basic level: follows this, the staff only sell products without relation
to customer again.


Repeat level: the staff encourages customers to deal again whenever
they meet problems about product.



Responsibility level: after a selling time, the staff contact customers
again to ask if they are satisfied with the products. The staff also asks
them for contributing their idea to the products, shows their wish, so
that the company could have the orientation to renew products.



Repeat many times: sometimes, the staff deal with customers for

consulting them about how to use the product effectively.



The highest level, the co-operate level: to follow this level in dealing
with customers the company could find the demands, new hopes
throughout showing them advisory, on the other hand give suitable
renew.
For low venue products, because the customers are only the single so

all enterprise have the basic relation level or repeat level. Of course, this
does not satisfy the customer but it is difficult for the company because of
costs, crowded staff while turnover could not compensate increasing cost.
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For the trademark which its value is high, their partners are big firms so the
relation is at the highest level. Boeing relate with AOL airlines.
Direct relation creates loyalty. If we have a close relation to our
customer, they would be loyal to our trademark.

2.4. Advertising Trademark Abroad
Beside creating quality products, high value companies need to set up
a trademark advertisement program abroad including: advertisement, selling
promotion, propagation, relation with consumers.

2.4.1. Advertising to Create Notion about Trademark
“Advertisement is the indirect expounding and idea promotions,
goods, services in any way which is paid by a real sponsor".
Purpose of advertisement. The general purpose is to create idea about

trademark for consumers. The company has the targets in different periods of
the trademark building process.
For the first time trademark enters into the market, the highest target is
information for consumers about new trademark.
In period of persuading consumers, the purpose is forming

the

favorite of trademark from consumers, encourage customers to change their
trademark to use the company’s trademark, changing awareness of
customers about nature and advantage of products.
Purpose of remind. With the purpose to remind about the existence
non-stop renew of products, advertisements do not need high intensity,

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choose the long- term media. Some advertising media can be chosen as
follows:
- Advertisement via direct selling channel: the sales-force should be
skilled and professional transactors, able to catch customers' thinking and
fully aware of products and services to introduce and persuade them into
buying.
- Advertisement in communicating media. The advantage of this media
is strong affection, large and diversified influence but it requires high cost
and repetition. There is a diversity of communicating media and each of
them is suitable for specific customers and services or products.
- Direct advertisement by using mail, telephone, leaflet, the Internet,...
2.4.2. Promote in Selling and Introducing Trademark to Customer
Selling promotion is a group of communication means that using

agitation tools, encourage customers and upgrade their demands for the
trademark immediately. Selling promotion directly encourages consumption
through supplement matters for customers.
First, we have to determine that the target of selling promotion is
aimed at both consumers and distribution intermediary.
-

To consumer: Encourage them to use much more and be loyal

to the trademark. Further more, to create consumers using new trademarks.
New customers through the decision process will soon be affected by
advantages. Selling promotion in a suitable level, avoiding the incorrect
evaluation of customer to the trademark will help the company have new
customers.

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-

To the intermediary: Encourage the delivery force to increase

their activities, promotion consumption, reinforce and expand the
distribution channel more and more.
The company could choose one or coordinate many kinds of promotion
means:


Group of tools which push up the intermediate activities in
distributing channel such as finance sponsors, free of charge goods,

cash, gifts, etc.



Customer conferences, trade fairs



Display products at selling places.



Contests and games



Customer clubs
2.4.3. Propagate for Trademark
Propaganda is using the public media without money to introduce

trademark to current and potential customers to reach certain target of
business. Propaganda may affect strongly on social understanding level,
persuade the consumer more strongly and less costly for advertisement. The
content of propaganda includes:


Propagation for products with different efforts which make the
consumer know about any trademark.



Operation propaganda is the activity which involves inside and
outside companies to help everybody know about themselves, create
the image and upgrade the advantages of the company.



Gallery motivation is communication with lawmakers or state officers
to support a law or not.



Propagate about a disadvantage case of the company.
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Those decisions of propagation include:
-

Determine the target.

-

Design the message, select communication means.

-

Carry out propaganda.

-

Evaluate the result of propaganda.

II. Trademark’s Roles for Businesses
1. Trademark : Invisible Property of Businesses
Trademark is the image, symbol of a business’s products. Through
trademark business could carry out advertising, promoting products, attract
customer’s attention to products. The more a trademark is known, the more
products of a business are loved and believed. This is the element which
decides business activities and profits. It contributes to existence and
development of a business.
When business registers trademark, they indispensably have the legal
property rights for trademark. So businesses completely have business rights
to the registered trademark. Specifically, the business is allowed to use the
trademark or transfer to the other participators and receive transferringmoney. In facts, the more a trademark is well-known the bigger transferringmoney is. The business can also sell property rights of the trademark to the
other participators through licensed contract if they do not want or they
could not commerce any more to get money back. On the other hand, when
business is bankrupted or sell together with permanent property, they could
get additional money through selling trademark. It is reason why trademark
is an invisible property.

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2. Trademark : Protection for Prestige and Value of Businesses
For the registered trademark, business has the legal property rights. So
that business complete has adequate rights on legal in preventing
competitors or the third party that use similar or the same owned trademark
illegally. Although they are intentional or unintentional, violator’s purpose is
reaching profit.

However, using unintentionally similar or the same trademark is rare.
It essentially bases on trademark’s fame and customer’s belief in products to
reach profits illegally. Business has legal rights to require parties
immediately stop using the trademark illegally and compensate for damage
that the business has been done.

3. Trademark: Fame for Businesses and Effects to Different
Activities of Businesses
A famous trademark would help business to be known, concerned by
customers, participators and potential customers. Thus, commercial activities
and, especially different products of company will receive unofficial benefit
from that famous trademark. Customers will buy any products if it is made
by a business that produces a famous trademark and customers completely
believe in the product’s quality.
4. Trademark: Loyal Customers for Businesses
Famous trademark has prestige about quality and value of goods,
reliability known by consumers. With quality of goods and trademark’s
prestige, consumers regularly maintain buying confidence. Therefore, this is

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occurring in a long time and it only concludes when business does not
produce goods that do not bring the trademark like that, or belief of
customers in the quality is changing.
A business could evaluate loyal customers or not from observing
when they buy goods which bring business’s trademark. If their shop runs
out of goods, they go to the others and search the trademark or changing to
buy different trademark. In fact, so much loyal customers are big, so many
prestigious business are large. Concurrently, this helps businesses to prevent

the violations about trademark and brings long and stable existence for
businesses.
5. Trademark: Condition to Potential Export Markets
Most of the developing countries or the economic powers do not
permit goods without trademark to be custom procedure. Other way, the
goods without trademark are not imported. This regulation especially is
applied to the developing countries. For these countries, they could not
inspect quality and safety of the goods without clear origin, so it is
unbelievable. Developing and registering a trademark is a foundation for
exporting to potential markets and eliminating the barrier and overcoming by
boosting exports.

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Chapter II
Vietnam’s Regulations issued
on Trademark and its Development

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