Huỳnh Thị Thu Trang

Thạc sĩ Luật, Giảng viên, Giám đốc Trung tâm QLĐT CLC và ĐTĐB, Trường Đại học Luật TP.HCM. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Nguyễn Phượng An

Thạc sĩ Luật, Giảng viên Khoa Luật Quốc tế, Trường Đại học Luật TP.HCM. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The topic of trademark protection is of utmost importance for companies' production and their business activities. In the context of international economic integration, the topic mentioned needs a more significant concern from economists, lawyers, lawmakers, and governments. With the expansion of the market, the consequences of trademark infringement become more severe and the impact on companies will be at the new extreme. Infringement of industrial property rights in general and trademark infringement in particular harm genuine production enterprises, mystify and lessen customers’ confidence in registered products, and at the same time, increase the risk that the consumers having encountered counterfeit, forged, and inferior goods. The development of international trade activities contributes to an increase in the number and variety of trademarks to be protected. Countries need to expand protection subject to "new" trademarks or non-traditional trademarks. The practice of trademark protection activities could not be terminated without the collaboration of countries and international treaties. 

Vietnam has continuously promoted many new-generation free trade agreements (FTAs), namely CPTPP, EVFTA, and RCEP. The FTAs mentioned are all participating in regulating intellectual property in general and trademark protection in particular, including non-traditional trademarks. Within the article, the authors focus on (i) the non-traditional trademark protection mechanism in international intellectual property law and (ii) the provisions of the CPTPP, EVFTA, and RCEP. From there, the article assesses (iii) the compatibility of Vietnam's current IP law and (iv) the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam after accession to the FTAs.

• Keywords: trademark protection, new-generation FTA, non-traditional trademark, intellectual property law, sound mark, scent mark.