In the field of intellectual property, trademark registration and copyright registration are two important but different concepts. Although both aim to protect the rights of creators, they serve different purposes and apply to different types of intellectual property. So how are trademark registration and copyright registration different? Follow the article of VCD below.
1. Trademark registration
A trademark is a special sign used to identify a company’s products or services. In other words, a trademark is an object protected by industrial property, a sign to distinguish goods and services of different organizations and individuals.
According to Clause 3, Article 6 of the current Law on Intellectual Property, industrial property rights for trademarks (except for famous trademarks) are established on the basis of the decision to grant a protection certificate by a competent state agency according to the registration procedure or recognition of international registration under an international treaty to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a member. Therefore, trademark registration is a procedure to confirm industrial property rights for a trademark. This means that the trademark registration application is fully protected and undergoes a strict formal and substantive examination process by the Intellectual Property Office.
Trademark registration process:
- Trademark search: conduct a thorough search to ensure that the desired trademark has not been registered by another party. Normally, a consulting unit will be selected to provide services for preliminary trademark searches and in-depth trademark searches.
- Prepare registration documents: After an in-depth search and the trademark is assessed as being capable of registration, the registration application will be submitted. Applications are submitted to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam directly or online.
- Examination stage: The National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam will examine the application to ensure that it meets all legal requirements and does not conflict with existing trademarks.
- Publication: An approved valid application will be publicly announced. The formal examination period is about 1 month from the date of the valid application. The publication period is within 2 months from the date of the decision on the trademark application. The substantive examination period is no more than 9 months from the date of publication.
- Granting of a certificate of protection: After going through the examination process, the applicant will be granted a Certificate of Trademark Registration if all fees and charges are paid.
- Registration: The certificate of protection is recorded in the national register of industrial property.
Significance of Trademark Registration:
Trademark registration brings many important benefits, including creating a legal basis to protect the rights of individuals and organizations, helping to distinguish goods and services between businesses. It not only enhances brand value but also strengthens intellectual property rights, allowing businesses to sue if there is an infringement. Furthermore, a registered trademark creates trust for customers, showing the business’s commitment to the quality of products and services.
2. Copyright Registration
Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection that protects original creative works. It grants creators exclusive economic rights to control the use and distribution of their work, including the rights to copy, distribute, perform, display, and create derivative works.
Copyright plays an important role in promoting creativity and innovation. By ensuring that creators can benefit from their work, copyright prevents unauthorized use and protects their rights. This protection encourages individuals and organizations to invest time and resources in developing new works, because they believe that their rights will be respected.
Copyright is essentially a term that refers to the form of protection for copyright and related rights, so copyright registration is the procedure of recording the copyright or copyright owner’s rights to the work they create or own. This procedure only protects the form of the work, but the content such as the semantics of the message will not be protected.
Copyright registration process:
- Identify the work to be registered.
- Prepare the copyright registration dossier: After determining the type of work to be registered, the author and owner of the copyright of the work will prepare the dossier according to regulations.
- Submit the dossier and copyright registration fee: Within 15 days from the date of receiving a valid dossier, the Copyright Office is responsible for issuing a Certificate of Copyright Registration to the applicant.
- Register and publish: The Certificate of Copyright Registration is recorded in the National Register of Copyright and published in the Official Gazette on Copyright and Related Rights.
Significance of copyright registration:
Copyright registration is an important step to help protect creators from unauthorized use of works, such as theft, copying or abuse. Creating a valuable work requires investment of effort, intelligence, time and finance. Copyright registration not only recognizes individual creativity but also brings worthy rewards to the author, thereby motivating their working spirit and encouraging creativity in the community.
Above is the article “What is the difference between trademark registration and copyright registration?” that VCD sends to you. We hope this article is useful to you.
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