The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association has been taking measures to protect and promote its brand from hostile foreign competitors.
Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association frets over trademark Vietnam Intellectual Property Department granted its protection to Buonmathuot Coffee brand in October of 2005. After it was discovered that the trademark has been registered in China for monopoly protection for 10 years by a Chinese company, Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association along with Daklak Province initiated a lawsuit to regain the trademark, filing for patent protection in 17 countries.
Currently, the Vietnamese trademark is recognised and protected in Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg and Singapore. But so far Germany, the US, the UK, Canada, South Korea and Japan have refused because the trademark had already registered by other parties.
Rice Field Corporation was registered to the Cafe Ban Me Thuot brand in the US since 2003, Starbucks has registered the same name in Canada since 1998, and Lee Mi Hyang brought the brand to South Korea in 2005.
The Buon Ma Thuot Coffee Association has stated that they are looking into the option of purchasing their own name back because they registered the brand later in those countries than other entities.
Trinh Van Minh, deputy head of the association, said that the losses from being unable to use the brand name is minimal at the moment but will increase in the future. He added that, not only could customers become confused by other enterprises using the brand, but the situation put the association at risk of lawsuit for using their own trademark.
The association plans to continue sending letters of objection as well as begin a branding process for a name other than ‘Buon Ma Thuot’.
They also plan on registering their products according to geographical indications via the European Commission.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
