Getting a company name approved by the Department of Planning and Investment, or registering a domain name, does not mean you have the right to use that name. Two judgments from 2019 show that a business can be forced to change its name, lose its domain names and pay damages when the name is identical to another party’s protected trademark.
1. The case in 60 seconds
A company copied a competitor’s packaging and then changed its name to include the words “Đồng T”. An individual registered osram.vn and osram.com.vn to sell lighting equipment.
Can a company name or domain name that was validly registered still be used when it is identical to another party’s protected trademark?
Search trademarks before choosing a company name, and register your core domain names as soon as you launch a brand.
2. What happened?
- The trademark owners establish their rights. The business “Hiệu Đồng T” registered a trademark for food flour very early on. OSRAM has been a protected trademark in Vietnam since 1966.
- Copied packaging is penalised. A company was fined for copying the packaging of flour products bearing the Đồng T trademark.
- A name change to get around the rules. The company changed its name to “ASEA Đ Food Flour Joint Stock Company” (“Công ty Cổ phần Bột Thực phẩm ASEA Đ…”) and kept printing “Đồng T” on its packaging, arguing that the name had been granted by the Department of Planning and Investment.
- Domain names identical to a trademark. An individual registered osram.vn and osram.com.vn and set up a website selling electrical lighting equipment.
- The court rules. Judgments No. 17/2019/KDTM-ST and No. 28/2019/KDTM-ST (People’s Court of Hanoi) ordered the words “Đồng T” to be removed from the company name and the two domain names to be withdrawn.
3. Where is the legal issue?
Who has the right to the name?
A trademark protected earlier takes priority. A company name registered later does not create a right to use a sign that is identical to that trademark.
Is a name approved by the Department of Planning and Investment safe?
At business registration, the system only checks for identical company names. It does not check the trademark database. Being granted a name does not rule out infringement.
Can a domain name be taken back?
Yes. Registering or holding a domain name identical or similar to another party’s trademark in bad faith can lead to an order to withdraw it.
Is this infringement or unfair competition?
Depending on the facts, it can be both: infringement of trademark rights and an act of unfair competition under the Law on Intellectual Property.
4. From the facts to the management lesson
| Fact | Analysis | Lesson |
|---|---|---|
| After being fined for copying packaging, the company changed its name to include “Đồng T” and printed these words on its packaging. | A granted company name is not a basis for using a sign identical to a protected trademark. The court ordered the words to be removed from the company name. | Search trademarks before choosing a company name. Do not only check for identical company names. |
| An individual registered osram.vn and osram.com.vn to sell lighting equipment. | Domain names identical to a well-known trademark, used in the same line of business, were treated as unfair competition and withdrawn. | Register all your core domain extensions at the same time as you launch a brand. |
| The infringing party had to pay more than VND 203 million in damages and make a public apology. | The trademark owner recovered the domain names and was awarded damages because it held a protection title and had evidence of the infringing website. | Have a bailiff’s record (vi bằng) made of the website content as soon as you find an infringement. |
Fact: facts stated in the judgment · Analysis: FC Legal’s view · Lesson: what businesses should do.
5. What did the court decide?
- Judgment No. 17/2019/KDTM-ST (People’s Court of Hanoi): ASEA Đ Company was ordered to stop the infringement, to carry out the procedure at the Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment to remove the words “Đồng T” from its company name, and to destroy all infringing packaging and printed materials.
- Judgment No. 28/2019/KDTM-ST (People’s Court of Hanoi): the domain names osram.vn and osram.com.vn were ordered to be withdrawn so that Osram GmbH could register them first. The infringing individual was ordered to pay more than VND 203 million in damages and make a public apology.
Articles 129 and 130 of the Law on Intellectual Property: using a trade name or company name, or registering or holding a domain name, that is identical or confusingly similar to another party’s earlier protected trademark is an act of infringement and unfair competition.
6. What should businesses do now?
- Do not use another party’s trademark as your company name. Search the trademark database before choosing a name, because the Department of Planning and Investment only checks for identical company names.
- Register your company name as a trademark. If your company name is also your brand, file a trademark application to get exclusive rights.
- Secure your domain names. Register .vn, .com.vn, .com and .net at the same time as you launch the brand.
- Act fast against domain squatting. Have a bailiff’s record made of the website content and bring a lawsuit to recover the domain name as provided by law.
Many business owners believe that once a company name is granted, it is “theirs”. In practice, the enterprise registration certificate only deals with identical company names. Before you settle on a name or change it, search trademarks and domain names at the same time. This costs much less than being forced to change your name and replace all your packaging and signage.
Ask a lawyer →7. Frequently asked questions
Can a company name granted by the Department of Planning and Investment be ordered to change?
Yes, it can. In the Đồng T case, the court ordered the company to carry out the procedure to remove the words identical to the trademark from its company name.
If I bought the domain name first, is it mine?
Not necessarily. If the domain name is identical to another party’s protected trademark and is used in bad faith, the trademark owner can ask for it to be withdrawn.
What should I do if someone registers a domain name containing my trademark?
Have a bailiff’s record made of the website content and collect evidence of the business activity. Then send a demand or bring a lawsuit to recover the domain name and claim damages.
Check your company name, trademark and domain names with an FC Legal lawyer
Before you set up a company, change its name or launch a new brand.
- Trademark search and assessment of the risk of conflict
- Advice on naming and trademark registration
- Dispute handling and recovery of domain names
Please do not send confidential documents or personal data through the form.
Sources
People’s Court of Hanoi: Judgment No. 17/2019/KDTM-ST, dispute over the Đồng T trademark and a company name.
People’s Court of Hanoi: Judgment No. 28/2019/KDTM-ST, dispute over the domain names osram.vn and osram.com.vn.
National Assembly: Law on Intellectual Property, consolidated text including the amendments of 2009, 2019 and 2022.
This article is for reference. It analyses published judgments and does not replace legal advice on a specific case. Some parties’ names are abbreviated as in the published judgments. For detailed advice, please contact the FC Legal legal team.
Prepared by the FC Legal legal team and reviewed by FC Legal’s managing lawyer. Updated 30 September 2026.
