The Inspectorate of the Ho Chi Minh City Justice Department and Ho Chi Minh City Bar Association have recently accepted petitions of WINCO Intellectual Property Co., Ltd. (WINCO Law Firm) for handling infringements of INCOLAW International Consulting Co., Ltd. and INCOLAW Law Firm Ltd., which violate the Law on Lawyers and the Code of Professional Ethics and Conduct of Vietnamese Lawyers.
According to its petitions, WINCO Law Firm has been severely disturbed by the act infringing upon intellectual property rights committed by INCOLAW Consulting Company (represented by Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Ha – Deputy General Director and Ms. Tran Thi Xuan Hieu – General Director) and INCOLAW Law Firm (represented by Ms. Tran Thi Xuan Hieu – Lawyer and Director), all located at 1st Floor, Alpha Tower, 151 Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Ward 6, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City.
As reported by WINCO Law Firm, those two firms have taken advantage of investment achievements, prestige and reputation of WINCO Law Firm to earn illicit profits through using the trade name containing the sign “INCOLAW” which is confusingly similar to WINCO’s trademark “WINCOLAW & device” exclusively protected under trademark registration certificate No. 60668 granted by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (NOIP) since 2005 for “services of industrial property representation and legal consultancy”.
Recently, WINCO Law Firm has received complaints from clients using legal services of those two firms that have used the sign “INCOLAW” in their trade names and transaction documents and on their websites, advertising media and signboards for provision of industrial property services, business, investment and legal consultation services, which all constitute an infringement of the trademark “WINCOLAW & device” of WINCO Law Firm.
On May 13, 2020, WINCO Law Firm sent official letters to INCOLAW Consulting Company and INCOLAW Law Firm, warning them of their infringement of the right to the trademark “WINCOLAW & device”. However, the two firms did not show their goodwill for cooperation but challenged WINCO Law Firm. Having no choice, WINCO Law Firm had to carry out legal procedures to initiate a lawsuit against INCOLAW Consulting Company and INCOLAW Law Firm at the Ho Chi Minh City Court, requesting these firms to immediately cease the infringing act of using the sign “INCOLAW” in their trade names, advertising media and on their websites, signboards and business facilities, and pay a compensation of VND 35 billion to WINCO Law Firm.
Vietnam Law and Legal Forum will provide updated information to the readers.
SOURCE https://vietnamlawmagazine.vn/
