In response to a rise in counterfeiting activity that one of our clients was experiencing in Vietnam, we worked to record this client’s registered trademark rights with the Vietnam Customs office. As a direct result of our trademark recordations, we received a notice from the Customs in Vietnam of a suspicious shipment with a declared value 3.5 billion VND (approximately USD 140,000). The client’s internal team reviewed the photos from the shipment and determined that both products were counterfeit. Based on these findings, we filed a request to suspend the shipment; further review confirmed that all inspected products were counterfeit. The authorities issued a decision to destroy the goods and subjected the importer to a fine of VND 500 million (approximately USD 20,000), the maximum fine that the authority may impose for counterfeit goods. This is one of the most severe sanctions handed down by authorities in the past few years. As an added bonus, the case received attention from local media. The reporting on the decision will serve to deter like-minded infringers, and our client was portrayed very favorably as a respected brand that diligently targets infringement.
