Sauce trademark owners usurped

Ho Chi Minh City-based law firm Bross&Partners Law Co has cautioned the Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Association that the Phu Quoc fish sauce trademark has been registered by a local firm in Hong Kong.

Le Quang Vinh, director of the law firm’s Intellectual Property Department, said despite the geographical indication which allows only fish-sauce makers on Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island to use the label, it was registered for a fish sauce on May 11 by Hong Kong-based Viet Huong Trading Ltd Co.

Viet Huong has applied to relevant agencies in the Chinese region seeking protection of the label, and Vinh warned that if Vietnam did not object to the infringement within a certain time, the trademark would be protected under Hong Kong law.

In 2001 Phu Quoc fish sauce became one of Vietnam’s first products to have its appellation of origin recognised worldwide, meaning the name can be used only for fish sauce products made on the Vietnamese island.

Other appellations of origin worldwide include champagne (a region in France), tequila (a town in Mexico), and Havana (cigars).

Posted by VBN on Sep 22 2011. Filed under Food & Beverage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry