Trademark Development of Handicraft Villages

Hanoi now has 1,270 handicraft villages, including 244 traditional villages with 47 industries. However, the villages are facing difficulties for sustainable development due to lack of attention for building trademarks and production promotion.

Still dependent on development history

Many traditional handicraft villages do not focus on promoting their trademarks with the subjective thought that they have a history of hundreds of years; therefore, many people must know their products. This leads to a problem that many villages do not sue when they know that their products are imitated. On the other hand, the rate of established handicraft villages is very limited in localities (just nearly 10 per cent), thus, building programmes for product marketing and promotion remains weak. It is because of this, the villages have to export their products via intermediate stages, leading to low profit.

For instance, Chang Son woodwork village in Thach That district which has a development process of thousands of years and are famous for many products, including 18 arhats placed at Tay Phuong Pagoda. In 2008, Chang Son was listed among seven outstanding traditional handicraft villages in Vietnam. Although the village’s products are widely used, the Chang Son trademark remains unpopular. Only several households advertise the village products on websites and Chang Son has not yet established its own website. Not only Chang Son but also others are also in the same boat. Artisan Le Ba Chung, chairman of Kieu Ky gold and silver association of said trademarks and products of his villages are only promoted via a private firm’s website, not their own websites.

Closer cooperation between villages and authorities are needed for trademark promotion

Among traditional handicraft villages in Vietnam, Van Phuc silk village has pioneered in building a trademark. Since 2006, the Association of Handicraft Villages has cooperated with Van Phuc silk cooperative to register for trademark protection of “Ha Dong Silk” with the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam. To date, Van Phuc silk village has become a favourite destination for both local and international visitors. In December 2009, square glutinous rice cake (Banh Chung) of Tranh Khuc village in Duyen Ha commune, Thanh Tri district, registered and announced its trademark. Among traditional handicraft villages in Vietnam, Van Phuc silk village has pioneered in building a trademark. Since 2006, the Association of Handicraft Villages has cooperated with Van Phuc silk cooperative to register for trademark protection of “Ha Dong Silk” with the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam. To date, Van Phuc silk village has become a favourite destination for both local and international visitors. In December 2009, square glutinous rice cake (Banh Chung) of Tranh Khuc village in Duyen Ha commune, Thanh Tri district, registered and announced its trademark.

However, among hundreds of handicraft villages in Hanoi, only a small number of them pays due attention to advertising their products. This is partially attributed to small-scaled operation, thus, it is difficult to develop a common trademark. Introducing products at fairs and trade centres takes much time and costs, this discourages the villages from production promotion.

The Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade said it has assisted local villages to attend handicraft fairs and exhibitions. Business owners must have marketing, informatics and foreign language knowledge to build a long-term strategy to promote their trademarks and products through mass media, particularly the internet.

Department Director Luu Tien Long said, to help the villages build and develop their trademarks, his department has submitted a project named “Preserving and developing Hanoi handicraft villages in the 2010 – 2015 period” worth VND3.62 trillion to the local People’s Committee. The project will prioritise restoring and developing 25 old villages which are facing great challenges for survival.

In January, the committee recoganised and granted the title “Hanoi traditional handicraft village” for 16 villages. These will get financial assistance for trademark development and stall lease for introducing products at fairs. In August, the department will organise a week called “Week of Hanoi handicraft products 2010” which will include a contest for gift models to market the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long-Hanoi. This year, the department will also send an artisan delegation to join a handicraft fair in Japan.

Tags: Vietnam Handicraft