The Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Viet Nam Intellectual Property Association (VIPA) held a seminar in Ha Noi on Monday to discuss trademarks in corporate development strategy.

VCCI Vice Chairman Hoang Quang Phong described trademark building as a crucial factor to help firms better compete with domestic and foreign ones.

He said that most small- and medium-sized enterprises have yet to pay attention to the building of trademarks and so consumers tend to choose foreign brands despite similarities in quality and design between domestic and foreign-made options.

According to a survey recently conducted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, only 20 per cent of Vietnamese enterprises invest in brand building, and most of them register trademarks at home instead of in foreign markets.

Phong said several well-known Vietnamese brands such as Trung Nguyen coffee, Vinamit dried jackfruit, and Bitis footwear were copied abroad, making it hard for them to expand into new markets and compete with foreign brands.

Although Viet Nam is among the top exporters of quality rice, coffee and pepper, demand for farm produce labelled with Vietnamese brands remain modest, he said.

Nguyen Nhu Quynh, deputy chief of inspection at the Ministry of Science and Technology, said that if firms are unaware of the role of branding, they will lose development opportunities on the international arena.

Nguyen Duc Son, director of Richard Moore Associates, said that trademark building should go hand-in-hand with increases in product and service quality. — VNS