On 6 July 2026, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam issued updated implementation guidance for trademark cancellation actions based on three consecutive years of non-use. The revised approach lowers the applicant’s initial evidentiary burden: once a basic market investigation shows no trace of genuine commercial use across relevant goods, services and sales channels, the proceeding is expected to move more quickly toward requiring the proprietor to explain and prove use. Rather than a complete reversal of the burden of proof, the change is better understood as a stronger evidentiary obligation on the owner after the applicant has completed a reasonable preliminary search.
The practical effect is that token use will carry less weight. Isolated sales, transactions arranged mainly to defend a registration, or a single advertising webpage may no longer be enough to preserve the mark. Cancellation applicants should still document the scope, timing and channels of their market checks carefully. Registrants, meanwhile, should retain invoices, orders, logistics records, distributor materials, advertising data and online sales evidence that can be tied to the specific registered goods or services. The procedure may now be simpler to start, but the outcome will still turn on whether the owner can show genuine, lawful use at a credible commercial scale.
