Hanoi Attracted More Than 141 Million USD of Foreign Investment in The First Month of 2020

Hanoi Department of Planning and Investment has just informed that foreign investment attraction in Hanoi in January 2020 reached over 141 million USD, including 68 newly licensed projects, registered capital of 30.2 million USD.

Lawyers in Ha noi City

The total number of enterprises in Hanoi city now is 281,228 enterprises. The number of operating enterprises was 1,393 (down 12% over the same period).

Also, in January, trade activities were assessed to develop well, ensuring goods circulation to serve consumer demand during the Lunar New Year. Total turnover of goods sold and sales of social consumer services was estimated at 256,000 billion VND, up 2.1% over the previous month and up 11.4% over the same period in 2019.

Export turnover of goods in the province in January 2020 was estimated at 1,041 million USD, down 20.2% over the previous month and down 17.4% over the same period last year. In particular, export turnover of agricultural products decreased by 31.5% compared to the same period last year; textiles and garments decreased by 28.9%; footwear and leather products increased by 14.8%; computers, electronics and components decreased by 24.7%; machinery, equipment and spare parts decreased by 29.5%; phones and components decreased by 33.3%…

The industrial production index in January 2020 is estimated to decrease by 24.9% over the previous month and by 14.2% over the same period in 2019, mainly because January of this year coincides with the Lunar New Year. Most major industries have falling production indexes.

Tourists travelling to Hanoi in January 2020 reached 2.38 million arrivals, down 3.5% compared to the same period last year. In which, international visitors reached 481,800 arrivals, down 9% compared to the same period last year (international tourist arrivals to stay reached 339,676 visitors, down 8.4% over the same period); domestic tourists reached 1.74 million, decreasing by 2% over the same period. Total revenue from tourists is estimated at 8,693 billion VND, up 7.2% over the same period last year.

Particularly for 9 days of Lunar New Year, international tourists staying in Hanoi reached 86,844 visitors, down 13% compared to the same period last year. In particular, Chinese tourists decreased by 47% with 13,975 visitors.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh city. We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact us to book your time in advance to let us provide our best services.

Read More

How much of a copyrighted material can be used under fair use?

Fair use is a defense to copyright infringement; it essentially makes allowable some instances of copyright infringement, such as educational purposes or parody.

Copyright in Vietnam

What makes fair use difficult is that there is no brightline test or rule to apply in all instances; it varies on a case-by-case basis. There are 4 main factors that courts examine for fair use:

-Purpose and character of your use (educational? commercial (i.e. to make money)? comment or criticism? etc.);

-Nature of the copyrighted work (more creative = more protection: fiction book gets more protection than fact-based article b/c facts aren’t copyrightable);

-Amount and substantiality of the portion used (how much of the work was used? does it go to “heart of the matter?”); and

-Effect on potential market (not just effect on current market. might someone use the infringing work instead of something from the copyright owner?

This article is for informational and educational purposes only. This should not be taken as a substitute for legal advice. This does not create an attorney-client relationship with anyone who reads it.

Source: Quora

Read More

Temporarily Stop Granting Work Permits to Foreigners Originating from Infected Area Because of Covid-19

 An outbreak of acute respiratory infections caused by a new strain of Corona virus (nCoV) was first detected in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China in December 2019. Up to now, the disease has spread to many cities in China and more than 20 countries in the world including Vietnam. Facing new complicated movements of the acute respiratory disease epidemic caused by a new strain of Corona virus (Covid-19), on February 2^nd, 2020, the Vietnam Minister of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs issued Official Dispatch No. 01/CD-LDTBXH on strengthening measures to prevent and control Covid-19 epidemics through the tighter control of immigration process, including the grant of visa, work permit, temporary residence card for foreigners originating from infected area.

Immigration Lawyers in Vietnam

Accordingly, the Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs shall propose the Employment Department and the Department of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the Management Boards of industrial parks, export processing zones and economic zones of localities to temporarily stop granting work permit for foreign workers from epidemic areas during the time when Vietnam declared the disease. This affects the entry into Vietnam of foreign workers who have not yet been granted a work permit under the law. According to Article 10 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam 2014; Point c Clause 4 Article 1 of the Law on Entry, exit, transit and residence of foreigners in Vietnam amended in 2019; Clause 16, Article 1 of the Law on Entry, Exit, Transit, and Residence of Foreigners in Vietnam amended in 2019 foreign workers to be granted LD1, LD2 visas and temporary residence cards of the same type, should be issued with a work permit in Vietnam. In addition, foreign investors in Vietnam are also affected, because the temporarily stoppage of granting of work permits will also affect the application for certification of foreign workers’ eligibility for exemption from work permit for investors, it also affects the foreign investor’s temporary residence card application.

In addition, it is required that enterprises and organizations employing foreign workers to temporarily stop accepting workers from China returning Vietnam after Tet holiday to work and foreign workers moving to endemic areas during the Covid-19 epidemic announcement. In case of having received such, the enterprise must report the list of employees who have just returned to Vietnam from China with the necessary information as required, carry out isolation measures at places of residence and workplaces under the guidance of the health authorities, and at the same time monitor and examine health within 14 days from the date of entry into Vietnam.

Labour lawyers at ANT Lawyers shall closely monitor the changes of labour law to provide client with update.

Read More

Can a company in same industry with similar name exist?

In short, the answer is yes; however, a seasoned trademark attorney would be the best person to ask regarding your particular situation. That being said, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) routinely rejects trademark registrations based on the “likelihood of confusion” that consumers would face between a prospective trademark and one that is already on file with the USPTO. According to the USPTO, “likelihood of confusion exists between trademarks when the marks are so similar and the goods and/or services for which they are used are so related that consumers would mistakenly believe they come from the same source. Each application is decided on its own facts, and no strict mechanical test exists for determining likelihood of confusion.” Some things to consider regarding “likelihood of confusion”:

Trademark in Vietnam

Aside from being rejected for having a similar textual composition to an already-existing trademark, a new registration may fail for also sounding alike, looking similar or creating “the same commercial impression in the consuming public’s mind”

The USPTO looks at whether a likelihood of confusion would exist as to the source of the goods and/or services rather than whether the actual goods and/or services are likely to be confused

The USPTO cannot perform pre-application searches or provide advisory opinions regarding registrations (hence the importance of an attorney - see below)

Businesses often seek the assistance of a lawyer to make sure their application gets accepted (which can be a time consuming process) and to avoid any future potential legal liability. For competitive rates on registering your trademark with the help of experienced trademark lawyers.

Read More

How do you get an idea patented?

While an idea is not eligible for patent protection, most reproduceable inventions are. If you have created something new, novel, and reproduceable, chances are that your creation is eligible for legally enforceable intellectual property rights protection.

Vietnam patent

It’s important to understand that not all creations are treated the same under the law. If you’re an artist, author, or musician and you’ve created an original work of art or authorship, your work isn’t patentable. Instead, you’ll want to register the copyright for your work (which is created as soon as your work is fixed in a tangible form) with the U.S. Copyright Office. If your business has developed a branding tool, such as a graphic, logo, phrase, original domain name, etc. then you’ll need to register your original trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. However, if your novel and reproduceable creative work is a manufactured product, process, machine, product design, or plant species, that work may be patentable.

Source: Quora

Read More

FDI Is Expected to Flow into Vietnam After the Covid-19 Epidemic

The Covid-19 epidemic is also considered an opportunity for Vietnam to receive faster flows of foreign investment, especially capital flows away from China.

According to the Director of Foreign Investment Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment), a large US corporation is planning to invest a multi-billion-dollar project in Asia. The two locations they considered were China and Vietnam. Given the situation of the Covid-19 epidemic in China, it is likely that they will choose Vietnam. In March, they will make a final decision…

Set up company in Vietnam

A group of Korean and US investors interested in LNG power projects in Vietnam is probably one of the rare foreign business delegations coming to Vietnam at the time of the outbreak of Covid-19. On February 11^th, they went to the Government Office and the Ministry of Planning and Investment to work on this content.

Without hiding ambition, according to representative of Korean investors consortium including Korea Gas Corporation, Southern Korea Electric Company, Hanwha Group… – they want to invest into LNG port and gas power plant projects in Vietnam. Even in addition to the electricity sector, these investors also want to invest in other areas in Vietnam.

The fact that foreign investors still coming to Vietnam at this time proves the attraction of Vietnam. The postponement and cancellation of investment promotion trips of foreign investors is only momentary.

In addition, according to the National Center for Socio-Economic Information and Forecast, the Covid-19 epidemic showed that the world was too dependent on China.

Having similar views, the New York Times also forecast that the flow of foreign investment from China to Vietnam to avoid US taxes could be accelerated by the Covid-19 epidemic.

According to the representative of JETRO Hanoi Office, in order to disperse risks, 122 Japanese enterprises asked by JETRO said that they decided to relocate their production in China and the place to be moved to the top is Vietnam.

Vietnam is at the top of the list, with 42.3% of the 122 businesses mentioned above have chosen. Following Vietnam is Thailand (20.6%), Philippines (18.6%) and Indonesia (16.5%). Japanese enterprises moving away from China not only because of trade war, but also to evade the increasing input costs in this market.

In the international market, it is forecasted that the flow of international investment into China and investment from China to foreign countries will face difficulties in 2020, even possibly sharply decline in the first quarter of 2020. The Covid-19 epidemic, if combined with geopolitical risks, trade war risks… also makes the global political, economic and social environment even more uncertain, promoting defensive psychology, shrinking, thus weakening investment motivation.

This is an opportunity for Vietnam to have policies to attract investors who are intending to narrow production in neighboring countries and invest in Vietnam. Investment promotion units should proactively work with foreign investors who have plans to invest in Vietnam to discuss, orient and unify the preliminary investment procedures.

Besides, in the long term, it is necessary to continue improving the investment and business environment, amending policies and strategies to attract foreign investment.

ANT Lawyers is a law firm in Vietnam located in the business centers of Hanoi, Danang, Ho Chi Minh city. We provide convenient access to our clients. Please contact us to book your time in advance to let us provide our best services.

Read More

How Law Regulates Employing People with Disabilities in Vietnam?

Disabled people are those who have one or more body parts or functional impairments which are manifested in the form of disability, which makes it difficult for labor, living and learning. The State sponsors the right to labor and creates jobs for disabled workers, has policies to encourage and give incentives to employers to create jobs and to accept workers with disabilities to work in Vietnam.

Labour Dispute Law Firm in Vietnam

The disabled people are inherently disadvantaged compared to other ordinary people, so to compensate for the unfortunate disabled people, the government has established mechanisms and policies for disabled employees and enterprises employing disabled laborers, being regulated in the law as following.

Corporate Income Tax

The company will enjoy corporate income tax exemption for income from goods and services of enterprises with an average number of disabled employees in the year accounts for 30% or more of the total labor of the enterprise.

Financial Support to Improve Work Conditions

Enterprises are provided with financial support to improve working conditions and environment for disabled workers, the support level is based on the proportion of people with stable employment at production and business establishments. The President of the provincial People’s Committee decides the level of funding to support the improvement of working conditions and environment for production and business establishments employing 30% or more of the disabled employees.

Land, Ground, Water Surface Rentals

Enterprises are exempted from land rents, ground and water surface rents for land, ground and water surface in service of production and business activities for production and business establishments employing 70% or more of their disabled employee. Enterprises are entitled to a 50% reduction of land rents, grounds and water surface for production and business activities for production and business establishments employing from 30% to less than 70% of laborers are disabled employees. During the period of exemption or reduction of land rents, premises, water surface, business and production establishments must not convert, transfer, donate, give or lease land use rights, ground and water surface and must not mortgage, pledge, guarantee, contribute capital in, joint venture with land use rights, ground and water surfaces in accordance with the Law on land.

Loan Support

The enterprises which have disabled employees may borrow capital from the national fund for employment when meeting conditions such as: having feasible capital borrowing projects competitions in the locality, in line with business and production lines, attracting more workers to work stably; loan project with certification of the competent agency, organization where the project is implemented; secured loan.

Besides, the enterprises which have disabled employers have to follow a number of requirements.  i) do not distinguish between disabled workers and other workers.  The violation of such would be sanctioned from 3 – 5 million VND; ii) ensure that the labor conditions are suitable for people with disabilities, specific businesses must ensure the labor conditions, labor tools, occupational safety, hygiene and labor appropriate for people with disabilities and regularly take care of their health by organizing periodic health check at least 06 months/time; must consult with the defective labor when deciding on the policy relating to them. The violations of such activities will be fined from 1 – 15 million VND; iii) do not use disabled workers who have reduced labor capacity from 51% or more to overtime, working at night, doing heavy, malicious, dangerous or exposed work with hazardous substances.  In the event of a breach of such regulations, the enterprise will be fined from 1 – 15 million VND; iv) arranged for workers with disabilities who are allowed to take leave for 14 days for disabled workers with full 12 working months.

The above provisions are the basic labour regulations applicable to enterprises employing disabled workers.  While there are benefits, there are also challenges in terms of labour regulations compliance.  Consulting with labour lawyers would be needed to help the employer complying including drafting labour contract, drafting internal labour regulations, terminating the employment relationship to best manage the work force in the most effective ways. From the management point of view, the employers need to understand, and be aware of the policies that the state offers for their business as well as the obligations that the business needs to do for disabled workers to utilize and follow.

Read More