Naming is a mandatory part of establishing a business. How to choose a good company or business name that is not duplicated and still complies with the law?
1. Regulations on names of enterprises in Vietnam
Pursuant to Article 37 of the 2020 Enterprise Law, the Vietnamese name of an enterprise must consist of two components in the following order: Type of enterprise + Proper name
Accordingly, the type of enterprise is written as:
- “Cong ty trach nhiem huu han” or “cong ty TNHH”, for a limited liability company;
- “Cong ty co phan” or “cong ty CP”, for a joint stock company;
- “Cong ty hop danh” or “cong ty HD”, for a partnership;
- “Doanh nghiep tu nhan”, “DNTN” or “doanh nghiep TN”, for a sole proprietorship.
And, the proper name may be written in letters in the Vietnamese alphabet, letters F, J, Z and W, numerals and symbols.
Note: The enterprise’s name must be posted up at the headquarter, branches, representative offices, and business locations of the enterprises. The enterprise’s name must be printed or written on transaction documents, materials, and publications published by the enterprise.
2. Foreign-language names and abbreviated names of enterprises
Article 39 of the 2020 Enterprise Law stipulates the foreign-language name of an enterprise is the name which is translated from the Vietnamese name into a foreign language of the Latin script system. When translated into a foreign language, the proper name of an enterprise may be kept unchanged or translated according to its meaning.
In case an enterprise has a foreign-language name, such name shall be printed or written in a font size smaller than that of its Vietnamese name shown at the head office, branches, representative offices and business locations of the enterprise or on transaction papers, dossiers, documents and printed matters issued by the enterprise.
3. Names of branches, representative offices and business locations
Article 40 of the 2020 Enterprise Law stipulates how to name branches, representative offices and business locations as follows:
- Names of branches, representative offices and business locations shall be written in letters in the Vietnamese alphabet, letters F, J, Z and W, numerals and symbols;
- When naming, the business name must be included with the phrase:
- “Chi nhanh” for a branch;
- “Van phong dai dien” for a representative office;
- “Dia diem kinh doanh” for a business location;
Moreover, pursuant to Article 20 of the Decree No. 01/2021/ND-CP on Enterprise Registration, in addition to names in Vietnamese, branches, representative offices and business locations of enterprises may register their names in foreign languages and abbreviated names. In there:
- Foreign-language names are names translated from names in Vietnamese into one of foreign languages in the Latin alphabet system.
- Abbreviated names are names abbreviated from names in Vietnamese or names in foreign languages;
- The proper name constituting the name of a branch, representative office and business location of an enterprise can not use the word “cong ty” (company) or “doanh nghiep” (enterprise)
4. Prohibited acts in naming enterprises
Pursuant to Article 38 of the 2020 Enterprise Law, as naming the enterprise, the owner must not use a name which is identical or confusingly similar to the name of a registered enterprise as specified in Article 41 of this Law.
Identical name means the Vietnamese name of a registration-requesting enterprise that is entirely identical to the Vietnamese name of the registered enterprise.
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