Trademark Registration in Laos

Many guides to trademark registration in Laos still cite the 2011 or 2017 IP Law and name the Ministry of Science and Technology as the supervising ministry. That is out of date. The Lao Department of Intellectual Property (DIP) now sits under the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, and two instruments set the rules:

• Law on Intellectual Property No. 50/NA of 20 November 2023, published in the Official Gazette on 1 March 2024, replacing Law No. 38/NA of 2017. Key points for foreign brand owners: the well-known mark test no longer requires wide circulation "within the territory", so reputation abroad may be taken into account; registrations that were "not correct" or filed in bad faith can be cancelled; and exhaustion of rights applies once goods are sold.
• Decision on Trademarks No. 0874 of 30 May 2025 issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, in force since 4 July 2025, replacing the 2023 decision. It accepts a copy of the power of attorney, allows one power of attorney to cover several applications, requires a translation and Lao pronunciation for foreign wording, and requires foreign applicants to act through agent firms registered with the DIP; individual lawyers can no longer represent foreign applicants on their own.

Laos also launched online trademark filing in November 2023, although local agents report that most foreign-owned applications still go through them.

The DIP has not published an English-language trademark fee schedule that we could verify. Fees for electronic filings were reported to have been reduced from 1 May 2024, linked to movements in the Lao kip. We therefore state firmly only the amounts published by WIPO, and show the national filing fee as an estimate for budgeting (checked October 2026, at roughly 1 CHF to 1.25 USD):

The Lao Madrid fee has fallen several times: CHF 141 for the first class on accession in 2016, CHF 71 from October 2022, CHF 44 from December 2024 and CHF 41 now, very low by Madrid System standards. For a multi-country total, use our trademark cost calculator.

Under Decision No. 0874, a mark containing foreign words must be filed with an accurate translation and its pronunciation in Lao. For Vietnamese brands this has two practical consequences.

First, if the brand name has a meaning, such as a dairy brand named after a Vietnamese place or a cement brand built on the Vietnamese word for "dragon", the translation tells the examiner whether it is a place name or a descriptive term. Well-known place names and laudatory words such as "golden", "durable" or "number one" are easily treated as non-distinctive. Prepare an explanation that the word is a proper name or an invented compound with no descriptive meaning for the goods.

Second, Lao consumers usually refer to products by how they sound, and many read Thai script through exposure to Thai media. A Lao or Thai script mark that sounds like the Vietnamese brand may be found similar. If you print a Lao transliteration on packaging, especially for fast-moving consumer goods, register that Lao script version as a separate mark or as a combined mark with both Latin and Lao script. This helps against knock-offs using the transliterated name, a common problem in border markets.

Older guides call for an original, notarised power of attorney. The rules have changed in two steps:

1. From 26 June 2023, the DIP dropped notarisation for powers of attorney, assignments, licences and change declarations; they only need to be signed by an authorised person, and the Lao agent is responsible for authenticity. There is no consular legalisation requirement for trademark powers of attorney, although the office may still ask for additional verification in doubtful cases.
2. From 4 July 2025, under Decision No. 0874, a copy of the power of attorney is accepted and one document may cover several applications.

The 2019 decision treated a power of attorney without a stated term as valid for a single transaction only; to avoid any dispute, it is still wise to state a term. Businesses planning several filings or ongoing watching and oppositions should sign a power of attorney with a clearly defined scope and term. The agent requirement applies to national filings; a Madrid designation of Laos is filed through the Vietnamese IP Office and needs a Lao agent only if a refusal or dispute arises.

Unlike Vietnam, where third-party observations can be filed at any time before grant, Laos places the opposition stage right after formality examination. Under the 2019 implementing decision (the 2025 decision does not materially change this sequence):

• Formality examination is completed within 60 days; the applicant has 60 days to remedy any deficiency.
• A compliant application is published in the electronic IP gazette within about 15 days; third parties have 60 days from publication to oppose and must pay the fee on filing.
• Once opposed, the applicant has 60 days to respond. A party dissatisfied with the decision may appeal to the final appeal committee within 60 days.
• Substantive examination refusals are answered within 60 days, extendable by 30 days for valid reasons.
• After registration and publication, a third party may still request cancellation within 5 years of publication; for bad-faith registrations, the 2023 Law expressly allows post-grant review.

The practical consequence: the opposition window opens very early, around three months after the other party files. Businesses already selling in Laos should set up a watch on the Lao gazette; if the window is missed, the 5-year cancellation route remains, but it costs considerably more time and money.

Vietnamese goods in Laos fall into a few product groups, and the specification should cover them precisely:

• Food, beverages, dairy, confectionery and instant noodles: classes 29, 30 and 32, plus class 35 if you operate stores or a distribution chain.
• Building materials such as cement, ceramic tiles, paint and steel: classes 19, 2 and 6; roofing sheets and plastic pipes need careful classification by material.
• Fertiliser, plant protection products and animal feed: classes 1, 5 and 31.
• Agricultural products such as rice, coffee and seedlings: classes 30 and 31; businesses farming in southern Laos should also register marks for their harvested produce.

The typical risk is a Lao exclusive distributor or agent filing for the Vietnamese brand itself and using the registration as leverage when the contract is renegotiated or to block a new distributor. Under first-to-file, recovering the mark then depends on proving bad faith or well-known status, which takes time. Prevention: file before the first shipment, state in the distribution agreement that all trademark rights belong to the Vietnamese company, and record any licence with the DIP when the Lao partner is allowed to use the mark. If you are expanding into neighbouring markets too, see trademark registration in Cambodia and trademark registration in Thailand.

The Madrid Protocol entered into force for Laos on 7 March 2016, with a declaration extending the refusal period from 12 to 18 months. A practical comparison for one class:

For Laos alone, a national filing is clearly cheaper, since the WIPO basic fee is many times the Lao official fee. When you file for Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and other ASEAN countries together, however, the CHF 41 Lao fee makes Madrid an economical choice and spares you a separate dossier for each country. Mind the central attack risk: the Vietnamese mark should be searched thoroughly before it serves as the basic mark. See our international trademark registration service.