Pham & Associates is an undisputed top-Tier IP outfit in Vietnam. "It is easy to deal with and efficient," says one in-house counsel. "Its lawyers understand the law and how to apply it to greatest effect in the commercial environment." Litigator Bach Thanh Binh led much of the action this year, the most significant of which involved a trade mark dispute between Italian confectionary maker Perfetti Van Melle and local manufacturer Hamido. The matter involved Hamido repackaging its Super Lollipops in plastic containers that were confusingly similar to Perfetti's Chupa Chups logo. Pham & Associates was able to reach an amicable out-of-court settlement with Hamido that involved the destruction of all infringing products, benefiting both parties and their consumers.
The team also represented Kimberly-Clark in a dispute against Ngo Xuan Thinh, who was found to have engaged in serious infringing acts by counterfeiting Kimberly-Clark's Kotex products under the names Kolex and Kolax and leveraging on the goodwill generated by the trade mark Kotex. As a result of Pham & Associates' efforts, the economic police are bringing Ngo to a criminal proceeding for large-scale counterfeiting and poor quality products that might have potentially harmed the health of consumers. "I have visited and evaluated many other law firms but found nothing better and more reliable," declares a devoted client. In addition, the firm also resolved Vietnamese IP issues for well-known companies such as Honda Motors, Microsoft and Gucci.