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Trung Nguyen

Manager, IP Enforcement, T&G Law Firm LLC (TGVN)

Biography

Trung Nguyen is a manager of intellectual property enforcement in the Ho Chi Minh City office of T&G Law Firm LLC (TGVN), a licensed law firm and IP agent that partners with Tilleke & Gibbins for local filings in Vietnam. A veteran practitioner who has been working in the intellectual property space since 1995, Trung is ranked as a leading IP lawyer by both Chambers Asia-Pacific and Managing IP, and was named to Asia Business Law Journal‘s A-List of Vietnam’s Top 100 Lawyers.

Over his career, Trung has gained experience in all aspects of IP in Vietnam, including patents, industrial designs, trademarks, copyright, investigation, and enforcement across a wide range of industry sectors. He holds a BS in mechanical engineering and has drafted patents in a variety of technical fields. A qualified lawyer and registered IP attorney, Trung is a member of the HCMC Bar Association, the Vietnam Bar Federation, the HCMC IP Association, and the Vietnam IP Association.

Experience

  • Represented a world-leading ball-bearing manufacturer to orchestrate an administrative raid in which approximately seven tons of counterfeit goods were seized. Provided legal advice and support before the court when the infringer sued the enforcement authority after being hit with a very high fine.
  • Represented two global fashion manufacturers to take a joint raid action against a local company which manufactured counterfeits, with hundreds of children’s clothes seized.
  • Represented a multinational company providing software for manufacturing CNC machines and successfully negotiated with a manufacturer that had been using unlicensed versions of this software to purchase legitimate licenses.
  • Successfully conducted raid actions and market sweeps and sent cease-and-desist letters to various infringers on behalf of a Japanese electronics giant.
  • Represented two European automotive manufacturers to take a joint raid action against a local company which manufactured counterfeit windshields, in which a criminal case was opened against the infringer.
  • Advised a leading U.S. energy drink manufacturer on its enforcement strategy and took successful enforcement actions against various infringers.
  • Represented a multinational consumer goods manufacturer to take a raid action against a local company which manufactured counterfeit toothpaste, in which thousands of tubes of counterfeit toothpaste were seized.
  • Assisted a world-famous fast-food company in successfully fighting multiple infringers which used look-alike marks on their signage, business materials and websites.
  • Represented an e-commerce titan in successfully resolving several cases involving infringers which integrated identical marks in their domain names and signage, misleading consumers that they were branches or related to the company in providing similar online purchase services for Vietnamese consumers.
  • Advised and successfully took legal actions on behalf of a leading international airline company against complex and multiple infringements by a travel agency, which included trademark and copyright infringements, and an act of unfair competition in registering and using a fake domain name/website.
  • Led the team to successfully carry out a strategic enforcement program for a very famous international motor company. The program included a series of actions, such as in-depth investigation into more than 360 targets across several important cities in Vietnam, an extended “warning program” and negotiations with infringers, and an “education letter program” to potential infringers. The program helped the client to quickly achieve a clean market at the time of the opening the client’s official dealership in Vietnam.
  • Pursued enforcement action through Inspectorates of MOST against a local software company incorporating the client’s well-known mark in their trade name. The success of the case encouraged MOST to post the case on its website as a precedent for similar trade name cases, which is a new type of IPR infringement in Vietnam.
  • Negotiated to purchase a domain name on behalf of a global leading international beverage company. The client had no related trademark or other grounds to contest the domain name registration. Investigations were conducted to identify and locate the registrant’s representative, who was then contacted to negotiate the purchase of the domain at a reasonable price.
  • Advised and conducted a raid action on behalf of an international security tools company against a large wholesaler in Ho Chi Minh City which traded in counterfeit locks. The raid was successfully taken through the HCMC Market Management Bureau with hundreds of counterfeits seized and a serious sanction applied to the infringer.
ABOUT Trung

Industries

Automotive

Practices

Dispute Resolution and Litigation

Intellectual Property

Location

Languages

    Vietnamese

    English

Education

    LLB, HCMC Law University

    BS (Technology-Mechanical Engineering), HCMC Polytechnic University

Insights

August 21, 2025
Tilleke & Gibbins is pleased to announce that the firm has adopted Harvey, a leading enterprise-grade AI platform for the global legal industry. The firm is proceeding with a rollout of Harvey’s legal AI solutions, which are supported by robust security and confidentiality protections, across the firm’s full-service regional practice in Southeast Asia. This initiative builds on the firm’s recent deployment of Microsoft Copilot and represents another advancement in Tilleke & Gibbins’ commitment to leveraging technology for enhanced legal service delivery. Under the program, legal professionals across the firm’s offices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam will have access to the full Harvey platform, equipping them to deliver practical, impactful, and results-driven legal services for clients throughout the region. The firm will also develop bespoke agentic workflows within Harvey tailored to the firm’s core practices and the unique requirements of Southeast Asian legal markets. Commenting on the initiative, Managing Partner Tiziana Sucharitkul stated, “At Tilleke & Gibbins, we have consistently invested in developing and adopting technology to improve the speed, precision, and overall excellence of our legal services. The firm’s decision to invest in Harvey exemplifies our commitment to innovation, further differentiating Tilleke & Gibbins within Southeast Asia’s legal landscape.” Managing Partner Darani Vachanavuttivong remarked, “By combining the deep regional expertise of our lawyers with Harvey’s market-leading domain-specific AI, we are empowering our regional team to streamline drafting, research, and review processes for complex legal matters, all while maintaining the high standards of quality and security our clients expect from us.” Harvey’s Chief Business Officer John Haddock added, “It’s clear Tilleke & Gibbins is investing heavily in innovation, and it’s clear their global clients will benefit significantly from their focus and investment. The Harvey team is thrilled to support the firm’s journey with our platform.”
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May 30, 2022
TV game shows play an important role in the Vietnamese entertainment industry, as in the global market. Many well-known game shows from other countries have been franchised or licensed for broadcast in Vietnam, including Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Vietnam’s Got Talent, and The Voice, drawing large audiences and generating billions of VND from commercialized activities. Other popular shows have been developed domestically—some wholly original, but many bearing a heavy resemblance to existing shows from other markets, with similar gameplay, similar sets, and even similar names. This raises an interesting question from the intellectual property perspective as to whether owners or creators of game shows can charge these copycat shows with infringement. In other words, are format rights recognized as a copyright and can a game show be protected under intellectual property law? Globally, this is a question without a clear and explicit answer. The Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA), a trade association formed in 2000 to advocate recognition of television formats as intellectual property, strongly believes that format rights are protectable and has been working to convince courts and lawmakers around the world to define these rights under law. However, recognition of format rights is still very limited, and is often determined on a case-by-case basis. A common argument from legal experts is that because the format of a game show is only composed of ideas, which are not protected by law, it cannot be the subject of copyright (for reference, Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand in 1989). However, others argue that if the format of a game show is an intellectual creation and contains key elements which have unique originality, and it is not just a combination of general and commonplace elements, it can be protected under copyright law (for reference, Meakin v
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January 13, 2022
Intellectual property experts from Tilleke & Gibbins were engaged by ARISE+ IPR, a regional support program funded by the European Union and implemented by the European Intellectual Property Office, to craft a series of IP enforcement guides for Southeast Asian countries, aimed at raising local awareness of the importance of IP protection. The five-year, EUR 5.5 million ARISE+ IPR program supports regional integration through IP cooperation and aims to upgrade national IP systems for creation, protection, utilization, administration, and enforcement to be in line with international best practices and standards and the strategic objectives of the ASEAN Intellectual Property Rights Action Plan 2016-2025. The guides were developed by Tilleke & Gibbins’ lawyers in cooperation with the IP offices of each participating country, and cover issues related to trademarks, industrial designs, and geographical indications. Each guide was produced in a compact leaflet form in English as well as the local language, and is considered an official publication of the respective national IP office. The guides can be accessed from the ARISE+ IPR site (under “Leaflets, brochures and booklets”), or by clicking on the links below: Cambodia: English | Khmer Indonesia: English | Bahasa Indonesia Thailand: English | Thai Vietnam: English | Vietnamese
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August 4, 2021
As Vietnam continues to fight the latest wave of the Covid-19 pandemic with strict social distancing measures, the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (IP Office) has issued Notice No. 7581/TB-SHTT dated August 2, 2021 (Notice 7581), extending certain deadlines for IP applicants. The contents of Notice 7581 are similar to those found in Notice 5277 issued in March 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic. Specifically, Notice 7581 reads as follows: All procedures related to procedures to establish industrial property rights (priority claims, supplementation of documents, responses to the IP Office’s decisions/notifications, renewal and extension of the validity of protection titles, payment of fees and charges, and filing of appeal petitions) falling due during the period from June 30, 2021, to the end of August 31, 2021, will automatically be extended to the end of September 30, 2021. For other cases, if an applicant is still affected by the Covid-19 epidemic with regard to the implementation of its rights and obligations in the procedures for establishing rights to industrial property objects at the IP Office, such applicant may request [the IP Office] to apply the clauses on objective obstacles and force majeure as set out in Points 9.4 and 9.5 of Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN, as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 16/2016/TT-BKHCN. Observations on the Content of Notice 7581 As with last year’s Notice 5277, it is worth noting that the wording of Notice 7581 covers only the procedures to “establish industrial property rights,” rather than all aspects of industrial property rights. Further, it could be understood that it provides a closed list of industrial property procedures that can enjoy this grace period, and that the deadline extensions would apply only to the specific items listed. Thus, it is uncertain if the deadline extension to September 30, 2021,
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Awards & Rankings

June 10, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins was again recognized as a top-tier intellectual property law firm in Southeast Asia in the 2026 edition of Managing Intellectual Property’s IP Stars rankings Firm Rankings In this year’s firm rankings, Tilleke & Gibbins secured the following positions: Cambodia General IP – Recommended (top tier awarded for this category) Indonesia Patent – Tier 2 Trademark – Tier 2 Thailand Patent – Tier 1 Trademark – Tier 1 Vietnam Patent – Tier 1 Trademark – Tier 1 Individual Rankings In addition to the firm rankings, 12 Tilleke & Gibbins lawyers were recognized individually as IP Stars: Cambodia David Mol – Rising Star Sokmean Chea – Rising Star Indonesia Rochmali Zultan – Rising Star Wongrat Ratanaprayul – Patent Star, Trademark Star Thailand Alan Adcock – Patent Star, Trademark Star Darani Vachanavuttivong – Patent Star, Trademark Star Kasama Sriwatanakul – Rising Star Sukontip Jitmongkolthong –Trademark Star Vietnam Linh Duy Mai – Rising Star Linh Thi Mai Nguyen – Trademark Star Loc Xuan Le – Patent Star, Trademark Star Trung Nguyen – Trademark Star The annual IP Stars rankings are based on extensive independent research, including client and peer feedback, market analysis, and recent case highlights. For more information and to browse the full rankings, please see the IP Stars website.
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May 14, 2026
Asian Legal Business (ALB) has published the ALB Asia IP Rankings 2026, the latest edition of its annual guide recognizing leading intellectual property firms across the region. Continuing the approach introduced last year, the rankings present a unified table in each jurisdiction, combining patent and trademark/copyright work to provide a more holistic view of the IP market. Tilleke & Gibbins has retained strong rankings in all three jurisdictions covered by the survey: Thailand: Tier 1 Vietnam: Tier 1 Indonesia: Tier 2 The rankings are based on work conducted between February 2025 and February 2026, covering both ongoing and completed contentious and noncontentious matters. ALB’s research draws on firm submissions, client feedback, editorial resources, and market input to identify the region’s leading IP practices. Tilleke & Gibbins’ IP team has maintained a strong track record across all ranked jurisdictions since the inception of the ALB IP Rankings in 2018. To view the full rankings, please see the May 2026 issue of ALB.
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May 11, 2026
Tilleke & Gibbins has been recognized in five practice areas at the Asia Business Law Journal (ABLJ) Vietnam Law Firm Awards 2026, reflecting the firm’s continued strength across a range of legal disciplines in Vietnam. The firm received honors in the following categories: Artificial Intelligence Data Compliance and Cyber Security IP Litigation Labor & Employment Technology, Media & Telecommunications The ABLJ Vietnam Law Firm Awards highlight leading law firms across key practice areas, with multiple firms typically recognized in each category. The 2026 edition marks the fourth year of the awards program. These recognitions underscore the work of Tilleke & Gibbins’ Vietnam-based teams, particularly in technology-driven and regulatory-focused areas of practice. For more details and the full list of winners, please visit the ABLJ website.
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