Moving production is the moment your intellectual property is most exposed. Drawings travel, tooling changes hands, and the old supplier suddenly has both your design and a reason to use it. Buyers who plan for this lose nothing; buyers who improvise often find their own product on a marketplace within a year.
Own the tooling on paper before you move it
Tooling ownership should be stated in the original purchase order: who paid, who owns, where it is stored, and the conditions for release. If that clause is missing, negotiate it before you announce any transfer, and settle any outstanding amortisation. Photograph and number every mould, record its cavity count and steel grade, and have the receiving ASEAN factory inspect and report on condition at arrival — otherwise you inherit blame for wear that already existed.
Register rights in the countries that matter
Trademarks and designs are territorial. Register your brand in your selling markets and in the production countries you use — Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia — plus China if a plant there still produces for you. Registration in the production country is what allows customs there to stop counterfeit exports, and it prevents an opportunistic local filing of your own name.
Contract structure that works in practice
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| NNN agreement (non-use, non-disclosure, non-circumvention) | Enforceable locally; stronger than a Western-style NDA |
| Manufacturing agreement | Ownership of drawings, tooling, moulds and improvements |
| Tooling agreement | Custody, storage, maintenance and release conditions |
| Trademark and design registrations | Territorial enforcement and customs recordal |
Have these drafted in the local language with the local language governing, and choose a dispute forum that can actually be enforced where the factory sits.
Compartmentalise the know-how
Split the sensitive step from the commodity step. Keep firmware, formulation, a critical machining operation or final calibration with a separate vendor or in-house. Release full assembly drawings only after contracts are signed, and share drawings by revision with the recipient's name embedded. Never send the complete bill of materials with supplier names attached during a quotation round.
Managing the exit from the old supplier
Keep the transition civil and paid up. Place a final order that covers open commitments, take delivery of tooling before announcing the new source, and retrieve or destroy surplus branded packaging and labels — leftover printed cartons are the most common route to grey-market goods. Continue monitoring marketplaces for your model numbers and images for at least a year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is IP protection weaker in ASEAN than in China?
Not systematically. Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia all have registration and enforcement systems; what matters is that you registered locally and contracted in the local language.
Can my old Chinese supplier legally sell my product?
If you own the design and trademark and have registered them, no. Without registration or a written ownership clause, your position is weak regardless of who paid for development.
Should I use a Hong Kong entity to hold the IP?
It is a common holding structure and can simplify licensing, but it does not replace registrations in production and selling countries.
How long does trademark registration take in ASEAN?
Roughly 8-18 months depending on the country, but priority runs from the filing date — file before production starts.
Next step
Send us your product drawing, photo or a competitor sample with your target price and annual volume. You will get a landed-cost quotation, a written specification, lead time and an inspection plan — plus a transfer plan that keeps your tooling, drawings and brand under your control.
WhatsApp Business @tuskoconsulting or email contact@tuskoconsulting.com — we reply within 12 hours.