Patent registration in Vietnam has many updates on cost and protection process. Specifically, an invention is one of the intellectual properties that have a great influence on human life. The protection of an invention is conducted according to the patent procedure of an invention or utility solution. Below is the basic information you need to know about Patents and applications and procedures for patent registration in Vietnam.
PATENT IN VIETNAM
What is a patent in Vietnam?
In general, Patent is a technical solution applying laws of nature to find a solution for problem in life.
Particularly, these technical solutions can be products in the form of objects (such as machines, devices, components, etc.) or products in the form of substances (for example: simple substance, compounds and mixtures, etc.), Process or method (road construction method, airplane production process, etc.)
Who can register patent in Vietnam?
- The person who creates the invention at his own expense and effort.
- Any organization and individuals that hiring others to create the invention based on their investing money and material
- In case many organizations and individuals jointly create or invest for creation of the invention, such organizations and individuals have the right to register a patent only with the consent of all parties of the invention.
- In case an invention is created using material and technical facilities and money from the state budget, the Government shall provide for the right to registration of the patent.
Filing a patent application in Vietnam – Where?
Filing the application directly at the National Office of intellectual property of Vietnam
- Head Office: Address No. 384 to 386, Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, City. Hanoi.
- Representative office in Da Nang: Address 135 is located on Minh Mang street, in Khue My ward, Ngu Hanh Son district, Da Nang.
- Representative office in Ho Chi Minh City: Address 17 to 19 Ton That Tung Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward in District 1, City. Ho Chi Minh
Patent Protection Conditions in Vietnam
An invention shall be protected by mode of grant of invention patent when it satisfies the following conditions:
Novelty
An invention is considered novelty if it has not been publicly performed in any form (such as trade market, written description, presentations, presentations at conferences, etc.)
Accordingly, the author has to ensure to keep confidential information about his technical solution without purchasing, advertising, introducing or any kind of publicity of the invention for the confidentiality of novelty.
However, under Vietnam law, there are some exceptions as follows:
- An invention shall be considered not to be publicly disclosed if being revealed to a limited number of people who are obligated to keep it confidential.
- An invention shall not be considered novelty if it is published in the following cases, provided that the invention registration application is filed within 12 months from the date of publication:
- The invention was published by others without the permission of the person having the right to register.
- The invention is published by the person having the right to register, in the form of a scientific report.
- An invention is displayed by the person having the right to register, at a national exhibition of Vietnam or at an official or recognized international exhibition.
Inventive (show inventive activity)
An invention is considered having an inventive step if the technical solutions have been publicly disclosed by use, by means of written description, or in any other way in the country or abroad before the date of filing of the patent application or the priority date claimed, the invention is an inventive step that cannot be easily created by normal knowledge of the respective technical field of the invention.
Thus, to determine the novelty of an invention, it is necessary to have a comparison with specific references. The references are technical solutions which are already exposed in any country in the world. Regarding the comparison, an invention must contain at least one basic technical sign that is different from the reference technical solution and cannot be easily created.
Industrial applicability and be lawful
The industrial applicability of an invention demonstrates that the invention can be manufactured in any kind of industry (industry or cottage industry) having stability in products.
Priority claim when register a patent application in Vietnam
Vietnam is a member country of the Paris Convention on the protection of industrial property rights. Therefore, when filing an application in Vietnam, the applicant has the right to claim priority on the basis of the first application filed in a member country of the Paris Convention.
The duration or priority right is 12 months.
For Example: Peter filed a patent for a “Multifunctional carrying holder” in France on January 1, 2020. On September 1, 2020, Peter decided to expand his business to Vietnam and applied the patent for “Multifunctional carrying holder” in Vietnam on the same day.
At that time, Peter has the right to claim priority so that his application in Vietnam is considered filed on January 1, 2020 (based on the filing date in France). This makes Peter’s invention retain its novelty in examination in Vietnam.
PATENT REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM – HOW TO ?
What will you do before filing the application ?
Getting the Patent classification
Patent classification is based on International Patent Classification.
Note: As patent classification is complicated and requires intensive researching, applicants may pay fees for the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam to conduct the classification on behalf of them.
Conducting a patent search
According to Vietnamese legislation, patent search is not mandatory. Yet, it can bring about unexpected benefits:
- Reduce costs spent on researching already known technical solutions
- Help inventors to evaluate the patentability of inventions before deciding whether to file or not
- Provide a brief of known technical and technology solutions, thus pave the way for idea initiation for further technology development
- Help inventors to track the performance and future potential of competitors
- Select a patent for license agreements, technology transfer agreements, and trade secret transfer agreements.
Patent information search tool
- Internet lookup databases;
- International patent classification;
- IP Gazette;
- National Register Book.
| Website of the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam | http://iplib.noip.gov.vn/WebUI/WSearchPAT.php |
| Patent Digital Library of Vietnam | http://digipat.noip.gov.vn/ |
| Patent information page provided by WIPO | https://patentscope.wipo.int/search/en/search.jsf |
| Patent information is provided by the European Patent Office (EPO) | https://worldwide.espacenet.com/?locale=en_EP |
4 Steps of patent registration in Vietnam
Detail of 4 steps of patent registration in Vietnam
01-02 days 3 days, 3 hours and 4 minutes
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Prepare application and required documents
Required documents of Patent registration in Vietnam in 2020
– Patent registration application (02 copies) – Form 01-SC Appendix A of Circular No. 01/2007 / TT-BKHCN;
– Patent description (02 copies)
– Power of attorney for an IP representative (in case of filing through an agent).
– Documents claiming priority (if any)
– Name and address information of owner (or / and co-owners)
– Name and address of inventor (or / and co-inventor)
– Compose invention description Of the documents that need to be prepared, the invention description is considered to be the most complex document, because it requires both specialized knowledge of a technical specialization and meeting the requirements of the law.
Specifically, the invention description must satisfy the provisions at Point 23.6 of Circular No. 01/2007 / TT-BKHCN. In the content of the invention description will include the following content
• Name of patent;
• Field of application of the invention;
• Background of invention (Technical state of the use field of the invention).
• The technical nature of the invention;
• Brief description of accompanied drawings (if any);;
• Detailed description of the invention;
• Example of Patent
• Abstract -
Filing patent application to NOIP
Once received at National Office of Intellectual Property, the application shall be taken through this process:
Formal examination: 1 month
Publication: 19 months since filing date or 2 months since it is accepted as a valid application (whichever is later)
In addition, applicant may request an early publication. In this case, the application shall be published within 2 months since National Office of Intellectual Property receives the request or since the application is accepted as a valid application (whichever is later)
Substantive examination: 18 months since the publication date -
Response to notifications of National Office of Intellectual Property
In case National Office of Intellectual Property sends a notification, decision to the applicant or his or her representative requiring particular parts to be replied or clarified, the applicant or his or her representative, within a set time frame, shall:
Respond to formality examination: 02 months
Respond to substantive examination: 03 months
Granting patent certification: 03 months After the expiry of these terms, National Office of Intellectual Property may refuse the application. -
Pay granting fee and renewal fees for the first year
After the application has been deemed to satisfy all requirements, a notification of patent grant shall be released, and the applicant shall pay fee for patent certification as well as first year maintenance.
Meet all three criteria: Novelty, Innovation, Industrial applicability -> Invention protection.
Satisfying 2 criteria: Novelty, Industrial applicability -> utility model protection
Notes during the application process
+ All documents are required to be written in or translated into Vietnamese
+ A dossier for patent application is complicated, especially the invention description, which requires experiences and expertise, thus, applicants should rely on their representatives
+ Preliminary rights: While waiting for a patent to be granted, if the application notices his or her invention is being exploited for commercial purposes, he or she is rightful to send a written notification to the infringer stating filing date and publication date requiring the infringer to cease infringing activities.
FEE OF PATENT REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM IN 2020
The cost of patent registration in Vietnam depends on the number of claims for independent protection, the number of pages in the description, the number of published drawings, specifically as follows:
- Filing Application fee: 75,000 VND (Applied by the end of December 2020);
- Formal examination fee: 180,000 VND / 01 independent claim point;
- Patent classification fee (in case the applicant does not self-classify): VND 100,000 / 01 international invention classification;
- Appraisal fee from the 7th page of description: 8,000 VND / 01 page;
- Publication fee: 120,000 VND;
- Publication fee from the second drawing onwards: 60,000 VND / drawing;
- Priority claim fee: 600,000 VND / 01 claim;
- Fee for investigating information to serve the appraisal process: 600,000 VND / 01 point claiming for independent protection;
- Fee for a content appraisal process: 720,000 VND/ 01 claim point for an exclusive protection;
- Content appraisal fee from the 7th page of description: 32,000 VND / 01 page;
- Exclusive Patent licensing fee: 60,000 VND (Applied by the end of December 2020);
- Registration fee: 120,000 VND;
- Fee for Publication of patent registration in Vietnam: 120,000 VND;
- Fee for maintaining the validity in the first year: 50,000 VND (Valid by the end of December 2020);
- Fee for using protection title in the first year: 300,000 VND
PATENT REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM – CERTIFICATE
Validity of patent in Vietnam
1. In case an invention meets all three conditions of novelty, level of creativity and industrial applicability (as mentioned above in section 1.4), the invention will be granted a Patent.
Patent will take effect from the date of issue and the duration of protection since the date of registration.
Example: An application for invention registration was filed on 01/01/2019 and was granted a Patent on 12/12/2020. At that time, the patent will take effect from 12/12/2020 to 01/01/2039.
2. In case the invention does not satisfy the conditions of the inventive level, but meets the requirements for novelty and industrial applicability (as mentioned in section 1.4) and it is not considered to be common knowledge, utility solution will be granted.
Utility solution is valid since the date of issue and the duration is 10 years from the filing date.
Patent validity maintenance
According to Vietnamese patent Law, patent need to be annually renewed. In order to maintain the validity of a protection title, the holder must pay a maintenance fee within 6 months before the expired date of the validity term.
For example: On 01/01/2020, an invention is due to be maintained, an invention owner may file a request for this patent’s maintenance from 01/06/2019 to 01/07/2020.
Note: If the renewal is made after the deadline (01/01/2020), the NOIP will require the late renewal fee to be 10% of the fee for each month of late payment.
Required documents for maintaining the validity.
- A declaration form requesting for validity maintenance (form 02-GH / DTVB in Appendix C of Circular 01);
- Power of attorney (in case of filing a request through an agent);
Patent validity maintenance fee
- Validity maintenance fee: 100,000 VND / point for a claiming independence
- Late maintenance fee: 10% of the maintenance fee / per month late payment
- Examination fee for maintenance request: 160,000 VND / patent
- Fee for using a Protection Title (by year):
- Year 1 -2: 300.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 3-4: 500.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 5-6: 800.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 7-8: 1.200.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 9-10: 1.800.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 11-13: 2.500.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 14-16: 3.300.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Year 17-20: 4.200.000 VND / year / for each independent claim
- Fee for publishing a notification of maintenance record: 120,000 VND / application.
- Fee for registering information of validity maintenance: 120,000 VND / patent.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WHEN REGISTER PATENT IN VIETNAM
Are computer programs allowed to be applied for patent certificates?
Answer:
According to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property of Vietnam, computer program is not a subject of patent registration, it is a subject of copyright registration.
However, in the case, a computer program is integrated with a product device (for example, a rubber melting machine is integrated with a software that automatically counts time to turn off the incinerator), the author may apply for a patent to demand the protection for both the device and the computer program.
Can a patent registration application be converted to a utility model registration application?
Answer: Yes.
In the case the invention does not satisfy conditions about creative qualification, the applicant may apply for a conversion from a patent registration application to a utility model registration application?
+ You are required to pay additional fees for converting utility model to Patent.
How to get global patent protection?
Answer: There is no global patent registration procedure.
Accordingly, to be protected in a particular country, an application must apply the patent registration application in that country.
+ In case you want to apply your patent registration application in multiple countries, you can apply under the PCT Treaty to simplify the procedure and keep the priority date longer.
+ Vietnam also is member of: the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, the Berne Convention; the Rome Convention, The TRIPS Agreement, WIPO, PCT treaty, the Madrid System and Hague agreement.
How much is the total cost of patent registration in Vietnam?
On average, it will cost from 200$ to 600$ to get the patent protection in Vietnam.
The fees are depended on:
+ Number of independent claims.
+ How many page of patent specification.
+ Number figures of invention.
+ Number of priority claim.
What is the fastest time to get the patent protection in Vietnam?
The fastest patent registration in Vietnam time is 22 months including early publication of the patent application.
+ You are required to pay an additional fee for submit a request for Early Publication.
+ The request for early publication should be filed when the application accepted formality examination.
Can i file a PCT patent in Vietnam ?
Yes.
Because, Vietnam is a member of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), the applicant can be made directly in Vietnam, or internationally via the PCT procedure.
+ Time Limits for Entering National/Regional Phase under PCT is 31 Months.
+ You are required to translate the patent specification into Vietnamese.
+ The copy of International Preliminary Examination are required.
+ You are required to file your application in Vietnam through an industrial property representatives.
+ All documents must be in English.
+ To enjoy the priority, the applicant must pay the charge for priority claim.
Required documents of Patent registration in Vietnam?
– Patent Description.
– Title of Invention.
– Name and address of inventor.
– The information of the Owner.
– Independent Claim.
– The abstract of invention.
– The documents of priority claim.
– The Power of Attorney.
– The figure of invention (if any)
PATENT REGISTRATION IN VIETNAM WITH SERVICES OF AS LAW
ABB Law is an industrial property agency licensed by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam on September 13, 2013. During ABB LAW’s operation, we have represented customers such as: Military Technical Academy; Viettel Telecom Corporation, Prime Group Joint Stock Company, Kim Chinh Brick Company, … to apply for the patent protection in Vietnam.
- Consulting and answering problems before applying patent registration applications
- Help inventor classify Patent.
- Giving preliminary advices on the subject that can be registered for patent protection.
- Searching preliminarily for the patent registration possibility.
- Searching officially for the patent registration possibility at the National Office of Intellectual Property.
- Drafting patent descriptions and necessary documents to apply for the patent protection.
- Representative customers to apply, follow documents and notify results to customers.
- Drafting and responding to notifications and decisions of the NOIP.
- Following patent infringement handling.
