Adjusting the industrial design protection title in Vietnam

In fact, in some cases, the owner of a protection title or registration certificate will need to amend the industrial design protection certificate for a variety of reasons. So what are the conditions and procedures for adjusting the industrial design protection title in Vietnam? Viet An Law will be presented in the following article.

Legal basis

• Law on Intellectual Property 2005, as amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019, 2022;
• Decree 65/2023/ND-CP guiding the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property.

What is an industrial design?

Industrial design is understood as the external appearance of a product, which can affect the product’s appeal to consumers. This includes factors such as the product’s shape, size, structure, color, and other physical characteristics.

Cases of adjusting industrial design protection titles

Enterprises, as owners of industrial design protection titles, have the right to request the National Office of Intellectual Property (NOIP) to record the following changes:

• Changes in the name and address of the owner of the protection title, and the name and nationality of the author of the industrial design.
• Change of owner of a protection title, including cases such as transfer of ownership due to inheritance, inheritance, merger, division, separation, consolidation, joint venture, association, establishment of a new legal entity of the same owner ownership, conversion of business form or according to the decision of the court or other competent authority.

Dossier of amendment of industrial design protection title

According to the provisions of the current Intellectual Property Law, to be able to request an amendment to the protection title, the title owner needs to prepare the following documents:

• Declaration requesting amendment of industrial property protection certificate. Note that a declaration requesting amendment of a protection title may relate to multiple protection titles if they have the same amended content, provided that the requester must pay fees for each protection title.
• Original copy of protection title.
• Documents confirming the change of name and address. This can be the original or notarized copy of the decision to change name and address; Business registration license records of the change of name and address; or other legal documents proving the change of name and address.
• Documents proving the transfer of ownership (if any) according to regulations. This can be a document of the inheritance, merger, division, separation, consolidation, joint venture, association, or establishment of a new legal entity of the same owner, or a document proving the conversion business form or according to the decision of the Court or other competent authority.
• Document detailing the revised content.
• 05 sets of photos or drawings of the modified industrial design (if modification of the industrial design is requested).
• Power of Attorney for Viet An Law to carry out procedures to amend the protection certificate (in case of using legal services of Viet An Law);
• Copy of fee payment documents (in case of payment of fees via postal service or direct payment to the NOIP account).

The competent agency receives applications to adjust protection titles

The owner of a protection title can apply to amend the protection title to one of the following agencies:

• Head office of the NOIP in Hanoi: 386 Nguyen Trai Street, Thanh Xuan District
• Representative office of the NOIP in Ho Chi Minh City: 17-19 Ton That Tung Street, Pham Ngu Lao Ward, District 1
• Representative office of the NOIP in Da Nang City: 135 Minh Mang Street, Khue My Ward, Ngu Hanh Son District.

Procedure for adjusting the industrial design protection title in Vietnam

Step 1: Prepare documents

The owner of a protection title needs to prepare a set of documents as Viet An Law has presented above.

It is noted that it is necessary to prepare documents carefully and according to requirements to avoid unnecessary time and expense.

Step 2: Submit application

After preparing the above documents, the protection title owner will submit the documents to one of the competent agencies as Viet An Law described above.

Step 3: Process documents

Within 02 months from the date of receipt of the application. The NOIP will review the validity of the dossier.

In case it is invalid, the NOIP will send the owner of the protection title requesting notice of its intention to refuse to accept the amendment, clearly stating the reason and setting a time limit of 02 months from the date of notification for the enterprise to correct errors or express objections.

If at the end of the time limit, the requesting enterprise does not correct errors or unsatisfactory repairs, there is no objection or the objection is not valid, the NOIP shall issue a decision intended to refuse the request to adjust the industrial design protection title.

Step 4: Obtain results

After modifying information according to valid documents, the process of modifying information on the industrial design protection certificate usually includes the following steps:

• Update modified content to the original protection title: The NOIP will adjust and update the modified information to the original protection title. Through this process, the change will be officially recorded and reflected on the title.
• Returning the protection title to the owner: After completing the information update, the title will be returned to the owner. This ensures that the holder has a new title with revised and fully updated information.
• Issue a Decision to record amendments to the protection title: The NOIP will issue an official Decision to record the amendment to the protection title. This decision confirms and acknowledges that the change has been made by regulations and is credible.
• Publication in the Industrial Property Official Gazette: The amendment results will also be published in the Industrial Property Official Gazette. This ensures that updated information is made public and communicated to the relevant community and relevant third parties.

Fees for adjusting protection titles

According to the provisions of the current Intellectual Property Law, fees for adjusting protection titles are specified as follows:

Note:

• The above fees are specified in Section A of the Schedule of industrial property fees issued together with Circular No. 263/2016/TT-BTC. Depending on time, regulations on official fees may change.
• For example, according to Circular No. 44/2023/TT-BTC regulating the collection of several fees to support people and businesses, from July 1, 2023, to December 31, 2023, official fees for industry property protection (including industrial designs) are reduced by 50% of the fee rate prescribed under Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC.
• The above costs only include mandatory costs when submitting a request to adjust the protection title at the NOIP. When the owner of a protection title applies, additional costs may arise such as document preparation costs, and fees for using industrial property representation services of legal representatives in Vietnam as Viet An Law Firm.

Clients need advice on civil law, intellectual property law, registration of industrial design protection, and amendment of protection documents, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!