New updates in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on the patent in Vietnam

On August 23, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP detailing industrial property, industrial property protection, and plant variety management. Decree 65/2023/ND-CP replaces Decree No. 103 /2006/ND-CP and a number of articles of Decree 105/2006/ND-CP, including amending and supplementing a number of new points on the patent. In the article below, Viet An Law will analyze new updates in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on the patent in Vietnam.

Legal basis

• Law on Intellectual Property, as amended and supplemented in 2022.
• Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP provides detailed regulations on industrial property, protection of industrial property rights, and management of plant varieties.

What is a patent?

An invention is a technical solution in the form of a product or process that aims to solve a defined problem by applying natural laws.

New updates in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on the patent in Vietnam

First, change the patent registration declaration form

The declaration forms, protection certificate forms, and declaration instructions specified in Appendix I of the Decree have replaced the invention declaration forms according to previous Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN.

In addition, in this Decree, for the first time, the form “Application for confirmation of delayed registration of pharmaceutical circulation registration procedures for the first time” and “Declaration for compensation request due to delay in issuance of first circulation license for pharmaceutical products” is introduced for the first time. pharmaceutical products manufactured under patents are issued so that patent owners can request competent state agencies to consider and compensate for delays in granting marketing licenses for regulated pharmaceuticals. in Article 131a of the Intellectual Property Law, as amended and supplemented in 2022.

Second, add regulations on security control for inventions

Pursuant to the provisions of Article 14 and Appendix VII of Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP regulating procedures and scope of security control for patent. This includes a list of inventions in technical fields that impact national security and defense and procedures for processing patent applications in technical fields that impact national security and defense.

It is noted that security control procedures must be performed before the state management agency for industrial property rights publishes the patent application.

Significance of the Decree in supplementing regulations on security control for inventions:

• The addition of regulations on security control for inventions involves the participation of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security to ensure a comprehensive evaluation process for inventions, protecting national security interests and preventing harmful technologies. At the same time, determine the applicant’s responsibility in complying with laws on confidentiality protection
• Government, emphasizing the need to implement processes prescribed by intellectual property laws in accordance with national security interests.
• In addition, regulations on security control for inventions also protect the right to apply for a patent abroad if the applicant has a basis to prove that the invention applied for registration is not a state secret.

Third, procedures for amending and supplementing registration applications to establish patent protection

Pursuant to the provisions of Point b, Clause 1, Article 16 of the Decree, the applicant has the right to request to amend some additional information in the application such as the applicant’s country code, author’s address (if any), edit change industrial property representative.

However, according to the provisions of Article 16 of this Decree, it should be noted:

• The applicant may exercise the right to request the above amendment in writing without submitting the Amended Declaration as before only if the time of the request is before the application is validly accepted or denied valid acceptance. or amend or supplement the application based on the notice of the National Office of Intellectual Property.
• In case the applicant changes the name, author’s nationality, name, and address of the organization, the applicant must attach supporting documents. These documents are regulated similarly to the case of amending a patent protection certificate.
• In case of changing the representative, the applicant must submit a declaration of change of representative.
• The applicant must pay a fee for appraisal of the request for amendment and a fee for publishing amended and supplemented information according to regulations for each case.

Because the whole process of preparing dossiers to register for patent protection, submitting the application, and then going to the appraisal stages takes a lot of time, the procedures for amending and supplementing the application for registration to establish protection are very time-consuming. The patent in the new Decree has created flexible conditions for applicants to amend certain information without too burdensome requirements. This mechanism helps simplify the process of amending applications, reducing administrative burden and speeding up the process of recording information changes for application owners.

Fourth, regulations separate patent applications

According to Point a, Clause 1, Article 17 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP, the applicant has the right to request to separate the industrial property registration application before there is a decision on the formality or substantive examination.

When carrying out the procedure for splitting an industrial property registration application, the applicant must submit a written explanation of the object of protection requested and the content of changes compared to the original application according to Point c, Clause 1, Article 17 of the Decree.

Fifth, about procedures related to confidential inventions

A confidential invention “is an invention that is determined by a competent state agency to be a state secret according to the law on protecting state secrets” New regulation in the Intellectual Property Law amended and supplemented in 2022 instructs specifically on procedures in Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP. Procedures related to confidential inventions are prescribed from Article 48 to Article 52 of the Decree, including:

• Confidential patent applications are filed in paper form (rather than electronically);
• Documents to be provided, application processing procedures;
• The time limit for appraising the content of a confidential patent application is no more than 18 months;
• Mechanism to coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security in determining the compatibility of information disclosure with legal regulations on protecting state secrets, and regulations on not applying complaint procedures to decisions.

Sixth, supplement the form of granting patent protection certificates

According to Decree No. 65/2023/ND-CP, a protection title in paper form will only be issued to the applicant if and only if they clearly state this request in the application. According to the provisions of Clause 1, Article 29, for registration applications submitted after the effective date of this Decree, the National Office of Intellectual Property will only issue protection titles in electronic form, unless the application owner immediately Submit an application with a clear request for a certificate of protection in paper form.

This regulation shows a change in administrative reform in the granting of protection titles. The move to electronic formats is in line with the digital transformation trend in Vietnam and increases efficiency, simplifies administrative processes, and reduces paper use.

Above are some new updates in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on the patent in Vietnam for Clients. Industrial property representative – Viet An Law Firm is ready to provide services related to industrial property registration to support you, please contact us to receive the best advice.