Patent Registration Fee in Vietnam

Patent registration in Vietnam is an important step in protecting intellectual property rights for new inventions and ideas. However, this process not only requires time and effort but also comes with certain costs. Patent registration fees usually include fees related to filing, examining the Substantive of the invention, and granting the patent. In the article below, Luat Viet An will provide clients with information about patent registration fee in Vietnam.

Patent search fees in Vietnam

Patent search fees are collected according to the individual fee schedule of each Industrial Property Agent. The applicant should conduct a patent search to assess the novelty and patentability of the invention.

Purpose of searching patent information:

• Avoid infringing on patent rights of protected inventions of other entities;
• Examination of patentability;
• Object to the granting of certificates to subjects that do not meet the protection standards, even after the certificate has been granted;
• Avoid unnecessary costs of researching known technical solutions;
• Identify and evaluate technologies for purchase, licensing and technology transfer;
• Identify alternative technologies;
• Grasp available solutions to technical problems;
• Seek ideas for continued technological innovation;
• Looking for business partners;
• Monitor the activities of current and potential future competitors;
• Find the right market;
• Select valid patents to sign contracts for the purchase and sale of rights to use, transfer technology, and production know-how.

Patent registration fee at Vietnam National Office of Intellectual Property

Legal basis: Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC regulates the collection rates, collection, payment, management, and use of industrial property state fees, as amended and supplemented by Circular No. 31/2020/TT-BTC.

When registering an invention/utility solution, the applicant must pay state fees. The costs of registration and granting a patent Protection Title are prescribed as follows:

Note:

Applications for patents/ utility solutions must be classified by the International Patent Classification (IPC). In case the applicant does not classify or classify incorrectly, the National Office of Intellectual Property will classify and the applicant must pay the classification fee as prescribed (100,000 VND/01 classification). Therefore, applicants should seek advice from professional units and industrial property representatives (such as Viet An Law Firm) to optimize the patent application process.

International Patent Registration (IPC) Fees

According to Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC, when registering an international patent with origin from Vietnam, clients must pay the following state fees at VNOIP:

• International patent classification fee: 100,000 VND/01 international patent classification
• Fee for preliminary formal examination of international patent applications for submission to the international office and international search authority: VND 300,000
• Fee for examination of the request for amendment of an application for each amended Substantive of each application (for international applications with additional amendments when entering the national phase): VND 160,000

Note:

Filing international patent applications through the PCT Treaty includes PCT applications originating in Vietnam and PCT applications entering the national phase.

For PCT applications originating in Vietnam, applicants may submit applications through the state industrial property rights management agency or directly to the International Bureau. According to Article 20, Decree 65/2023/ND-CP, after receiving the application, the applicant must pay the preliminary formality examination fee to the state management agency of industrial property rights, and the applicant shall transfer other costs to the International Bureau and the international search agency following the provisions of the PCT Treaty;

Other incidental costs

In addition to the fee schedule prescribed by the above law, when submitting a patent application in Vietnam through an industrial property representative (such as Luat Viet An), the applicant must pay additional representative service fees according to each office’s separate fee schedule, translation costs, and document delivery fees as agreed upon by the parties.

Patent Maintenance Fee in Vietnam

After the invention is granted a Protection Title, the owner of the Protection Title must pay the annual fee to maintain the validity of the patent as follows:

• Fee for maintaining the validity of the Patent Protection Title/ 01 year/ 01 independent point of the protection request: 100,000 VND
• Late maintenance/renewal fee (for each month late): 10% of maintenance/renewal fee

This is considered a fee to maintain state protection for the invention in the name of the owner stored in the national publication. This fee is paid at the same time as the Patent Protection Title Usage Fee (calculated annually) as prescribed below.

Patent Protection Title Usage Fee

The fee for using a Patent Protection Title for an invention is applied for each year’s independent point of the protection request. The fee will increase in proportion to the number of independent points of the protection request recorded in the Patent Protection Title. The prescribed usage fee for each year is prescribed as follows:

• First 2 years: 300,000 VND.
• Year 3rd, year 4th: 480,000 VND.
• Year 5th, year 6th: 780,000 VND.
• Year 7th, year 8th: 1,200,000 VND.
• Year 9th, year 10th: 1,800,000 VND.
• Year 11th – Year 13th: 2,520,000 VND.
• Year 14th – Year 16th: 3,300,000 VND.
• Year 17th – Year 20th: 4,200,000 VND.

Time to pay a patent registration fee in Vietnam

At the time of application

According to Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC and Article 108 of the Intellectual Property Law 2005 (as amended and supplemented in 2022), the application will only be accepted by the state management agency if there is a receipt for payment of state fees. Thus, the applicant is responsible for paying the fee immediately upon applying to the National Office of Intellectual Property, including the basic state fees that must be paid according to the application, including:

• Application fee
• Formality examination fee
• International patent classification fee (if the application is not classified)
• Fee for examination of priority claim (if any)
• Fee for examination of request for amendment of application (for international application with amendments when entering the national phase)
• Application publication fee
• Information search fee for Substantive examination
• Substantive examination fee

Note on the substantive examination fee

The applicant can choose to pay the substantive examination fee at one of the following two times:

• Attached with application
• Submit upon receipt of formality approval of the application.

Accordingly, to ensure certainty, inexperienced applicants can choose the second time. If submitted with the application, in case the application is invalid in form and is rejected according to the law before entering the substantive examination stage, the applicant will lose the amount paid for the substantive examination stage.

After being granted a certificate of protection

The patent owner will need to maintain and pay usage fees throughout the 20 years of protection of the patent. Accordingly, immediately after being granted a patent, the owner will need to pay the following state fees:

• Patent maintenance fee
• Patent use fee

Note: Fees are calculated from the year the Protection Title is granted.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can fees be paid in USD?

According to Circular 263/2016/TT-BTC, state fees are collected in Vietnamese Dong, except for cases where fees are collected through the International Bureau of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) which are collected in Swiss Francs (CHF) based on the conversion of the collection level in Vietnamese Dong according to the official exchange rate of the United Nations.

Are there any fees for amending or supplementing information in a patent application?

According to Circular No. 263/2016/TT-BTC, the applicant must pay the following state fees after amending the patent application: Fee for examining the request for amendment of the application (VND 160,000/01 substantive of the request for amendment), Publication fee (VND 120,000/01 request for amendment in case the patent application has a Decision to accept the valid application).

Requests for amendments to applications submitted after the Notice of Intent to Grant a Protection Title and payment of state fees in the case of amending information related to the nature of the subject matter stated in the application (specifically, the description of the invention) must be re-examined and the substantive examination fee must be collected according to the independent protection request (VND 720,000/01 point of independent protection request).

Can patent maintenance fees be paid later than the prescribed deadline?

To maintain the validity of a patent, the patent owner must pay the maintenance fee within 06 months before the expiration date of the validity period. The maintenance fee may be paid later than the deadline specified above, but not later than 06 months from the expiration date of the previous validity period and the patent owner must pay an additional 10% fee for each month of late payment.

Contact Viet An Law Firm for the fastest support with patent registration fee in Vietnam, with the most reasonable cost and the highest possibility of granting patent protection!

Update: 9/2024