Patent Registration Form from August 24, 2023

Decree 65/2023/ND-CP newly issued and effective on August 23, 2023, has replaced many regulations on the protection and enforcement of industrial property rights under the revised Law on Intellectual Property in 2022.

Patent Registration Form from August 24, 2023 (in Vietnamese)

New points to note when declaring patent registration under the new form

Update applicant information

In the new declaration form, it has been agreed that the person with the right to declare and file an application is called the applicant instead of the applicant owner as before.

The new form also adds information about the applicant’s identity verification document in the case of an individual: citizen identification number.

Regulations on the form of patents for inventions and utility solutions

Unlike the old application form, which separates the selection of granting a utility solution patent into a “Converting application” section on the second page of the declaration, the new application form has been integrated in the first section of the declaration.

Accordingly, when the applicants fill in the declaration form, they must pay attention to check the form of application review and grant of the degree at his request, avoiding forgetting this box. The applicant may choose:

• Patent for inventions (electronic or paper version).
• Patent for for utility solutions (electronic or paper version).

The basic differences between these two patents are shown below:

Regarding patent form, concurrently with Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on supplementing regulations of granting patent protection titles for inventions or utility solutions in electronic or paper form.

For applications for registration of establishment of the right to be filed from August 23, 2023 (effective date), the provisions of this Decree must apply, according to which a paper exclusive protection title can only be granted within a period of time. in case the applicant has integrated and selected such request in the invention registration declaration according to the new form (specified in Article 29.1 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP).

More information about state patent rights

In case the invention is the result of a scientific and technological task funded with the state budget, the information to be declared includes:

• Name of agency managing science and technology tasks.
• Science and technology task name.
• Science and technology mission code.

Notes on patent classification

The patent classification is updated according to the latest version of the IPC classification published by the state management agency. Currently, the NOIP is using the IPC International Classification of Inventions (under the Strasbourg Agreement on International Patent Classification) version 2020.1 according to the Industrial Property Official Gazette No. 380 volume B – Volume 1 (11.2019).

The classification is done in full including section – class – subclass – main or subgroup.

The classification of inventions is very important in determining the scope of protection and determining novelty, one of the three criteria of the conditions of patent protection. In case the applicant or the applicant’s representative fails to self-categorize or classify incorrectly, the industrial property management agency (National Office of Intellectual Property) will do this and the applicant or the applicant’s representative must pay the prescribed classification fee.

Therefore, in case the applicant does not know how to search or has no search experience, the applicant should consult industrial property representative organizations for advice and representation. This classification is usually done right from the preliminary search step before the application is filed, which is an important step in determining the likelihood of successful patent registration. Ignoring the preliminary search step can make it impossible for the applicant to determine whether the invention is eligible for protection, resulting in a patent that may not be granted, wasting time and money of the applicant.

General requirements for the form of documents attached to the application form

According to the provisions of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP:

• Present in Vietnamese according to the prescribed form.
• All documents are presented vertically (except drawings, diagrams, and tables), Times New Roman font is not smaller than size 13, and each margin is 2cm wide.
• Page numbering of all documents in Arabic numerals.
• A cross-border stamp is required if there are 2 or more pages in case the applicant or the applicant’s representative is a legal entity.

Requirements for invention description

Usually, an invention description is accompanied by an illustrated drawing. In order to disclose that an invention is eligible for protection, a description should:

• Sufficient information to meet industrial applicability.
• Clarify the novelty of the invention and the level of inventiveness (if the claim is granted a Patent).
• The description must include the following information: name – field of use – existing technical condition at the time of application – intended use – technical nature of the novelty of the invention – accompanying drawings if any – the invention implementation scheme and accompanying examples – the benefits, the effect achieved.
• The scope of protection is the most important part of the description, it should be presented fully, concisely, and concisely the technical signs within the claimed scope of the invention. This section is recommended to be divided into two parts: “Limited Section” (features known, already on the market) and “Different Section” (characteristics that create the novelty of the invention). The Different Section is the scope of the patent claim.
• Applications relating to pharmaceutical inventions must be obtained if the results of clinical trials and pharmacological effects of the drug are obtained.
• Applications involving biomaterials must include a standard WIPO gene sequence list, shown in a separate section at the end of the description.

New points in Decree 65/2023/ND-CP on patent registration

Split patent application

According to Article 17 of Decree 65/2023/ND-CP, an applicant has the right to request separation of an invention registration application before a decision on formal examination or substantive examination is issued. However, separation of applications is only accepted in case of separation of one or several technical solutions in the patent application.

When carrying out the procedure for separating an invention registration application, the applicant must submit an explanation of the object of protection and the content of changes compared to the original application.

Withdrawal of patent application

The new Decree has added a provision that the NOIP must issue a notice of its intention to refuse to accept the withdrawal of an application in case the request for withdrawal of an invention registration application does not satisfy the conditions for the applicant to remedy. in Article 17.2.

Above are some updates related to the Patent Registration Form from August 24, 20233. Customers wishing to register a patent, please contact Viet An Law for the best support.