Patents registration consulting services in Vietnam

Viet An law firm was established in 2007 and has been recognized as an Intellectual Property Representative Organization of Vietnam at The Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam. After 15 years of operation, Viet An Law is proud to be one of the most prestigious law firms, providing the best services to clients in the field of legal consultancy, services of consultancy on intellectual property and Intellectual Property Representative service in Vietnam. Viet An Law Firm details the procedures for patents registration in Vietnam as follows:

Step 1: Patents registration consulting service, patent search of the availability in Vietnam

Patent translation service in Vietnam

Foreign individuals and organizations with inventions that desire to be registered in Vietnam first need to have a version of their invention in Vietnamese before carrying out subsequent procedures. Viet An Law provides customers with patent translation service as follows:

– Translating the description of the invention of foreign individuals and organizations from English (or Chinese, Japanese and Korean) into Vietnamese.

– Translating dossiers related to inventions that need to be registered such as official dispatches received from the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam, patent search results, and other documents necessary for patent translation from English (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) to Vietnamese.

– Carrying out legal procedures related to the establishment of rights to the patent in Vietnam.

Vietnam translated invention search of the availability

General search whether the translated inventions are possible to be registered in Vietnam or not

Customers could do free general search through one of the following databases:

• Google patent: Global patents database administered by Google. Customers can visit the website at: https://patents.google.com/
• IP Lib: Vietnam’s patents database is administered by the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam – NOIP. Customers can visit the website at: http://iplib.noip.gov.vn/WebUI/WSearchPAT.php

However, the search on these databases is very complicated and time-consuming, even somewhat outdated. Clients shall submit dossiers about the invention that are planed to register to Viet An Law Firm for the operation of profound search before filing of the application for registration of the translated invention.

Profound search before the filing of the application for registration of the translated inventions in Vietnam

Profound search is a completely voluntary procedure for applicants in Vietnam. However, customers should carry out this procedure because this is the first and important step for a preliminary assessment of whether an invention should apply for registration. Therefore, an invention search of the availability is only for reference and is not a base for a privately protected title.

Required dossiers for invention search of the availability

For translated invention search, customers shall submit to Viet An Law the following dossiers:

• A description of the invention and an abstract of the invention;
• Drawings of such invention (if any);

Duration: This stage will last for 01-03 days with the result of a notice of inventions search results if operated by Viet An Law Firm

Step 2: Submitting the register invention dossier and supervising the registered progress at the National Office of Intellectual Property

After overall progress and it indicates that the invention is highly possible to be registered, Viet An Law Firm shall submit the dossier to the National Office of Intellectual Property.

Required dossiers for patent registration include:

• Invention registration declaration form published by the National Office of Intellectual Property (03 sets). Please contact Viet An Law Firm to get these forms;
• Power of attorney (Viet An Law Firm’s form);
• Invention/Utility solution description: invention/utility solution name, description, examples, protection requirement and abstract;
• Description images (if any);
• Copies of documents of priority privilege requirement which are verified by agencies where the priority form is submitted (only for priority privilege requirement according to Paris Convention). This category could be submitted within 03 months from the submitting day;
• For PCT dossiers in Vietnam, besides these documents above, more required documents, such as PCT application publication, international preliminary analysis report (PCT/IPER/409) (if any), a notice of changes in application (PCT/IB/306) (if any), international analysis report (PCT/ISA/210)… For this case, originals of power of attorney shall be added within 34 months from the priority day. Information needs to be provided:
• Full name, address, and nationality of the applicant;
• Full name, address, and nationality of invention/utility solution author;
• The name of the invention/utility solution;
• Priority application number, priority date, and countries (in case applicant requires priority privilege);
• International application number and international application publication number (in case the PCT form is submitted in Vietnam).

The process of filing of the application for patent registration in Vietnam:

Filing of the application for patent registration in Vietnam

On the day that Viet An Law submits the application for patent registration at the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam (NOIP), Viet An Law will send the customer a declaration form containing the application number and date of submitting the application for patent registration in Vietnam. (In case the application is accepted the invalid application – the date on which the application is accepted as valid will be the priority date of the application for patent registration.)

Formality examination of Vietnam inventions application

• The time limit for formality examination was one month from the filing date
• The National Office of Intellectual Property shall determine whether the application form satisfies the format, the owner of the application form, …
• In case the registration form contents with the requirements, the National Office Of Intellectual Property shall make an announcement of accepting the valid application and permitting to notifying the form.
• In the case of the unqualified application form, the National Office of Intellectual Property shall make an announcement of not accepting the application and suggesting the applicant have amendments. The applicant then will make amendments following the requirements and submit the statement of the amendment to the National Office of Intellectual Property.

Publication of Vietnam invention application on IP Gazette:

• NOIP shall publish the Vietnam invention applicant for any possible opposition on Vietnam IP Gazette within 02 months from the date the competent authorities release notification of valid dossier.
• The content of the application for patent registration shall include the information relating to the valid application form written in the notification of valid dossier, an abstract of the invention, drawings of such invention (if any);

Substantive examination of the invention in Vietnam:

• The time limit for substantive examination was nine months for substantive examination.
• National Office of Intellectual Property shall take the requirements of registration for invention into account and evaluate the ability to issue protection titles for the registering company.
• If the registration form meets all the requirements, the National Office of Intellectual Property will release the announcement of the intention of issuing a protection title for the invention which the company has registered.
• If the registration form is unqualified with the requirements, the National Office of Intellectual Property will make an announcement of not issuing a protection title for the invention which companies have registered. The company, then considers and sends the answer, the complaint against the National Office of Intellectual Property’s decision, and simultaneously provides evidence to prove the ability to issue protection title for the company’s goods, services.

Granting invention protection title in Vietnam

Where an application for registration of industrial property does not fall into the cases of refusal to grant protection titles stipulated in clauses 1, 2 and 3(b) of Article 117 of the Law on Intellectual Property and the applicant has paid the fee, the State administrative body for industrial property rights shall decide to grant a protection title and enter it in the National Register of Industrial Property.

Cases of claiming priority rights in Vietnam:

Under the Law on Intellectual Property (Article 90.3), Where two or more applications are satisfying all the conditions for the grant of a protection title and having the same earliest priority or filing date, a protection title may only be granted to a single application from such applications with agreement from all applicants. Without such an agreement, all such applications shall be refused the grant of a protection title.

An applicant for patent registration may claim priority based on the first application for registration of protection of the subject matter if the following conditions are fully satisfied:

• The applicant is a citizen of Vietnam or a member country of the Paris Convention or resides or has a production or production establishment in Vietnam or in that member country;
• The first application had been filed in Vietnam or a member country of the Paris Convention and contains a section relevant to the claim for the priority right in the application for patent registration;
• The registration application is filed within six months from the date of first filing;
• In the application for patent registration, the applicant clearly states his/her claim for the priority right and submits a copy of the first application with certification by the agency which receives the first application in case of overseas filing;
• The fee for the claim for priority right is fully paid.

The term of invention protection in Vietnam:

• Under the Law on Intellectual Property (Article 93): an invention patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of twenty (20) years after the filing date; A utility solution patent shall be valid from the grant date until the end of ten (10) years after the filing date.

The term for submitting the application for maintenance and extension of validity of protection titles in Vietnam:

• Within 12 months before the expiry date of the patent, the customer shall submit an application for an extension to the National Office of Intellectual Property of Vietnam;
• However, customers should note that in order to have the validity of a patent extended, the owner shall pay a validity extension fee.

Please contact Viet An Law Firm to be consulted, given detailed information, and settled difficulties and problems on patents registration in Vietnam!