The scope of patent in Vietnam

The increasingly developed society, followed by extensive international integration, makes the appearance of both domestic and foreign inventions more and more high. Accordingly, the protection of inventions is the best way to protect the creativity as well as the legitimate rights and interests of the patent owner. However, when conducting patent protection, many people are still unclear about the scope of patent protection. Viet An Law Firm offers an article about the scope of patent in Vietnam below.

Legal basis

• The Law on Intellectual Property 2005, as amended and supplemented in 2009, 2019, 2022.
• Circular No. 01/2007/TT-BKHCN detailing and guiding the implementation of a number of articles of the Intellectual Property Law on industrial property, last amended and supplemented by Circular 16/2016/TT – BKHCN.

What is an invention?

Pursuant to the Intellectual Property Law stipulates that an invention is a technical solution in the form of a product or process to solve a defined problem by applying natural laws. Accordingly, an invention is one of the subjects protected by intellectual property rights in Vietnam according to the provisions of the Law on Intellectual Property and other relevant legal documents.

After the invention is registered and granted a patent by the National Office of Intellectual Property, the patent owner will be granted a patent for invention and will be protected by law when there is any act of infringement. patent rights.

Conditions of patent protection

According to the provisions of Article 58 of the Intellectual Property Law, in order to be protected in the form of a patent, an invention must fully satisfy three conditions:

Inventions are novel

• Novelty requires the invention to be significantly different from those previously disclosed
• That invention has not been publicly disclosed.

Inventive nature of the invention

• This is considered a decisive condition for whether an invention can be considered for exclusive protection.
• Inventive nature of the invention will be assessed on the basis of comparison with technical solutions that have been publicly disclosed prior to the filing date or, in the case of priority claim, priority date of that patent application.
• An invention that does not satisfy the inventive step and is not protected is an invention that contains only a negligible improvement in a similar technical area or signs that make a difference that can be inferred. from people with average knowledge in the same field.

Susceptible of industrial application

• An invention cannot be theoretical, but it must also bring practical benefits that can be applied to life.
• The invention can be made possible to manufacture, mass-produce a product, or repeatedly apply the process to which the invention is concerned, and obtain stable results.

The scope of patent in Vietnam

The scope of patent is used to determine the scope of industrial property rights to an invention. Accordingly, the scope or claim must be presented briefly, clearly, in accordance with the description and drawings in the invention description (document in the patent application), in which clarify new signs of the object of protection and must comply with the following provisions:

• The scope of protection must be fully illustrated by the description. It includes basic technical signs necessary and sufficient to identify the subject matter and to achieve the intended purpose and to distinguish the object of protection from a known object.
• The technical signs in the scope or claim must be clear, precise and acceptable in the respective technical area. For terms used in the scope of protection must also be clear and consistent with the terms used in the description.
• The scope of protection may not refer to descriptions and drawings. Except for references to parts that cannot be accurately described in words such as nucleotide and amino acid sequences, diffraction or state diagrams, etc.
• If the petition contains illustrations, the signs mentioned in the scope of protection may be accompanied by numerical indications but must be enclosed in parentheses. These indication numbers shall not be deemed to limit the scope of protection.
• The scope of protection should be shown in two parts (but not required) as “Limited Part” and “Different Part”. Accordingly, the Different Part includes the distinctive features of the object from the nearest known object, and these signs combined with the features of the limited part constitute the object of protection.
• The scope of protection may include one or more points. Multiple points of protection can be used to represent an object to be protected, with the first point being called the independent point and the next point being used to specify the independent or dependent point. or represent a group of objects claimed to be protected with a number of independent points. Accordingly, each independent point represents an object of protection claim in that group, each of these independent points can have dependent points. Each claim point can only mention one object of protection and must be expressed in a single sentence.
• The points of the coverage must be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and end with a period.
• The multi-point protection scope used to represent a group of objects must meet the following requirements: independent points, represent separate objects, and not refer to other points of the scope of protection. Except where such reference allows complete repetition of the content of another point to be avoided; Dependent points must be shown immediately after the independent point on which they depend.

Some questions related to the scope of patent in Vietnam

How long is the term of protection for an invention?

An invention patent is valid from the date of issuance and lasts until the end of 20 years from the filing date, and is valid throughout the territory of Vietnam. However, to maintain the validity of the protection title every year, the owner must pay a continuous maintenance fee.

How can I apply for a patent?

Patent registration can be done in one of the following ways:

• Apply directly to the National Office of Intellectual Property.
• Register through the Intellectual Property Representative Organization. This is a mandatory procedure for foreign nationals. Accordingly, for patent applicants with Vietnamese nationality, applying through an Intellectual Property Representative Organization such as Viet An Law Firm is also encouraged. Because patent applications are very specialized and require specialized intellectual property lawyers for specific guidance and advice.

Above is an article about the scope of patent protection in Vietnam. If you have any questions about patent protection issues, please contact Viet An Law Firm for our best support!